Next Friday, September 9, Team Puerto Rico’s Hector “El Flaco” Sanchez (19-1, 9 KO’s) will face fellow Puerto Rican Vincent Arroyo (11-1, 7 KO’s) in a 10-round welterweight battle that will serve as the Gary Shaw Productions main event from the Grand Casino in Hinckley, Minnesota, and televised live at 11 p.m. ET/PT (delayed on the West Coast) on SHOWTIME®.
But Sanchez says the challenge Arroyo presents is nothing compared to his biggest challenge: getting his family out of the poverty in which they live.
“The eight of us live in a two-bedroom house,” he explains. “One of my sisters will have a baby, so that is going to complicate the matter further. The most important thing for me is that they have everything they need and for that reason I must win this fight and many more. We have suffered enough.”
Sanchez says the career guidance he has received from his co-promoters Universal Promotions, Gary Shaw Productions and DiBella Entertainment has brought him tantalizingly close to his dream.
“I’ve been climbing through the ranks, getting closer and closer to where I want to be. All I have to do is keep winning. Boxing is an opportunity to earn enough money to give them everything they need and move them out of the house that we live in.”
Before ending 2011, Sanchez will fight again and his trio of promoters say they expect the possibility of a title shot before the end of 2012.
“Hector is a good boy and we will help him push forward in his career. He has a bright future in boxing and is an essential part of Team Puerto Rico,” said Javier Bustillo, president of Universal Promotions.
In the night’s 10-round cruiserweight co-feature, hard-hitting Nigerian Lateef Kayode (17-0, 14 KOs) will risk his unblemished record and trajectory toward a world title shot againstsouthpaw Felix “Bad News” Cora, Jr. (22-5-2, 12 KOs).
