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Giovani Segura has put together a boxing career most fighters would be proud of, especially when one considers that the Mexican slugger got a late start in the sport.
Although a lifelong fan, Segura didn’t step foot into a boxing gym until he was 19.
Two years later he turned pro after only 15 amateur bouts.
Despite possessing skills that boxing writers could only describe as crude, the hard-punching southpaw climbed the ranks to world-title contention quicker than most amateurs standouts do.
Segura beat junior flyweight contenders just four years into his career. Six years after turning pro, he won a major 108-pound belt.
Segura (22-1-1, 18 knockouts), who headlines a Fox Sports Net/Fox Sports en Español-televised card from Acapulco, Mexico, on Saturday, is THE RING’s No. 1-rated junior flyweight.
However, he isn’t satisfied with what he‘s done with his career so far.
“I feel like I haven’t accomplished anything,” said Segura, who takes on Walter Tello (14-3, 6 KOs) in the Top Rank Live headliner. “I’m still hungry. I’m still pushing myself to get better at what I do.
“I’m still on that roller coaster that I jumped on in 2003 when I turned pro.”
Segura’s roller coaster ride has included some dips and turns, such as the brutally one-sided unanimous-decision loss to Cesar Canchila in his first title shot in 2008, but it’s been mostly high points.
In 2006, he scored a first-round KO of fellow prospect Francisco Arce, the scrappy younger brother of Jorge Arce, and then out-pointed talented Colombian Olympian Carlos Tamara, who recently stopped Brian Viloria for a 108-pound title.
In 2007, Segura scored back-to-back first-round stoppages of former titleholder Daniel Reyes and former title challenger Wilfrido Valdez.
Last year, he picked up a title belt and avenged his only pro loss by stopping Canchila in a wild four-round shootout.
Segura’s victories over Tamara, Reyes and Valdez were Telefutura-televised main events that did high ratings in key Latino markets in the U.S. His rematch KO of Canchila, which was televised live on TV Azteca in Mexico, did higher ratings than rival Mexican network Televisa drew with its taped telecast of the Amir Khan-Marco Antonio Barrera fight.
By most accounts, he’s done well. So why’s he so hard on himself?
The answer is simple: Segura is a hardcore boxing fan. (Are they ever satisfied?)
He holds a major title, but he recognizes Ivan Calderon, THE RING’s 108-pound titleholder, as the “real” junior flyweight champ.
He reads everything that internet fight scribes and message board posters have to say about him. Much of what he reads is critical of his boxing technique, or lack of it.
Segura is OK with the criticism. In fact, he agrees with most of it.
“All the critics who say I that I need to work on my skills are right,” he said. “I use it as motivation to get better. I just want them to know that what they see is what I’ve learned since turning pro in 2003. I was almost 20 when I began to learn how to box. Before that, I was just a kid who watched it on TV for most of his life.
“Everything I knew about boxing was from what I watched on TV. By the time I was 10 and 11 years old, I understood the language of boxing. I could talk boxing with big people like my dad and my uncles, who used to take me to the bars and cantinas just so I could watch all my favorite fighters like Julio Cesar Chavez, Mike Tyson, and (Ricardo) ‘Finito’ Lopez.
“I was more than a regular fan of boxing," he continued. "I felt like I understood the sport more than most people. I always knew who would win a fight after watching only a few rounds.”
Segura wanted to box during his childhood. However, his hometown of Ciudad Altamirano, in Guerrero, the same state where he will fight on Saturday, did not have a gym.
He didn’t find a real boxing club until his family moved to Bell, Calif., in 2000.
“When I found the Azteca Boxing Club and finally started hitting bags and training, it was like candy land for a little kid,” Segura said. “I learned fast and everyone told me I was good, that I had power and that I could make it as a pro but I never paid attention to what they said. I was always focused on getting better.”
He still is, but he admits it’s frustrating at times.
“I had 15 amateur fights and the fights I won, I won by knockout, so I turned pro pretty raw,” said Segura, who turns 28 in April. “I wish I had the amateur experience of some of the Olympians I watch on TV like (Yuriorkis) Gamboa. I wish I had moves and skills like that. I watch guys like him and I try to do what they do, but it’s hard and since I got a late start in boxing, time is my enemy.”
Segura realizes that he’ll never be as fast and fluid as Gamboa, or as refined as boxers who started competing when they were kids, but he makes up for his lack of talent and technique with conditioning, determination and bone-crunching power.
“I know I can’t box with the amateur stars and the Olympians, guys like Tamara and Canchila, but I can make them fight my fight,” he said. “They can look at my record and see that I can punch, but they don’t know how hard I really hit until they get in the ring with me.”
Segura’s goal for 2010 is to get Calderon in the ring. The undefeated Puerto Rican southpaw possesses experience, skill and savvy that Segura can only dream of, but he’s also getting long in the tooth. Segura’s manager, Ricardo Mota Jr., believes the 35-year-old champ has slowed down enough for his fighter to catch him. He also thinks it would be a good fight.
“It’s got to happen,” Mota said. “I think they’re the two best known junior flyweights. Segura does good ratings in Mexico. Calderon does good ratings in Puerto Rico. It’s a boxer versus puncher, Puerto Rican versus Mexican matchup. They’re both promoted by Top Rank. Why shouldn’t they fight?
“Who else is out there for either guy to fight? (Ulises) Solis got knocked off by Viloria. Viloria got knocked off by Tamara and Giovani already beat him.”
Segura, however, is willing to fight Tamara again if it will earn him a shot at Calderon.
“I just won my title,” he said. “I don’t know how much I have to do in order to convince fans that I deserve to fight Calderon, but if I have to beat all the other titleholders in my division, then that’s what I‘ll do if I get the opportunity.
“It would be an honor for me to fight Calderon because he’s the best. That’s all I want to do. Release me in the ring and I’ll do my thing. That’s what will make me proud of my career, fighting the best.”
Although a lifelong fan, Segura didn’t step foot into a boxing gym until he was 19.
Two years later he turned pro after only 15 amateur bouts.
Despite possessing skills that boxing writers could only describe as crude, the hard-punching southpaw climbed the ranks to world-title contention quicker than most amateurs standouts do.
Segura beat junior flyweight contenders just four years into his career. Six years after turning pro, he won a major 108-pound belt.
Segura (22-1-1, 18 knockouts), who headlines a Fox Sports Net/Fox Sports en Español-televised card from Acapulco, Mexico, on Saturday, is THE RING’s No. 1-rated junior flyweight.
However, he isn’t satisfied with what he‘s done with his career so far.
“I feel like I haven’t accomplished anything,” said Segura, who takes on Walter Tello (14-3, 6 KOs) in the Top Rank Live headliner. “I’m still hungry. I’m still pushing myself to get better at what I do.
“I’m still on that roller coaster that I jumped on in 2003 when I turned pro.”
Segura’s roller coaster ride has included some dips and turns, such as the brutally one-sided unanimous-decision loss to Cesar Canchila in his first title shot in 2008, but it’s been mostly high points.
In 2006, he scored a first-round KO of fellow prospect Francisco Arce, the scrappy younger brother of Jorge Arce, and then out-pointed talented Colombian Olympian Carlos Tamara, who recently stopped Brian Viloria for a 108-pound title.
In 2007, Segura scored back-to-back first-round stoppages of former titleholder Daniel Reyes and former title challenger Wilfrido Valdez.
Last year, he picked up a title belt and avenged his only pro loss by stopping Canchila in a wild four-round shootout.
Segura’s victories over Tamara, Reyes and Valdez were Telefutura-televised main events that did high ratings in key Latino markets in the U.S. His rematch KO of Canchila, which was televised live on TV Azteca in Mexico, did higher ratings than rival Mexican network Televisa drew with its taped telecast of the Amir Khan-Marco Antonio Barrera fight.
By most accounts, he’s done well. So why’s he so hard on himself?
The answer is simple: Segura is a hardcore boxing fan. (Are they ever satisfied?)
He holds a major title, but he recognizes Ivan Calderon, THE RING’s 108-pound titleholder, as the “real” junior flyweight champ.
He reads everything that internet fight scribes and message board posters have to say about him. Much of what he reads is critical of his boxing technique, or lack of it.
Segura is OK with the criticism. In fact, he agrees with most of it.
“All the critics who say I that I need to work on my skills are right,” he said. “I use it as motivation to get better. I just want them to know that what they see is what I’ve learned since turning pro in 2003. I was almost 20 when I began to learn how to box. Before that, I was just a kid who watched it on TV for most of his life.
“Everything I knew about boxing was from what I watched on TV. By the time I was 10 and 11 years old, I understood the language of boxing. I could talk boxing with big people like my dad and my uncles, who used to take me to the bars and cantinas just so I could watch all my favorite fighters like Julio Cesar Chavez, Mike Tyson, and (Ricardo) ‘Finito’ Lopez.
“I was more than a regular fan of boxing," he continued. "I felt like I understood the sport more than most people. I always knew who would win a fight after watching only a few rounds.”
Segura wanted to box during his childhood. However, his hometown of Ciudad Altamirano, in Guerrero, the same state where he will fight on Saturday, did not have a gym.
He didn’t find a real boxing club until his family moved to Bell, Calif., in 2000.
“When I found the Azteca Boxing Club and finally started hitting bags and training, it was like candy land for a little kid,” Segura said. “I learned fast and everyone told me I was good, that I had power and that I could make it as a pro but I never paid attention to what they said. I was always focused on getting better.”
He still is, but he admits it’s frustrating at times.
“I had 15 amateur fights and the fights I won, I won by knockout, so I turned pro pretty raw,” said Segura, who turns 28 in April. “I wish I had the amateur experience of some of the Olympians I watch on TV like (Yuriorkis) Gamboa. I wish I had moves and skills like that. I watch guys like him and I try to do what they do, but it’s hard and since I got a late start in boxing, time is my enemy.”
Segura realizes that he’ll never be as fast and fluid as Gamboa, or as refined as boxers who started competing when they were kids, but he makes up for his lack of talent and technique with conditioning, determination and bone-crunching power.
“I know I can’t box with the amateur stars and the Olympians, guys like Tamara and Canchila, but I can make them fight my fight,” he said. “They can look at my record and see that I can punch, but they don’t know how hard I really hit until they get in the ring with me.”
Segura’s goal for 2010 is to get Calderon in the ring. The undefeated Puerto Rican southpaw possesses experience, skill and savvy that Segura can only dream of, but he’s also getting long in the tooth. Segura’s manager, Ricardo Mota Jr., believes the 35-year-old champ has slowed down enough for his fighter to catch him. He also thinks it would be a good fight.
“It’s got to happen,” Mota said. “I think they’re the two best known junior flyweights. Segura does good ratings in Mexico. Calderon does good ratings in Puerto Rico. It’s a boxer versus puncher, Puerto Rican versus Mexican matchup. They’re both promoted by Top Rank. Why shouldn’t they fight?
“Who else is out there for either guy to fight? (Ulises) Solis got knocked off by Viloria. Viloria got knocked off by Tamara and Giovani already beat him.”
Segura, however, is willing to fight Tamara again if it will earn him a shot at Calderon.
“I just won my title,” he said. “I don’t know how much I have to do in order to convince fans that I deserve to fight Calderon, but if I have to beat all the other titleholders in my division, then that’s what I‘ll do if I get the opportunity.
“It would be an honor for me to fight Calderon because he’s the best. That’s all I want to do. Release me in the ring and I’ll do my thing. That’s what will make me proud of my career, fighting the best.”
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