Hector Tanajara feels as if he has always been an underdog. Tall, lean, not physically imposing. How good could he be?
Well, results speak for themselves. The San Antonio fighter finished with an amateur record of 125-10 and had the distinction of being a multi-time national champion. He’s 19-0 (5 KOs) in a pro career that is just beginning to take off.
Tanajara is coming off his biggest victory, a unanimous decision over rugged veteran Juan Carlos Burgos on Jan. 11 at the Alamodome. He won nine of 10 rounds on one card, eight of 10 on the other two.
He faces another tough, experienced opponent, Mercito Gesta, in a 10-round lightweight bout on the Vergil Ortiz-Samuel Vargas card July 24 in Indio, Calif., on DAZN.
“In my amateur career, I was always the underdog,” Tanajara told Boxing Junkie. “Even when I won the nationals, people who know me were surprised. They didn’t think I’d win tournaments. I was always a super skinny kid. They saw I had something once I got into the ring.
“I know how hard I work, I know what I have. And I know my time will come.”
Trainer Robert Garcia, one of the best in the business, saw something in the young fighter. He approached Tanajara when he was still an amateur and the two have been a team since then.
Tanajara, who turned pro in 2015, has traveled back and forth from San Antonio to the Robert Garcia Boxing Academy in Riverside, Calif., from the beginning. Still does. As a result, he has been able to spar with the some of the best Los Angeles-area fighters, including Abner Mares, Mikey Garcia and Joseph Diaz Jr.
That kind of experience under the watchful eye of Garcia has helped him grow as a fighter.
“The only way you can get better in boxing is by sparring elite guys, guys that have or are world champions,” he said. “Sometimes sparring guys at that level is harder than the actual fight. I’ve learned a lot.”
Gesta referred to Tanajara as a “very technical boxer.” He’s OK with that description. He takes pride in a skill set he has honed since he took up boxing at 11 years old, pride in his sharp ring acumen and the poise he exhibits in ring.
And while five knockouts in 19 fights might lead one to believe he can’t hurt his opponents, the opponents might say otherwise.
“I have some power,” he said. “A lot of guys I spar with would tell you that. The knockouts haven’t come mostly because they just haven’t presented themselves. At the end of the day, I don’t care as long as I get the win.
“And I think I still entertain the crowd even without a lot of knockouts.”
Gesta (32-3-3, 17 KOs) was stopped for the first time in his career by Juan Antonio Rodriguez in March of last year but Rodriguez is a bona fide puncher.
The fact is the 32-year-old Filipino is a skillful, experienced southpaw who moves well and has some power himself. In other words, we’ll have a better idea exactly how good Tanajara is after this fight.
Garcia likes his man’s chances.
“Hector is a very smart fighter,” Garcia told The Ventura County Star. “He has great boxing skills. He started working with Charles Trembley on his conditioning and strength. I really believe that will help him a lot.
“Gesta will be a difficult, tough fight. Gesta has lots of experience. We know that a win would put Hector a lot closer to a bigger fight and possible a championship fight.”
Indeed it would. He has already begun calling out the likes of Devin Haney and Ryan Garcia. And that sort of fight would seem to be on the horizon.
Of course, Tanajara would almost certainly enter the ring as the underdog in such a matchup. Then, if his pattern continues, everyone would understand after the opening bell that he belongs in the ring at that level.
“Yes, I’m confident,” he said. “That’s how I was raised, that’s what my parents taught me. I know the hard work I’ve put in. I know some others aren’t working as hard and that they don’t have the quality work I have with Robert Garcia.
“I want to be a multiple-weight world champion, maybe in the Hall of Fame one day, to just be a name that people remember.”
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