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It has been a long time, too long, between fights for Albuquerque’s Jason Sanchez.
His two-year, 11-day hiatus is scheduled to end Friday, when he takes on Mexican veteran Rafael Reyes in the 10-round junior-lightweight main event of an eight-bout, Tapia Promotions boxing card at the Rio Rancho Events Center.
Has any rust accumulated?
“I don’t think so, but we’ll see,” Sanchez (15-3, eight knockouts) said in an interview with the Journal after Thursday’s “Boxing Day” weigh-in at the New Mexico State Capitol Building. “I feel great.”
For Sanchez, out of the ring has not meant out of the gym. It helps when one’s family owns the gym one trains in: Sanchez Brothers Boxing in Albuquerque’s South Valley.
“I’m always in there,” Sanchez said, “training and working out and training other people.”
Reyes (20-15, 16 KOs), who now lives in Clovis, had a 14-1 record in 2014 before his career took a trip south. He enters Friday’s fight with a 6-14 record in his last 20 bouts.
He’s lost his last two bouts, by first-round knockout to Eridson Garcia (then 15-0) and by third-round disqualification (for what was deemed excessive holding) to Javier Fernandez (then 10-0) in San Antonio, Texas.
The Fernandez-Reyes bout while it lasted, however, depicts a fearless, aggressive Reyes who is by no means used up.
“I’ve been some clips on him,” Sanchez said in an interview with ring announcer Christian Schmidt. “I know he looks pretty strong, he comes forward. But we prepared well for him.”
Reyes, interviewed in Spanish and translated by Schmidt, said he prefers to let his gloves do the talking.
“I just come to give great fights,” he said, “and that’s what I’m gonna do Friday night.”
Sanchez’s hiatus began after he parted ways with international promoter Top Rank, Inc., after contesting five bouts as a TR contract fighter.
Having entered the contract undefeated, he went 2-3 under the Top Rank banner, the last a disputed loss by majority decision to Adam Lopez (then 14-2).
“It was just a decision we took,” Sanchez said, “just to kind of be a free agent.”
He and his father and trainer, Pepe, have been in touch with other promoters, he said.
BROTHER ACT: Sanchez and his older brother, junior middlweight José Luís “Güero” Sanchez (11-3-1, four KOs) are scheduled on Friday to perform on the same card for the first time since December 2016.
“People here in New Mexico wanted to see the Sanchez brothers back here in their hometown,” Pepe Sanchez said. “…. We’re very excited.”
The older brother’s six-round bout briefly appeared in jeopardy when his opponent, Reggie Harris Jr. (7-2, three KOs) of Ann Arbor Michigan, weighed in six pounds over the contracted weight. But the bout was saved when Harris agreed to forfeit to Sanchez $200 of his pay.
Harris has been here before, having lost by unanimous decision to Albuquerque’s Josh Torres on a June 17 Tapia Promotions card in Paradise Hills. (Harris came in overweight for that fight, too, though not as egregiously as Thursday.)
The popular Torres (24-7-2, 14 KOs) is on Friday’s card as well, matched against Denver’s Donovan Estrella (13-2, four KOs) in an eight-rounder.
If anyone is more eager to fight than Jason Sanchez, is might be Albuquerque super middleweight Jordanne Garcia – idle since March 2020.
Garcia (4-1-2, no KOs) is matched on Friday against Alabama’s Sonya Dreiling (5-3, 2-0). It’s a rematch of a November 2019 bout, won by Dreiling via majority decision.
