Chucky Barrera Has Something To Prove – To Himself – Saturday

After super flyweight prospect Daniel “Chucky” Barrera of Eastvale, California suffered a surprising upset loss by majority decision to Cristopher Rios of Compton, Barrera didn’t get mad.

Barrera got jacked.

Barrera (8-1-1, 4 KOs) has a fire lit under him after the wakeup call to make changes. He intends to show the results of the work he’s put in as he returns to the ring Saturday, June 21, as part of the 360 Boxing Promotions “Hollywood Fight Nights” card at Chumash Casino Resort in Southern California, headlined by undefeated super welterweight Callum Walsh.

The seven-fight card will air on UFC Fight Pass starting at 10 p.m. ET/7 p.m. PT, with the best lineup on a light weekend of boxing in the U.S.

The first opponent to get a look at New Chucky is Basilio Franco of Norwalk, California via Jalisco, Mexico (10-3, 8 KOs), who’s on a four-fight knockout streak, although against admittedly limited opposition in Tijuana. Barrera describes him as a tough southpaw who will make it a rugged fight.

Chucky Barrera: “Sore For Two Months”

Chucky Barrera and trainer Al Franco reinvented his training to include an emphasis on adding strength. Photo: 360 Boxing Promotions

Speaking to Barrera this week as he prepared for fight night, we asked him about the impressive muscle he’s put on I the past few months.

Barrera was pleased that the difference was obvious. “I didn’t put all that work for no reason,” he laughed. It was serious business for Barrera to get back on track.

“We worked a lot on strengthening this camp,” said Barrera, saying he and trainer Al Franco determined his strength training had been neglected.

“When things are working, it’s rare to change them until things are not working. Like they say,’ if it isn’t broken, don’t fix it,’ right? But our last performance. we saw we didn’t perform our best.”

In Barrera’s recent camp leading up to Saturday’s fight, he added a serious weight training regimen, without cutting back on the boxing training. “We did a lot of legs, a lot of shoulders, chest, back, forearms, everything, just everything. And besides the strengthening, we would still do our boxing that same day. That’s brutal,” said Barrera.

Asked whether he has needed to adjust his boxing mechanics, Barrera said he’s prioritized maintaining speed to compensate for the new muscle mass by being sure not to neglect conditioning training. “I do feel a little faster, and I can maintain a higher output for longer … For two months, I’ve been sore 90% of the time,” said Barrera.

No Family, No Phone During Training Camp

Chucky Barrera displayed his skills and emerged from fight camp seclusion with a visit to the Wild Card Gym in Hollywood. Photo: 360 Boxing Promotions

Barrera comes into his first fight after the loss with new energy and enthusiasm, turning lemons into lemonade.

“All the training that we’ve been doing, it’s just been super tough, super rugged, and I think that has changed our mentality,” said Barrera, saying it’s showing up in sparring sessions where he’s more the bully than the boxer, “pushing people around.”

Even harder for an aspiring 22-year-old professional: trainer Franco took Barrera’s phone away, as the pair worked away from home in Arizona. He won’t get it back before the fight.

But Barrera said it was being away from home for training that was hardest for him. “This is the sport I chose. This is the sacrifices you need to make for certain fights, and this is one of those fights. They only get harder the more you rise up through the ranks.”

Barrera is now eager to see how the hard work he puts in pays off.

“I’m very excited for this fight. I’ve trained my butt off for this fight. I’ve been away from my family for so long, and I’m just ready to go.

“That loss showed me that I needed to work harder, because the output that was given on my end was very, very low, and I didn’t feel 100% that fight. I was there, but I wasn’t focused on the game plan. I was focused on winning. That took a lot away from my performance.

“After that performance, I was super hard on myself,” explained Barrera. “Then Wednesday (after the fight weekend) came, and it was a totally different me, and I’m glad I was hard on myself. I’m very realistic with my performances, and I think it’s good to be open and honest about it, because at the end of the day, it’s only gonna make yourself better. Honestly is going to make yourself better. Good, honest critics are gonna make yourself better.”

Support From The “360 Goons”

Callum Walsh returns Saturday along with Daniel Barrera on a seven-fight card airing on UFC Fight Pass.

Barrera says he feels prepared for anything this Saturday. “I don’t think anything (Franco) does will be a problem for us if we have to adjust, we’ll adjust. We have to box. We’ll box, but I’m in great shape for that regardless. If I have to throw 100 punches a round. I’ll throw 100 punches a round and be fresh for the next.” Barrera anticipates two more bouts this year, aiming for September and December.

Fighting under Tom Loeffler’s 360 Boxing Promotions means fighting on cards with many of his promotional stablemates, and the rest in the seats cheering their crew on. Barrera says it’s a big benefit to have this support system.

“When I started, (Omar) Trinidad was just an upcoming prospect. And now he has a title,” the WBC Featherweight Continental Americas title. Barrera also named Russian light heavyweight Umar Dzambekov, who fights Saturday with an undefeated record of 11 wins. “Umar was already a rising prospect, and he’s even a bigger prospect.

“We’re very supportive of each other, and it’s just super exciting to be around each other. We just know that we’re all growing as fighters, and as a promotion as well,” said Barrera.

The nickname “360 Goons” is spreading, and fans might be seeing the merchandise with the moniker show up in the near future.

No one likes the attitude it better than UFC’s Dana White, who provides the UFC Fight Pass platform for 360 Boxing Promotions cards and who likes working with Loeffler to promote his talents. White is especially high on Saturday’s headliner Callum Walsh. It’s not a bad time in boxing to have this kind of relationship with White as TKO/Zuffa Boxing moves forward.

Walsh vs Espadas Heads Up Seven Fight Card Saturday

In addition to Walsh (13-0, 11 KOs) vs. Elias Espadas of Mexico (23-6-1, 16 KOs), undercard fights include:

Umar Dzambekov takes on experienced veteran Roamer Alexis Angulo of Colombia.

Super lightweight Cain Sandoval of Sacramento (15-0, 13 KOs) vs Jonathan Jose Eniz of Argentina (36-22-1, 17 KOs)

Light heavyweight Umar Dzambekov of Russia (11-0, 8 KOs) vs. Roamer Alexis Angulo of Colombia (28-3, 23 KOs)

Welterweight Gor Yeritsyan of Armenia (20-1, 16 KOs) vs. Vernon Brown of Chicago (13-2-1, 9 KOs)

Fan favorite Iyana Verduzco returns on Saturday.

Featherweight Iyana “Right Hook Roxy” Verduzco of Los Angeles (4-0, 1 KO) vs. Celene Roman of Mexico (6-3-1).