Casarez Rejects F. Guerrero Bout, Targets Angulo After Win

By Ryan Maquiñana

After languishing in relative anonymity, junior middleweight Raul “El Tigre” Casarez (19-2, 9 KOs) finally made his nationally televised debut with an entertaining victory last Saturday over J.C. Candelo (32-11-4, 21 KOs).

“I wasn’t nervous,” he said about the slugfest that aired on TeleFutura’s Solo Boxeo. “Actually I was excited, because my fans, my friends, and my family were there with me.  They’ve been there working hard alongside me, so I was just happy for them more than anything to see me come up with the biggest win of my career so far.”

A pressure fighter whose plentiful volume of punches tends to wear his foes down, Casarez made no bones about his zest for combat, adding a military-like touch to his answer.  “Yes sir, I just love to fight,” he said. “Whether I hit or get hit, I love it.”

James Gogue, his trainer of four years out of the appropriately named Marines Boxing Gym in Pharr, Tex., agreed.

“While I would like to see even more head movement out of him next time out, that’s the thing about Raul,” Gogue said.  “He’s not safety-first.  He’s not in it to protect his record when he gets on TV.  He’s a physical fighter, and when you see him fight the first time, he’s the type of guy you’ll want to see again and again.”

Now riding a career-high 10-bout winning streak, the 25-year-old from Edinburg, Tex., and his team have their sights set on bigger targets.  After rejecting an offer to fight Fernando Guerrero at middleweight on Apr. 20 in Biloxi, Miss., it appears that they are trying to pursue a fight with junior middleweight contender Alfredo “Perro” Angulo.

“I think he’s ready for [Alfredo] Angulo,” said Don Chargin, who co-promoted the show with Golden Boy and Julio Marines. “I really want to find a way to make this happen, and styles-wise it would be a terrific matchup.”

“We’re just not going to make Raul fight at 160 [pounds] anymore,” trainer James Gogue said about his charge.  “Angulo’s a tough opponent as it is, but it’s going to be at a weight my guy’s more comfortable at.”

BoxingScene.com caught up with Casarez, who explained his two career losses, the recent win over Candelo, and how a Whataburger chicken sandwich has helped to symbolize his evolution as a professional prizefighter.

NOTE: The following interview with Casarez occurred last night before the Guerrero and Angulo plans were laid out.  He could not be reached in time for his thoughts before it was published.

BoxingScene.com: How did you get the nickname “El Tigre?”

Raul Casarez: It was earlier when I first started boxing.  I’m from Edinburg, Texas, but my parents are from Reynosa, Mexico, and people thought I reminded them of Nestor Garza, the former [super bantamweight] world champion from Reynosa. His nickname was also “El Tigre,” so it stuck.

BoxingScene.com: Wearing those tiger stripes on your trunks, you made your TV debut Saturday night against J.C. Candelo, which was also your biggest step up in competition as a pro.  What was going on in your mind before the fight?  Were you nervous at all?

Raul Casarez: I wasn’t nervous.  Actually I was excited, because my fans, my friends, and my family were there with me.  They’ve been there working hard alongside me, so I was just happy for them more than anything to see me come up with the biggest win of my career so far.

BoxingScene.com: You pulled out the close decision.  What was the biggest key to victory, in your opinion?

Raul Casarez: For this fight, we’ve been working on little things with my defense, like making sure I keep my hands up or come forward behind the jab.  Before, my plan was that my opponent would get tired before I got tired, and hopefully I’d have an opportunity to knock him out.

Now I have the confidence where if a fighter can take my shots, I can still throw the same amount of punches in eight, ten, or 12 rounds.  My trainer for four years, James Gogue, has really helped me with that.  It’s great knowing you can do your homework on a fighter and go in the ring and do your job in there and not worry about getting tired—especially with my style, because I like to stay busy.

BoxingScene.com: During the fifth round, Candelo went down on what looked like a borderline shot below the belt.  Did you think it was low?

Raul Casarez: I’m going to be a man and not make excuses.  That blow was low.  I saw it at home and now I can say I hit him low, but it wasn’t as bad for Candelo to stay on the ground and make the scene he made.  That’s a veteran move.  He was tiring out, and I gave him a break because he took advantage of it.  It gave him time to rest.

BoxingScene.com: I thought it woke him up, but it also brought the warrior out of you as the rounds progressed.  Did you expect him to come out strongly the way he did?

Raul Casarez: I expected him to come out like that, but another veteran move he pulled was trying to talk to me to make me come in and go after him.  He knows my attitude.  He knows I love to fight.  But again, James helped me maintain my discipline.  I think it was Candelo’s strategy to lure me into his trap.  He wanted to make me throw wild shots.  I kept my cool and told him to come in, instead.  There’s a lot of improvement, but James has been a big part of my improvement.

BoxingScene.com: This win introduced you to the general boxing public, who didn’t know much about you before Saturday.  One glance at your record shows two losses earlier in your career to Michael Soberanis and Rudy Cisneros. What can you tell us about those defeats, and how much have you grown as a fighter since then?

Raul Casarez: The difference between now and then is that I was a kid for those two losses. I was only 15 when I went pro, and I thought I was unbeatable for a while, and getting those two losses when I was 18 really made me think twice about turning pro so early.

Nobody’s unbeatable, and I learned that the hard way.  But now I have the right team behind me. James makes sure I’m prepared, and he won’t let me fight unless he thinks I’m ready.  I don’t think those two losses would have happened if I had been with him.

BoxingScene.com: Can you go into a little more detail on the changes you’ve made with James Gogue in your corner?

Raul Casarez: Yes sir, I just love to fight.  Whether I hit or get hit, I love it. I’m an aggressive fighter, and I love to throw punches, so we’ve been working on my defense, but really, as a person, I think the biggest difference with James has been my work ethic and training hard.

I’ve worked on everything, even my diet before fights.  I stopped eating beans, ice cream from Dairy Queen, all of that.  In fact, I rewarded myself after the win by going to Whataburger for the first time in a while.  There’s really nothing like the chicken sandwich there, I’m telling you.  But that’s it for now.  I’m going back to the gym this week and staying busy.  The ability is there, but a lot of what I’ve worked on is my discipline in the game.  We’ve come a long way in these four years.

BoxingScene.com: You came in at 156 pounds for this fight, but you’ve fought at the middleweight limit of 160 numerous times.  Where do you plan to campaign from this point forward?

Raul Casarez: I’m not fighting any higher than 156 anymore unless it’s against [Julio Cesar] Chavez Jr., but I make 154 with no problem, so that’s where I’m fighting.

BoxingScene.com: Is there anyone at 154 that you'd like to target specifically?

Raul Casarez: If it were up to me, I’d fight the biggest name I could find.  I would fight Manny Pacquiao tomorrow, but I leave it up to James and Julio [Marines] and Don [Chargin] to handle all of that.  I do feel I’m ready for a bigger test.  I’d love the opportunity and the chance one day for a big fight like that.

BoxingScene.com: You’ve mentioned your family.  What’s your life like outside the ring?

Raul Casarez: My partying days have been long over.  I’m working in an eye doctor’s office learning how to work in the lab.  I’m also getting married December 1st to my girlfriend, Melissa Castillo.  My fiancée and I have been engaged for two and a half years.

Actually, we were going to get married earlier.  Her mom had been an inspiration battling breast cancer, but we had to put off the wedding when God said it was her time and she passed away.  She’s looking down on us now though, and I’m sure she’ll be there for our wedding.

BoxingScene.com: Is there anything else you would like to tell the boxing world?

Raul Casarez: I may sound like a broken record, but I want to thank my fans, my family and friends.  I love them, and I’m going to continue to give my all.  I hope I don’t let them down.  They’re the reason I step in there and fight, and they can expect bigger things from “El Tigre” in the future because I want to be a world champion.

Ryan Maquiñana writes a weekly column for Comcast SportsNet Bay Area (CSNBayArea.com). He’s also a member of the Boxing Writers Association of America and Ring Magazine’s Ratings Panel. E-mail him at rmaquinana@gmail.com, check out his blog at norcalboxing.net or follow him on Twitter: @RMaq28.