Joel “The Quiet Storm”Siapno makes his professional debut on Friday, July 18th at Longshoreman’s hall on the undercard of Fox Sports 1 card. For Siapno, the debut is coming just at the right time “I had great sparring for this camp I got to work with Karim Mayfield and Zab Judah in Las Vegas for this camp.”
Yet more than meets the eye with the intimidating stature of Siapno, who seemingly is as tall as he is wide without an inch of body fat as he hit mitts at Milpitas Boxing & Fitness, a week before his professional debut. Siapno this past year graduated college with his nursing degree, which is a more altruistic field than the one that Siapno is now currently making his strides in. So how did this happen? How did someone with a promising career and seemingly no need to fight choose to fight? Well, it is for the same reasons I choose to write, Siapno could not forgive himself on not giving himself a chance on a dream and with a solid backup plan in life, Siapno wants to see how he matches up with the highest level of competition out there.
“It’s been a long time coming, I can’t wait.”Siapno said as he made mention of his professional debut stating that if the fight was two weeks prior he could of fought just as easily. Siapno’s coach Arvin Jugarap of Kennel Boxing Gym in San Leandro, CA explained this notion further “We go 100% in training, I want my guys to get their timing down the way it will be in there. If you get use to going 80% too often then you can struggle fight night since you are [accustom] to fighting at different speeds.”
As Siapno hit mitts held by Coach Jugarap, a thudding crack was heard from the body work that landed as well as each hook landing violently making the observer worry about Jugarap’s safety if he were to get hit. For someone as kind, polite and well educated as Siapno is, inside the ropes Siapno is a relentless competitive monster who unleashes powerful shots with no solace for that of whom absorbs them. It would not stop at just that though after three minutes of mitt work, Siapno would spend a minute on the ropes punching continuously as one might say “burning out”, this was the tradition of each of the five rounds, Siapno hit mitts for.
“My guys get bored when we take breaks”Coach Jugarap said as Siapno paced around unsure what to do as he was forced to take a minute break between rounds. “I had to cut back training a bit for this camp since the guys love going so hard in the gym.”Jugarap continued as Siapno and stable mate Benjamin Briceno, who also fights on Friday and shared the stage at Milpitas Boxing & Fitness for the media day proved that a strong work ethic is part of the equation of Kennel Boxing Gym trained boxers.
Siapno, a Filipino American not just gets to make a debut on any old card, he is also going to be on a card headlined by Mercito “No Mercy”Gesta for Fox Sports 1. Gesta at one time was believed to be the next great Filipino boxer, but then suffered a loss to lightweight kingpin Miguel Vasquez in which he simply looked befuddled on the Manny Pacquiao-Juan Manuel Marquez IV PPV in Las Vegas, NV. Since then Gesta has signed with Golden Boy Promotions and is rebuilding his career to where it was when he fought for a world title.
As Siapno stood stoic yet fun loving answering any and all questions from the media, his nickname was evident. Siapno simply is not fazed or bothered by any moment in life, observing him you could see how a calling in a stressful field like working in the Emergency Room could suit his temperament as he is present, but not fluctuating in mood or demeanor. Siapno is cerebral yet not too a fault, he wants a violent ending to the fight, but willing to work with what he is given. All the while Siapno shows little about what he is thinking via facial expression like a highly skilled poker player.
For Siapno and Jugarap, the relationship is deeper than just a fighter and trainer, Siapno is the first fighter to be raised from the ground level up. Siapno started visiting the gym as a senior in high school with no hopes of becoming a boxer; it was just a new way to train for him. Siapno now is closing in on his fifth year now with the gym and approximately 16 amateur fights later, he is now a professional boxer. It is as though the profession chooses him and he had no choice, but to fulfill the promise he could potential garner in the pro ranks.
All that being said, this is no easy fight for a pro debut as Siapno was originally slated to face a fighter with losing record as his first test in the professional game, but now faces Jesus Sanchez another fighter making his professional debut. Not just is there little to any footage of Jesus Sanchez, but the fact that his name is a more common name. Why might this matter? The footage one might find on the internet could be of the wrong Jesus Sanchez. In short, the fight is essentially like the amateurs, you don’t know who you are going to face, what stance they are and what not until essentially you weigh in as BoxRec, the famed boxing reference site, is just as lost on Sanchez as seemingly most people are to this point offering essentially no information.
For Siapno one thing is present, a firm belief in the system in place at The Kennel Boxing Gym that the pressure that they put on fighters will force Sanchez into an unpleasant circumstance. “I am hoping for a knockout, but if I have to grind out a decision I am fine with that too!”Siapno said as the big mission for Friday night is to get the win.
Joel Siapno will be on the undercard of Gesta vs. Arceo, a 10-round lightweight bout presented by Golden Boy Promotions, Don Chargin Productions and Paco Presents and is sponsored by Corona and O’Reilly Auto Parts. Doors open at 6:00 p.m. with the first bell sounding at 6:30 p.m.
The FOX Sports 1 and FOX Deportes broadcast airs live at 10:00 p.m. ET/7:00 p.m. PT.
Tickets, priced at $150, $85, $65 and $55, not including applicable service charges and taxes, are on sale now and available for purchase by visiting www.pacopresentsboxing.com.
