What’s not to love about boxing these days? The sport has increased its exposure utilizing non-traditional outlets while developing new stars that are going to carry the sport for the years to come.
Siblings come and go in boxing and some see success like the Klitschkos while others don’t.
In today’s boxing world, everyone talks about the Charlos as they are “talking the talk and walking the walk” so to speak while capturing the attention of the majority of boxing fans. I am here to tell you though that there is a new breed of brothers coming out of Santa Maria, CA who are making a ton of noise on the west coast and to many boxing insiders, have the potential to be stars in the sport.
The Balderas brothers, Jose and Karlos (pictured above) who signed with Richard Schaefer’s Ringstar sports, are the two young men who fight fans here in California are really excited about.
Growing up, it wasn’t easy for the Balderas brothers as their grandparents raised them since their parents were living in Mexico at the time. In a video documentary with ITR boxing, Karlos mentioned that his grandfather worked in the strawberry fields and at times, even slept there in an effort to provide for the family.
Karlos, the younger brother, started boxing at the age of 7, which originally came as punishments from fighting in school all of the time. At that age, it was clear what he wanted to accomplish: make it to the Olympics and then become a professional boxer. Coming from a household which saw up to 17 family members living in it. There were times where their father, who now lives in the U.S and serves as their trainer, sold two of his cars in order for them to have enough money for expenses and travel during boxing tournaments.
Another significant moment occurredwhen their grandfather sold a watch that was handed down from a few generations within the Balderas family just so that Karlos could have enough money for expenses during the Olympics.
After returning from the Olympics and earning a watch of his own, he gave it to his grandfather as a token of appreciation for the sacrifices he made. While all of this was going on for Karlos, his older brother Jose was making his name in the amateur circuit by winning tournaments and making it up to the quarter finals of the Olympic trials. Jose waited for his younger brother to finish with the Olympics so that they could both turn pro at the same time.
After the Olympics in 2016, the Balderas brothers were heavily courted by many boxing promoters, but ultimately decided to sign with Richard Schaefer and Ringstar sports. Schaefer feels like these brothers have the talent to really make a big impact on the sport for years to come.
In 2017, Karlos Balderas was named California Boxing Hall of Fame Prospect of the year and looks to continue to capitalize off of that momentum.
Here is a breakdown of the Balderas Brothers:
“King” Karlos Balderas
Age: 22
Record: 5-0 with 4 wins by KO
Division: Super Featherweight
King Karlos has been fighting between 130 and 135 lbs. as he continues to develop and refine his boxing abilities. He will eventually settle in and campaign at super featherweight, which is a division loaded with talent and he can really see some big fights down the road. Richard Schafer has mentioned that his style of fighting reminds him of a combination of Oscar De La Hoya and Fernando Vargas. In his last fight against Alex Silva, he finished him off so quickly in the first round that it really didn’t give anyone a chance to see more of him. If you go back to his fight in February against Jorge Rojas, you will see what the buzz is surrounding him as he shows lighting speed with power and some good ring awareness. Although not mentioned anywhere, with the Mikey Garcia unification fight against Robert Easter Jr. happening at the end of July, there is a good chance we see him fight on the undercard of that one.
Jose Balderas
Age: 23
Record: 3-0
Division: Bantamweight
Jose has been campaigning in the 118-pound bantamweight division since the start of his career. Although he has not been as active as his brother due to some early injuries, Jose has a similar “speed kills” type of boxing style. He has not shown to be a big puncher so far and his first three fights went to the scorecards. He has received a little less attention than his bro but that should not take away from the fact that he is a bright prospect on the verge of something special. Being in a red-hot bantamweight division, Jose will certainly have no shortage of opponents to face while he builds up his resume. If all goes well, I can see him being billed on that same July 28th Staples Center card.
The New World Order was a faction that was prominent in wrestling back in the late 90’s. They were edgy and birthed some talented wrestlers who eventually became bigger stars under the tutelage of an experienced veteran in the form of Hulk Hogan. Richard Schaefer is that veteran in the game and he hopes to take the Balderas brothers and make them into the stars he believes they are.
Born and raised in the Bronx, New York City, Abe grew up in a family who were and still are die-hard boxing fans. He started contributing boxing articles to NYF in 2017. Abe through his hard work, has made his way up the ranks and is now the editor at NYFights. He is also a member of the Boxing Writers Association of America (BWAA).
