Unbeaten Welterweight Brian Ceballo admits his aim is to replicate the great Puerto Rican fighters of the past, ahead of his return against Larry Gomez on Thursday night, live on NBC Sports.
Ceballo (11-0, 6 KOs) tackles Gomez (10-1, 8 KOs), as the pair step up to 10 rounds for the first time on the Ring City USA series at Freddie Roach’s famous Wild Card Gym in California.
Ceballo, who resides in New York and trains out of his own gym, was born in Puerto Rico and is intent on securing a legacy in the same vein as the greats of yesteryear, including Felix Trinidad, Hector Camacho and Miguel Cotto.
“Puerto Rico has had a big, big legacy in boxing,” Ceballo told proboxing-fans.com.
“Like Camacho, Trinidad, Cotto. I’m looking to be amongst one of them and I have a really strong feeling that I will be.
“It’s just putting in the work and staying consistent and staying disciplined and keeping focused on the goal.”
The 26-year-old, who is signed with Tom Loeffler’s 360 Promotions ends a career-long lay-off, with his last outing coming on the undercard of Gennady Golovkin’s victory over Sergiy Derevyanchenko at Madison Square Garden last October.
Ceballo, a standout amateur who won multiple New York Golden Gloves tournaments says he has no concerns over the enforced break and believes his clash with Gomez will be a fan-friendly affair.
“I don’t have any concerns and the reason being is because I stayed in the gym throughout the entire pandemic,” Ceballo added.
“I am [looking for a statement] and I think he is as well, otherwise he wouldn’t have taken the fight.
“I think he’s coming in strong, he’s mentally strong, he’s physically strong and he’s a very, very good opponent for this fight.
“It’s going to be for the WBO intercontinental title, so it’s a big one.
“It’s a 10 rounder, he’s never gone 10 rounds, I’ve never gone 10 rounds, it’s our first 10 rounder and it’s gonna be fireworks on NBC Sports.”
Should Ceballo overcome Gomez on Thursday the New Yorker is hoping to elevate himself towards a shot at a standout name in 2021 and establish himself amongst the top contenders at 147lbs.
“Lets say in a perfect world, 2021 towards the middle of the year we’re going to start wanting to face the bigger names out there,” Ceballo continued.
“That have been in that position to fight for a world title or have had a world title in the past.
“Lets say like the Amir Khan kind of names, Keith Thurman, Sergey Lipinets.
“All those guys are very credible, they’re really good and I think it would be a really good fight between us, just because I am able to adapt to many different styles and we’ll be ready for them.”
Watch the full interview with Brian Ceballo below:
