Daniel Barrera is ready to explore the lessons learned from rivaling legend Christian Robles
Hope Daniel Barrera’s education continues.
With advice from one of boxing’s biggest names, the undefeated fighter hopes to make it to the top of the flyweight division.
Barrera will face Christian Robles tonight at the Chumash Casino Resort in Santa Ynez, California. The eight-round bout will precede a big fight between undefeated junior middleweight Callum Walsh and Carlos Ortiz.
Both fights will air live on UFC Fight Pass (10 pm ET/ 7 pm PT).
On Thursday’s weigh-in, Barrera weighed in at 112 pounds. Robles came in at 111.4 pounds.
The Barrera-Robles fight was moved up to the main event after the Karlos Balderas-Gilberto Zarate fight was canceled after Zarate came in at 137 pounds.
Barrera (6-0-1, 4 knockouts), who lives in Riverside, California, will face Robles at a crossroads between prospects in the Los Angeles area. Robles (8-2, 3 KOs) may have lost his last two fights, but Barrera is not ignoring the 27-year-old.
“I’m really motivated,” Barrera told The Ring on Monday afternoon. “I’m definitely motivated because I saw who he fought, including the Olympian. He also fought a fighter with a great resume. To be honest, people have been asking me if this is like the LA competition. That’s not the case. For me, it’s just another opponent that we’ll get out of the way and move on to the next one.”
The 22-year-old has developed into a top player, working with Southern California-based trainer Al Franco. He is also a regular partner of former four-weight world champion Roman ‘Chocolatito’ Gonzalez, who has his training camp in the Coachella Valley area of Southern California.
Gonzalez was involved in Barrera’s previous fight on February 23, a second round decision over Jonathan Almacen. That battle also took place in Santa Ynez.
After many rounds of sparring that gained and improved his skill set, Barrera is once again following the advice given by Gonzalez.
“Seeing such a big man come out to see me fight and talk to me after the fights, giving me pointers, not only on the boxing side, but he actually told my mother to get me out of trouble, to avoid me. in certain things because I have a good future,” said Barrera, who is managed by Ray Chaparro. “It’s great to hear things like this from him, especially him. He is a big name in our division. He was really the one who brought eyes to our separation. It’s good to have someone like him speak well of me.”
Tonight will be Barrera’s third fight of 2024, which includes a one-sided decision victory over Hector Valdes Pena in his last fight on April 20.
Barrera believes in the mantra of ‘Work Matters,’ as it has allowed him to develop his skill set. After tonight’s fight, Barrera hopes to fight at least twice this year, injury free.
“In reality, we could get, really, five fights,” Barrera said. “There’s no doubt about it, four. If we can get five there, that would be great, depending on how the battles go. Now, we make eight rounders. Camps are a little longer. Bodies need more time to recover after camps and fights.
“As a fighter, to stay consistent like that, to fight in a row, I think it’s good. You don’t waste time getting in shape, you don’t waste time getting your time back, you don’t waste your time getting all this fat off. You don’t miss a step. You may slow down a bit but it doesn’t take long to come back after a week or two off training and back in the gym and ready (for the next fight). So I prefer to stay busy. I feel like, because we’ve been busy this year, no hiccups, no injuries, no surgeries, anything like that. I feel like I have improved a lot in a short time as a fighter.”
Barrera has fought most of his young career between 112 and 115 pounds. His most recent fights have been at junior bantamweight.
The fight against Robles is at flyweight, which is the weight class that Barrera hopes to stay in for a while, where he can fight and finally fight and win the world belt.
“Initially, our plan was to start (my professional career) at 112 (kilograms). Every time we try to fight at 112, everybody wants to (fight) at 115. I don’t really know why. This fight against Robles will be at 112. The goal is definitely to be a contender at 112 and get a title at this weight. When we’re ready to go up to 115, we’ll go up to 115, do the same to 112, then go up to 118. I don’t expect us to go up anytime soon, up to 118, forever. Maybe another year or two. Almost two years. I am still growing in my body. I have to be patient and see where my body takes me.”
Barrera continues to develop as a fighter from his pro debut in July 2022. Part of his development has been seeing things from his own perspective rather than his trainer’s or manager’s.
A win over Robles, along with his promotion, will ensure Barrera’s continued presence in the ring.
“I learned a lot about patience in the ring. That was one of the most important things I had to learn as a fighter. I’ve learned, as a fighter, you can’t take everyone out. Which is great because if you get all six rounds, you get all the experience you can get. All rounds count as professionals. You can be 10-0, 10 KO, but you won’t have the same experience as a 10-0 (fighter) with no KOs because he went the distance every fight.
“I would say patience, ring IQ, boxing IQ, I have started to see things for myself. As a fighter, you need to test things and if it doesn’t work, then try another way. Don’t get discouraged when things don’t work right away. I learned a lot of patience, ring IQ, boxing IQ, just working really helped me focus on my craft. I feel good.”
Francisco A. Salazar has written for The Ring since October 2013 and has handled boxing in Southern California and internationally since 2000. Francisco also covers boxing for the Ventura County (California) Star newspaper. They can be reached at [email protected]
