By Ryan Maquiñana
All Artemio Reyes Jr. does is hit.
During a training camp with the rigid consistency of workouts six days a week and twice a day, the welterweight prospect hits the pavement for roadwork, the mitts for punching accuracy, and his bed to capture any scarce hours remaining to recover.
But while other fighters limit their activity to the gist of the aforementioned events, Reyes has chosen to also hit the books. As an upperclassman at Cal State University San Bernardino, he hones his business acumen in the classroom, which he applies when he manages the family restaurant, El Taquito Drive-In, in his hometown of Colton, Calif.
“Eventually my goal is to be an accountant,” Reyes (13-1, 11 KOs) said. “With everything on my plate, there’s really no time for rest to do all of this.”
The aspiring CPA will have to put those plans on hold for now, as he finds himself in the Bally’s Event Center in Atlantic City tonight taking on 2008 U.S. Olympian Javier Molina (9-0, 4 KOs) in the co-feature for “ShoBox: The New Generation.”
As a child, they called him “King,” not because of his last name (which translates from Spanish to “Kings”), but because of his insatiable drive to be the best in every competition sports or academic-related.
That uncanny determination is evident in the way he accomplishes everything while unfailingly taking care of his father and namesake, Artemio Sr., who is comatose as a result of an unfortunate accident he sustained on the road three years ago.
BoxingScene spoke to the 25-year-old with the inspiring story, and while our conversation centered more on the pugilistic task at hand, his poise and dedication are things that don’t go unnoticed both inside the ring and out.
ON HOW THE MOLINA FIGHT CAME ABOUT:
“I came to the gym six weeks ago and my manager told me that Javier Molina was going to fight me on Showtime. I was actually pretty shocked they chose to fight me. Camp has been very intense. We’ve been working out six days a week and twice a day to ensure we’ll compete at the highest level.”
ON WHY HE THINKS HE WAS CHOSEN TO FIGHT MOLINA:
“I’m not sure, maybe given the fact that I fought Mike Dallas in my second pro fight and lost, that they think I’m the same fighter as back then, but with my new team at Capital Punishment in Riverside with Ruben Castanon and Charlie Perez, I’ve improved tenfold. I’m slipping punches, ducking, moving, and offensively, I’ve developed a variety of different punches I’ve never had before.”
ON HIS LAST FIGHT IN AUGUST, A SECOND-ROUND KNOCKOUT OF MIGUEL ANGEL MUNGUIA:
“With Munguia, it was originally supposed to be Cristian Favela, but he pulled out. I went out there with my team, who told me just to stay alert, and the first round, he was awkward, coming around with punches. It was then I was able to time him and catch him coming up, and I knocked him down in the first, then in the second, and it was over.”
ON HIS TOUGHEST FIGHT SINCE THE LOSS TO DALLAS, A SPLIT DECISION WIN OVER ALAN SANCHEZ IN JUNE OF 2010:
“That was a great fight, probably one of the best ones out there that year. David Avila said it should’ve been Fight of the Year because it was all action for everyone who saw it in Ontario. We met in the center of the ring and let it all go. If I didn’t train as hard as I did, I probably wouldn’t have made it through that fight.”
ON SPARRING FOR THIS PARTICULAR CAMP:
“We’re bringing in sparring partners with speed and movement. My main sparring partner has been Mauricio Herrera, but we’ve brought in some amateurs too who can emulate Molina’s speed. I’ve been mostly watching his fight against John Revish. We’ve been studying his weaknesses and now it’s time to take advantage of those mistakes.”
ON COMING IN AS AN UNDERDOG WHERE MOLINA IS THE HOUSE FIGHTER:
“It doesn’t bother me at all. We have a gameplan, and do what we do best, put the pressure on Javier from round one to round eight. I don’t feel any pressure at all. My promotional team in Thompson Boxing is coming with me. My fans are coming with me. He may be the house fighter, but when the bell rings, only he can fight.”
ON WHAT A WIN TONIGHT WOULD MEAN TO REYES:
“A win would just put me on the map and put my name out there in welterweight contention. Also, winning would put people on notice that I’m not your average contender, and that I could be a force to be reckoned with in the welterweight division.”
Ryan Maquiñana is the boxing correspondent at Comcast SportsNet Bay Area, a member of the Boxing Writers Association of America, and Ring Magazine’s Ratings Advisory Panel. E-mail him at rmaquinana@gmail.com, check out his blog at www.maqdown.com or follow him on Twitter: @RMaq28.
