HERIBERTO FLORES
Age: 22
Hometown: Guadalajara, Mexico
Weight class: welterweight
Height: 5-foot-7 (174 cm)
Amateur record: 36-4
Turned Pro: 2021
Pro record: 13-0 (11 knockouts)
Coach: Martin Gallegos
Manager: Martin Gallegos
Promoter: Promotions of the People, Giber Lopez and Marco Antonio Barrera
Instagram: @heribertofloresg
Best night of professional career and why: Flores scored a dominant win over a more experienced opponent in May.
“(The) most important was his last fight,” Flores told The Ring. “I was nervous to fight (2016) Olympian Juan Pablo Romero. I got through that difficult test and am now ready for bigger challenges.”
The youngster paced himself well and showed impressive composure in what was by far his toughest assignment to date.
Worst night of professional career and why: The 22-year-old believes that while the Romero win was his best, it was also one he was least pleased with, but nevertheless served as a valuable learning curve.
“My last fight,” he said. “I was nervous and also underestimated fighting in the high altitude of the state of Mexico.”
What is next: The rising young fighter will return to action against former world title challenger Dante Jardon on Friday in Puebla, Mexico.
Jardon (36-10, 26 KOs) turned professional in 2006. The Mexico City native has wins over former world title holders Gamaliel Diaz (KO 8) and Juan Carlos Salgado (UD 12), as well as longtime rival Miguel Roman (UD 12). He also challenged then-WBC junior lightweight titleholder Takashi Miura in December 2013, but was stopped in nine rounds.
The 35-year-old veteran moved up in weight and was stopped by once ranked Omar Aguilar (TKO 1) but upset undefeated Artem Oganesyan (UD 10) to win the NABF junior middleweight title. This earned him a trip to South Africa where he was outboxed by Rourke Knapp (UD 10). He has won one and lost one since then.
This should give Flores more experience and rounds against a skilled veteran. An interruption seems to be the goal.
Why he’s a prospect: Flores won three national titles in his 40 amateur competitions before turning professional at 19.
He feels two things will help him reach the top.
“I believe I am not well known yet, but soon everyone will see my power,” he said. “(Another) characteristic is balls, we Mexicans have them. The rest I will learn, to throw combinations or defend myself, but I enjoy getting in the ring to take it out.”
He clearly does not lack confidence.
“They say I fight similar to (Ring and WBO junior welterweight champion) Teofimo Lopez, which I don’t agree with, I’m better than him,” he said.
One of his promoters, Oswaldo Kulche of Promociones del Pueblo, was tipped off about the young prospect.
“(Marco Antonio) Barrera told me about him, so I saw him and I gave him some tough tests and liked the kid, so we signed a multi-year contract,” the promoter said. “Barrera knows what it takes to be a world champion.
“He impresses me that he enjoys fighting, he’s a really fun guy to watch.”
The aforementioned Barrera, who won world titles in three weight classes during an illustrious career, feels his fighter can make some noise on the world stage.
“Heriberto Flores is a very good fighter from Guadalajara,” he said. “I had him sign with Oswaldo so he could get more reach, so we work as partners.
“He had his first head fight (against Ve Shawn Owens) in Mexico City. Usually the way it goes is when a fighter who isn’t from there doesn’t fight in Mexico City, they lose, but he came and won in great fashion (with an eighth-round stoppage.)
“He still has a long way to go, but I see him as a future world champion.”
Ernesto Sandoval, who was with Eduardo Sanchez in July 2023, was impressed by Flores as he stopped his fighter in nine rounds.
“I think he’s a great boxer,” Sandoval said. “I was surprised by his power and efficiency of his punches, he is also an intelligent boxer, who prepares his physique very well before every fight.
“I know he will go a long way in this business.”
Flores, is a stocky but well-built power puncher, something you can’t teach and has confidence and attitude that will help him be successful.
Why he is a suspect: Flores is typically Mexican in his approach: an all-out attack.
“I have to improve my defense to not get hit,” he said. “I have confidence in my power, so I lower my hands a lot. I feel strong, it’s not a lot of height, but I feel strong and without giving (away) advantages.”
If he can find a way to step things up and maintain the same or similar offensive output, that will certainly help him as he looks to step into contender status.
He believes in his power, but he can’t let it blind him to follow a plan and simply go looking for the knockout punch that sooner or later would find him.
Story lines: Flores is from Guadalajara but grew up in Puerto Vallarta.
“Sports was not that easy for me,” he said. “I lived in Vallarta until I was 12 when my grandfather couldn’t run his home rental business and we took over.”
He found boxing when he was 15, after following his older brother, Leonardo, who was an amateur boxer, to the gym.
“I started with the goal of losing weight, as I was overweight and got into fights in high school because of bullying,” he recalled.
Guadalajara was a tough place for him to grow up in and one where there is a lot of competition in boxing gyms.
“I love it, but the boxing gyms are tough,” he explained. “There are hundreds of kids who have a dream to be Canelo Alvarez and world champions, all of them are hard to beat.”
Not surprisingly, given his style, he lists Mexico’s best among his boxing heroes.
“Julio César Chávez, like all the Mexicans and (Gennadiy) Golovkin,” he said. “Amazing styles, always fighting forward without thinking of taking a step back.”
He hopes to one day follow in their illustrious footsteps.
“First of all, to be a world champion,” he said. “And think about unifying the welterweight division and then moving up to junior middleweight and middleweight.”
Away from boxing, Flores likes to stay active.
“I like to spend time with my friends, but without staying up late or falling into vices or bad behavior,” he said. “I go to bed early because I have the responsibility to train early.
“I also enjoy going to Chapala and Cajitlán lagoons, it’s something that relaxes me and I can take advantage of the fact that it’s about 40 minutes from my house.”
Fight-by-fight record
2024
May 24 – Juan Pablo Romero – UD 10
March 8 – Miguel Macias – TKO 4
2023
December 2 – Fe Shawn Owens – TKO 8
July 21 – Eduardo Sanchez – TKO 9
March 25 – Franco Ola – TKO 2
2022
Nov 19 – Ernesto Sanchez – TKO 2
September 10 – Alexis Rios – MD 8
August 12 – Ricardo Banos – TKO 3
May 21 – Felipe Orozco – RTD 3
March 5 – Mario Martinez – TKO 1
2021
30 Oct – Braulio Barajas – TKO 1
9 Oct – Alberto Reyes – TKO 3
June 26 – Geovanny Lopez – KO 1
Questions and/or comments can be sent to Anson at (email protected).
