By Mario Ortega Jr.
For Stockton, California-based lightweight prospect Manuel Jaimes and his team, 2024 has been the year when maneuvering the minefield that is the professional boxing business went from a game of checkers to one of high stakes chess. When Jaimes boards a plane to Las Vegas in September, making his fourth fight trip of the year, but hopefully the third to actually bear out an appearance in the ring, the six-year pro will be on his way to the most important weekend of his boxing life. Jaimes finds himself in the position fighters from all over the world dream of gaining as he is set to take on former interim lightweight champion Rolando Romero on the Canelo Alvarez-Edgar Belanga pay-per-view- telecast emanating from the T-Mobile Arena on Mexican Independence Day weekend.
Jaimes (16-1-1, 11 KOs) is a relative unknown on the national fight scene despite his impressive record. Earlier this year, Jaimes was poised to make his first impression at the international level with a scheduled ESPN+-streamed bout against Top Rank prospect Charlie Sheehy in San Diego, California. At the time of their scheduled bout, slated to take place on the May 18th undercard of Denys Berinchyk-Emmanuel Navarrete, Jaimes had fought almost exclusively between 130 and 135-pounds, but agreed to give up a pound to make the fight at 136. Unfortunately, Sheehy could not come close and the fight never took place.
“We were all really excited when that fight came together,” recalls Jaimes of the Sheehy bout, which had many aficionados in the region intrigued. “I went down to camp in Riverside at Robert Garcia’s gym. We put in a lot of work for that fight. A lot of sparring, a lot of rounds. We came to the weigh-ins and I was on weight. My coach told me to go rest, so I stayed back at the hotel room because we knew he was overweight already, it was just a matter of how much and if we were going to be able to come to an agreement and make something happen. Maybe an hour and 30 minutes later, Coach came up and said it was not going to happen and that was a bummer.”
With the disappointment of a fruitless trip down to San Diego in the rearview, Jaimes turned his attention to a July bout against former world super bantamweight champion Jonathan Romero.
“Having just got out of the camp for the [canceled Sheehy] fight in May, we jumped right back in to prepare for July, so I felt sharp,” says Jaimes. “He was an Olympian, a former world champion, and obviously he’s not in his prime now, but he still is a high caliber fighter with the IQ and mindset of a world class fighter, so it was a good test for me.”
Leading up to the July bout, it was Jaimes on this occasion that struggled to make weight. Ultimately an agreement was reached and the bout was set to take place at 139-pounds. Jaimes is of the belief that his struggle with the scale may have helped to put him on the radar during the search for possible Rolando Romero opponents.
“I feel like it was because of my last fight…because I am usually a 135-pounder,” says Jaimes. “That’s the weight I want to be at and the weight I’ve fought at. But in my last fight I had a bad weight cut and came in at 139. We worked it out with the opponent and everything went through. So I was 139 for my last fight. We received a couple calls while I was on my break after that last fight. I had been training since this past February. I fought in March, I was supposed to fight in May and then I had that fight in July. So I was training pretty much the whole first half of the year. I was on my break and feeling like I didn’t want to do anything right now. But when I got back to the gym from my break, they said they had got a couple calls for fights at 140. I pretty much told them I didn’t want to take any fights at 140. But then my promoter Jorge Toscano called me with the Rolly fight, and said, ‘I know you said no fights at 140, but we have this opportunity here and it is on the Canelo card. You’d be opening the pay-per-view…’ And I was like, ‘Damn, let me think about this.’ I decided that it was time. This is the opportunity we’ve been waiting for, so let’s do it.”
Despite not wanting to give up weight to Charlie Sheehy earlier this year or entertaining other offers for fights at 140-pounds subsequent to the July bout with Jonathan Romero, Jaimes’ team believes the proposed fight with Rolando Romero fit the requirements for an exception.
“One of the things I looked at was that [Romero’s] last two fights were the only ones at 140 and he made that weight,” explains Steve Salas, Jaimes’ head trainer, who has been with the Stockton product since he was 14-years-old. “Prior to that [Romero] actually made the 135-pound limit or less as opposed to Charlie Sheehy, who was a “lightweight,” but always had fought above that limit.”
With the fight set for September 14th, Jaimes took part in some of the media blitz over the last week. With little national exposure, outside of YouTube-available streams, Jaimes was an unfamiliar face to much of the boxing media covering the festivities.
“I have been more of a local fighter, so I am known here in the Bay Area, but I am not really known [outside of the region,] so even at the press conference, not many people knew who I was,” explains Jaimes. “A lot of people were doing interviews and I was basically just there. So I haven’t had a lot of people coming to me and asking me stuff. A couple people have, but not too many.”
When Jaimes found himself in the presence of Romero for the first time since signing for the bout, during the press tour last week, the Stockton prospect found a more subdued Rolly than maybe he had expected.
“I know the first time we locked eyes, it felt like he knew who I was, and I know who he is,” says Jaimes. “During the face-off, he didn’t say anything and I thought he would have. During the press conference, there was not too much trash talk and I expected a little more. I think it is because I am not well-known, so it is probably harder to find something to bash me on.”
Preparing for Romero’s unorthodox style presents challenges. Jaimes seems more intent on testing himself against naturally larger junior welterweights in preparation, while he will draw on prior experience to thwart what Rolly presents in September.
“I feel it would be hard to find someone to mimic his wild style, but we are going to go down to Riverside again,” said Jaimes on Saturday, referring to the famed camp of Robert Garcia. “I will be leaving in about ten days. I just came back today and sparred with Ebert Diaz. He’s a real solid, big strong guy with the strength of a big 140-pounder.”
“We have been fortunate enough to have been in the ring with unorthodox boxers before, so it’s not his first time,” says Salas. “At the same time, Manny is going to present some problems that Rolly will have to deal with.”
Perhaps equally difficult to prepare for, Jaimes will have the adjustment of fighting on the largest stage possible in the sport of boxing. Canelo Alvarez is the biggest gate attraction active in boxing, especially in the United States. Fighting in front of a crowd, that even if many attendees have failed to find their seat by the opening bell, will be the largest of his career, Jaimes understands the gravity of the moment.
“There is nothing that could compare,” says Jaimes. “This is definitely the biggest stage you could possibly be on: opening a pay-per-view card for Canelo, who is probably top one or two on most people’s pound-for-pound lists right now. To be opening that, I am not sure there are any ways to prepare for that. I just have to try to not let those lights get too bright and stay focused on the task.”
One of the great aspects of professional boxing is that it is one of the few sports where you can witness an athlete completely change the trajectory of their life in one night, or with just one punch. Jaimes has been building to this moment for six years as a pro and he is determined to take advantage of the opportunity.
“I am really excited and I am going to put the performance of my life on in this one,” says Jaimes. “It puts me on the main scene, being put on the card has kind of put me there. But with a win, then you can start throwing my name up there with the top contenders, the guys that are fighting for world titles. This is big. I need this one and I am going to win.”
Photo by Esther Lin/Premier Boxing Champions
Mario Ortega Jr. can be reached at [email protected]
