Like a valiant soldier, Antonio Orozco continues his upward trek

Fresh off a win at the Fantasy Springs Resort and Casino in Indio, CA, Antonio “the Simple Man” Orozco (11-0-0, 8 KOs) was awarded a five year contract with Golden Boy Promotions. The signing took place inside their opulent conference room in downtown Los Angeles, less than 20 minutes drive time from Torrance, California, where the 23 year-old light welterweight first came into the world.

The informal ceremony is every boxer’s dream come true. Being signed by a promotional company of Golden Boy’s magnitude can be likened to being a song writer and then getting signed by Capital Records.

You’ve just scored three knock outs in a row and along comes the powers to be stating you’re ready for the big time. Orozco turned professional in 2008 and quickly demonstrated his skills and willingness to mix it up, which is what excites the crowds and more importantly the promoters who love to see the seats filled. With power in both hands they claim Orozco is a natural, a definite prospect who could go all the way.

In his last fight, a thriller, he dominated his foe, Joshua Beeman, from the opening bell. In the first round, he scored a knock down with a powerful left hook. Then he got dropped himself at the very end of the round. He wasn’t hurt, but he sure was surprised. He ended up finishing his opponent off in the third round.

From this point on, his opponents will be tougher and tougher. Thus far the people he has faced had a combined record of 65 wins, 74 losses and 11 draws. The tilted win/loss record is about to change.

If you want to be a world champion, center stage, with the whole world goggling at you, there’s a mighty big price to pay. You got to know that reaching down for that extra effort and being needy for constant and even greater motivation is paramount.

After Orozco put in all those hours, months and years of training at the Community Youth Athletic Center in National City, he must have realized he needed to move on to train with stiffer competition. His coach and confidant, Carlos Barragon Jr. must have realized it too, as he arranged for his student to travel north three times a week to spar.

According to TravelMath.com, the trip up was 121 miles (approximately a two-hour drive). Every Monday, Wednesday and Friday, Orozco and his trainer, Carlos Barragan Jr., made the round-trip. For one fight, they spent a considerable amount of time at the famed Wild Card Boxing Club in Hollywood and for others they visited the Maywood Boxing Club, the Ten Goose Gym, the Fortune Gym and back to the Wild Card, where ever the talent was.

If you want to get better at anything, you have to train with the best, spar with guys who at first are better than you and then also have the best management team. Signing with Frank Espinoza proved to be just the right ticket. After all he’s been around the sport forever and helped Israel Vázquez to reach the top. Espinoza manages an almost incredible amount of talented and promising fighters. To name just a few you have Luis Ramos, Carlos Molina, Abraham Lopez, Ronny Rios, Manny Roman, Jesus Hernandez and now Antonio Orozco. Among the world champions that he has managed, you have of course Vazquez, then Martin “Gallito” Castillo, Enrique Sanchez, Isidro “Chino” Garcia, and “Mighty” Mike Anchondo.

With Orozco’s interest at heart, Barragon Jr. and now Espinoza, kind of remind you of astronomers who are always gauging a star’s intrinsic brightness. They’re the type that are always measuring and calculating every one of Orozco’s strengths and weaknesses to determine which can be improved upon.

The progression can not stop. Orozco must know his hand speed can be better and his legs stronger. Overconfidence is not an option for a champion. His mindset must keep him focused as if he’s still only on the bottom rung of the ladder. How can he ever be certain that his opponent is not surpassing his efforts?

Only the people who have reached that plateau, people like Mike Tyson, Manny Pacquiao, Joe Calzaghe, or the Klitschkos can tell you how hard it was to reach the top, and how hard it is to stay at the top.