Undefeated 20-year-old lightweight boxer Gabriel Flores Jr. has already captured the heart of Stockton, California. Now, he has his eyes set on Las Vegas.
Dubbed the Stockton King, Gabriel Flores Jr. is 17-0, with 6 knockouts. He is a boxer puncher, with impressive movement and footwork and a dangerous left hook.
Tonight, he will headline Top Rank’s card on ESPN versus Josec Ruiz, 21-2-3. The card was originally slated to be headlined by Jose Pedraza vs Mikkel LesPierre, but that fight was pulled last minute due to a positive COVID-19 test from LesPierre’s manager. This moved Flores Jr. to the headlining spot. Somewhere where he belongs.
Flores is no stranger to being in the spotlight. Last year, at 19 years old Flores Jr. sold over 10,000 tickets to fill Stockton Arena for his matchup versus Eduardo Pereira Reis. Unheard of for someone his age, but Flores has repped Stockton from Day 1, and when it was time for the city to reciprocate that love, they did so in a major way. When speaking with Gabriel Flores Jr. earlier this week he expressed how important his hometown city was to him and how much the love meant to him. And he proved it by delivering a performance worth coming out for. If you missed it, here’s how it ended.
https://streamable.com/pmgyqa
He also fought earlier this year on the Wider vs Fury 2 card. He faced Matt Conway in what was a showcase of talent. He had a first-round knockdown and then proceeded to school Conway round after round before getting the majority decision. I asked him what he did after the impressive performance and he told me that he enjoyed a meal from his favorite restaurant Carbone, and then came back and watched the rest of the card.
I also asked Flores how he felt about fighting in these new conditions, without a crowd and he made it clear that he has his eyes on one thing and one thing only… Josec Ruiz. If you have followed Gabriel Flores Jr., you know that you are in for a treat. If you haven’t had the opportunity to watch him fight, tune in to ESPN tonight and be prepared to be impressed.
Photo: Julio Celso Sanchez / G-Squad Entertainment