When Weljon Mindoro was a three-year-old and led to a river in his native Philippines for a bath with other kids, it wasn’t long before some rough-housing started among the boys.
Next thing Weljon knew, he was throwing hands.
This innate rush to fight would strike again as a nine-year-old when Mindoro watched his older brother fare poorly in an amateur fight, boasting, “I should be the one fighting.”
Seconds after achieving victory, someone delivered young Weljon 50 pesos and he was hooked.
The boy is grown now, a full-fledged middleweight carrying a 16-0-1 (16 KOs) record to his Friday night ProBoxTV co-main event at College Park Center in Arlington, Texas.
Mindoro, 26, is tasked with meeting veteran Elias Espadas, 35, of Mexico. Espadas, 23-8-1 (16 KOs), has only been knocked out by two fighters, including unified 154lbs champion Xander Zayas.
“He’s a good, veteran boxer who’s tough and can take a punch,” Mindoro said.
ProBoxTV founder Garry Jonas signed Mindoro a long-term contract in January, assessing “his power is real – his fights don’t last long and he’s real heavy handed.
“You’ve seen from his highlight-reel knockouts that he’s just very aggressive, right? He comes to fight. He presses forward. He doesn’t mess around, and he wants to put hands on people. So we’re gonna watch closely to see where his ceiling is. We’re not sure. This fight with Espadas is a bit like a ceiling check.”
Mindoro says he doesn’t carry single-minded knockout plans to his bouts, but he knows when he’s landed a defining crack.
“I like feeling a real solid punch, knowing my opponent is getting knocked down,” he said.
He’s seen the ultimate career blueprint from his countryman Manny Pacquiao: knockouts beget attention, attention begets a title, a title begets financial riches.
“I just try to keep my focus on the fight. If I get a knockout win and that gets me famous, I have God to thank for it,” he said. “I’m happy the people are liking what I’m doing now. I know a lot of Filipinos will be watching. I want to make them happy.”
Jonas is bullish on how Mindoro will fare Friday, and said his building fan base’s interest is spiraling because of his larger weight.
“I expect him to be a very popular fighter. So, the sky’s the limit for this kid,” Jonas said.
Jonas expects to bring back Mindoro on his late-August card headlined by WBC interim super-middleweight champion Lester Martinez.
As usual – whether it’s the river, at ringside or as the hot lights glow above him – Mindoro will be poised to scrap.
“I always remember what the school that took me in said about me: I’m athletic and have courage and potential,” Mindoro said.
