By Jake Donovan
It sounds crazy to use the term “rebuilding” when describing a 25-year old can’t-miss prospect who just four years ago proudly represented his country in the Olympic games. Yet here’s lightweight Vicente Escobedo, looking to put a little more distance between himself and the past as he creeps up on three years as a pro.
In an era that often attempts to suggest otherwise, still-improving Escobedo is forced to prove in the young stages of his career that one loss does not ruin a career.
It wasn’t even half of a lifetime ago that the journey began for Escobedo, a first-generation Mexican-American. Having taken an active interest in football (American-style) and baseball as a healthy alternative to life in the mean streets of his Woodland (CA) neighborhood, then-13-year old Vicente decided to also give boxing a try. He followed his older brother to the Woodland (CA) Boxing Gym and began hitting the heavy bag.
The kid was hooked. So began the formation of a future star.
The hard work in the non-pay ranks reaped major benefits, including two PAL National Championships, a US Amateur championship in 2003, and one year later a trip to Athens, Greece, where he represented his country in the 2004 Olympic Games.
Escobedo made it past the first round with relative ease before dropping a decision to Azerbaijan’s Rovshan Huseynov in the round of 16. It would be his last amateur fight, as Escobedo would sign with Golden Boy Promotions soon thereafter.
His first pro fight came in February 2005, on the undercard of another newcomer to the Golden Boy family, then-middleweight king Bernard Hopkins, who was defending his crown against Howard Eastman in Los Angeles. Having lived in Cali his entire life, Escobedo couldn’t have asked for a better stage on which to turn pro. Abraham Verdugo, a .500 fighter going in, was stretched in two round, giving Escobedo his first win and stoppage.
The next eight bouts would all end the same way – inside the distance and in one-sided fashion, all coming against opponents with far more pro experience.
The fear inside Escobedo’s camp was that he was perhaps getting too good, too soon. To put the theory to test, fight number 10 came against another notable lightweight prospect, Puerto Rico’s Daniel Jimenez, in an April 2006 Telefutura co-feature slot.
Their respective styles and ethnic backgrounds had some experts referring to the bout as the Trinidad-de la Hoya of the prospect level. Escobedo had often been referred to in the early years as the next de la Hoya, from the good looks, to his fighting style, to the Olympic pedigree all the way to how he talks.
On this night, he’d emulate Oscar one more way – dropping a heartbreaking decision to a Puerto Rican rival.
With the highly entertaining bout seemingly on the table, Escobedo found himself in a unique position seconds into the eighth and final round – on the canvas. Jimenez went on the attack early, resulting in the lone knockdown of Escobedo’s career. To his credit, Escobedo quickly recovered and spent the duration of the round trading bombs with Jimenez. In the end, though, it proved to be a night of firsts – his first distance fight, the first knockdown of his career, and after the official cards were read, the first defeat of his career, via split decision.
If there are such things as moral victories in boxing, Escobedo earned one that night, showing much heart and determination in a situation where most fighters forced into unfamiliar territory would most likely wilt under pressure. Such character has shone through in each of his subsequent bouts, having won six straight since then in running his record to 15-1 (11KO).
One of the major changes in Escobedo's young career came in his corner. Having previously studied under the tutelage of Freddie Roach, Escobedo changed up last year, relocating training camp to Mexico City, where he joined up with Nacho Beristain, arguably the best trainer in the game today. Nacho’s resume speaks for itself, having guided the career of Ricardo Lopez and still working his magic for the Marquez brothers, as well as another noted former amateur standout, unbeaten super bantamweight prospect Abner Mares.
Friday night will mark Escobedo’s third fight with Beristain since joining his Mexico City-based camp in May 2007. His past three bouts have gone the distance; in fact four out of his past six going to the cards in what has already become a second career for the 25-year old.
Chances are his old knockout ways will resurface on Friday, as he takes on Pascali Adorno in their televised ten-round co-feature battle, airing live from the Morongo Casino in Cabazon, CA on Telefutura (8PM ET/PT). Adorno is a 25-year old Puerto Rican southpaw who’s no stranger to the canvas, having been stopped twice in his last three, including his last bout, a 1st round knockout loss to Tyrone Harris last June. Escobedo also enjoys a 5” height and massive 7” reach advantage,
In the end, it should add up to a dominant, if not short, evening. Much like everything’s once again adding up for a can’t-miss rising prospect on the rebound.
Jake Donovan is a member of the Boxing Writers Association of America, and the Tennessee Boxing Advisory Board. His column runs every Tuesday on BoxingScene.com.
Please feel free to submit any comments or questions to Jake at JakeNDaBox@gmail.com.
