Brian Mendoza demonstrated that perseverance and a little luck can lead to big things.
The 154-pounder from Albuquerque lost two of three fights between 2019 and 2021, the second a one-sided decision against rising star Jesus Ramos. He seemed to have hit his ceiling as a relevant boxer.
Then he received a phone call.
Yoelvis Gomez had pulled out of his Nov. 5 160-pound fight with former unified champion Jeison Rosario. Would Mendoza be willing to step in for Gomez on short notice at an unnatural weight?
Absolutely.
“As soon as I heard about the possibility, I said, ‘Pleeeeeease get me that fight and watch what I do,” Mendoza told Boxing Junkie.
What Mendoza did was knock out the once-feared Dominican in five rounds, a victory that made him a player again and earned him a fight with top contender Sebastian Fundora on Saturday at Dignity Health Sports Park in Carson, California (Showtime).
He’s pleased with the turnaround but not surprised.
“I’m a full-time fighter,” he said. “Ever since I got into boxing, all I do is eat, sleep and breathe boxing. It’s been my obsession. I took the [Ramos] loss and just said, ‘Where do I go from here? How do I regroup?’
“I had a lot of faith. I believed that with my work ethic, the experience I gained, the team behind me, my dreams were still achievable.”
Of course, another potential hazard lies ahead.
Rosario was in decline at the time he met Mendoza, having suffered back-to-back knockouts against Jermell Charlo and Erickson before winning three meaningless fights in the Dominican Republic. He retired after losing to Mendoza.
By contrast, Fundora (20-0-1, 13 KOs) is one of the hottest fighters in the world. The 6-foot-6 brawler stopped Lubin in his breakout victory in April of last year.
Mendoza doesn’t seem to fazed, even by Fundora’s height and the fact he’s left-handed. He’s 5-foot-10 and fights from an orthodox stance.
“I used to help out a UFC fighter, Tim Means, get ready for his fights,” he said. “… He’s like 6-2, a 6-2 southpaw that fights inside. Just tons of pressure and everything. So I feel I’ve had the look since I was an amateur.
“And over the years there’s been tons of tall guys. Even before I got the call for this fight I was in there with cruiserweights. I’m sparring big dudes. So I don’t care about the height.
“I know how to get in, I know how to move around, I know how to neutralize their best assets. It’s just another style. Every style if different that you have to neutralize and bring out your best weapons.
“It’s just another fight I have to go in there and get the job done.”
If he can, an opportunity to fight for a genuine world title – Fundora holds an “interim” belt – could be around the corner, which would’ve been difficult to imagine two years ago.
Indeed, he will have come a long way in a short time.
“This my Rocky movie,” he said. “It’s incredible. Every step of the way I wasn’t supposed to be here. I started boxing at like 15, 16 years old. I had less than 30 amateur fights. I turned pro, got my experience as a pro mostly.
“The whole way I wasn’t supposed to get this far, I wasn’t supposed to get this far. And I just keep proving people wrong and taking it farther.”