Mauricio Herrera has become somewhat of a hardcore fan’s darling this year. He went on the road to Puerto Rico and most feel he soundly defeated Danny Garcia even though the judges said otherwise. Then on the Canelo-Angulo undercard he showed that he can box and war if needed as he beat Johan Perez by decision in an entertaining fight. Now he’s front and center this weekend as the only Golden Boy boxer on a Top Rank Card in Las Vegas at the Cosmopolitan, even as Golden Boy has a colliding card down the street at the MGM Grand Arena. Maybe its because of necessity but the Cold War between Golden Boy and Top Rank seems to be thawing.
“I’m glad that’s done with at least it seems that way, and against Jose Benavidez, I’m the only Golden Boy guy on that card,” Herrera told ThaBoxingVoice.com. “ It’s pretty big breaking the ice. It’s going to be good because I’m going to be putting on a great show. We can show why they should be working together more, a lot of fights to be made and this is one of them.”
Herrera has never been one to receive a promotional push for most of his career. But that’s never deterred him as he’s played the role of spoiler against the likes of Ruslan Provodnikov and Danny Garcia and on a Top Rank card looks to do so again when he takes on one of Top Ranks prospects, Jose Benavidez Jr.
“I’m always the favorite to lose or maybe they think I’m an opponent but it motivated me to play the role of spoiler. At this point I’m going to keep doing what I do and hopefully the crowd likes the fight,” a very confident Herrera said.
Herrera has studied his opponent and says that Benavidez will be tested in a major way, something he hasn’t faced in his career.
“I’ve seen him. He hasn’t fought anyone tough yet,” stated Herrera. “It’s going to be a big test for him as well. I know he likes to use his reach and height and he’s not much of a runner so I’m not going to have to chase him too much. Unless he has some different game plan and if he does that’s not him. We’re going to come to spoil everything he’s going to bring.”
Herrera intends on putting on a good show. Although he may not be the biggest of punchers and is known more for his boxing ability, he does stand in the pocket and trades when he can. The key for him is being smart and knowing when you can trade.
“It depends on the fighter. You got to play it smart with some fighters,” explained Herrera.” Like Ruslan Provodnikov is a strong puncher. I’m not going to just sit there and trade punches and get hurt bad and cause me to lose the fight. Johan Perez’ power, I could take his punches well and I was trying to prove a point but you have to be smart with bigger punches. Jose Benavidez’, style after I taste some of his punches, I will push the action if I have to.”
There were a lot of rumors of a possible rematch with Ruslan Provodnikov but Provodnikov turned the fight down on the Hopkins-Kovalev undercard so when Herrera turned down the fight in Russia, he says he was just returning the favor.
“We were going to fight on the Hopkins’ undercard and his team was asking Golden Boy for a lot of money,” stated Herrera on the negotiations. “He had no title and I had an interim title. They didn’t want to come to a deal and they turned us down and did their little thing in Russia. Then they tried to get me to out there and then we returned the favor.”
Even though it never materialized this year, he says a Provodnikov rematch is more of a reality than a Garcia rematch
“I don’t think Danny wants any part of me,” stated Herrera on a rematch. “They don’t give any feedback as to what happened in our fight but we keep reminding him. If I get a chance, I’ll keep reminding him of what happened in Puerto Rico. Provodnikov is a closer rematch to make then Danny.”
But first things first, Jose Benavidez, a fight that his promoter Oscar De La Hoya said he would watch live and then go to the Golden Boy promoted card happening 1 mile away. Herrera says because of that he has to impress.
“Of course, that’s pressure for him to go to the card to just watch me, but I’ve been dealing with pressure all my career. Saturday you’re going to see good action mixed in with the sweet science.”
