For most, this will be the first look at the 23-year-old prospect from The Dominican Republic. Only a small percentage of boxing fans witnessed Aguilera’s upset of Oleg Maskaev on PPV, but some might remember an appearance on ESPN2 in 2008, when he defeated Gary Wilcox by eight-round unanimous decision. Aguilera is not new to the sport and he displays a natural ease in the ring. He was an outstanding amateur, winning the United States (under-19) Nationals and took bronze at the PAL National tourney. He won the New York City Golden Gloves title twice as well, and registered over 120 amateur bouts in total. At 6’3” and 230 pounds, Aguilera has good size, but falls short of some of the current behemoths. Is not a body beautiful, his upper body and chest lack definition and there is some residual baby fat. In that way, I would liken Aguilera to a heavyweight version of Juan “Baby Bull” Diaz.
Aguilera’s path to his current crossroad began at age 13, when the 270-pound kid walked into the Barriada Israel boxing club to shed pounds. As anyone close to boxing understands, the child also gained a lot of confidence and self-worth. Five years earlier, his family had moved to Puerto Rico from the Dominican Republic; tragically only a couple months later, Nagy’s father, Adilerzo, passed away from a heart attack. The youngster found support in his mother Zuleca’s arms, as well as three older brothers, and comfort in food. Boxing did not come to Aguilera easily at first, but a work ethic he has maintained to this day took hold.
“In the beginning, nobody thought I was good. I always wanted to prove to people that I was,” said Aguilera. At 17, Aguilera became the island’s number one-rated heavyweight.
That drive took Aguilera to New York City, where he literally slept in the ring at the Newburgh Boxing Club for a couple months. He also learned in that ring, winning two Golden Gloves titles at America’s most prestigious regional tourney. Aguilera turned pro at the urging of one-time heavyweight contender Lou Savarese, who became intrigued by the amateur’s skills during sparring sessions. Savarese was so enamored with Aguilera’s skill that he signed on in an advisory role. Savarese told reporter Barbara Gref, “Some things are innate. You just can’t teach them. A lot of his moves weren’t indicative of his years. The biggest thing was his calm.” Savarese finished his thoughts with, “His potential is unlimited.” Aguilera has similar aspirations, “I’m working for it. I want to be somebody someday. I want to write my name into history.”
Those ambitions and potential might have seemed unlimited to Savarese, but it did not mean Aguilera was infallible. Aguilera’s record features two noticeable setbacks. The first was a disqualification loss to seven-foot-tall journeyman Marcellus Brown. The pair exchanged fouls throughout, and after Brown landed a punch while the referee was separating them, Nagy intentionally headbutted Brown. It was impossible to ignore. Aguilera told New York Daily News, “I got frustrated and I let my emotions get the best of me.” The other was a split decision loss to Darryl Madison, Aguilera’s first southpaw foe, when both men gave uninspiring performances. Aguilera was the aggressor, but was often outmaneuvered and lacked accuracy. Later, Aguilera claimed an injured eardrum affected his performance, but still felt he did enough to win in Madison’s hometown.
One loss often drastically affects the career of a fighter. Prospects like Francisco Bojado, and even champions like Naseem Hamed, were unable to recover their swagger. Others, like Kostya Tszyu or Alexis Arguello, learned from adversity and became stronger because of setbacks, not in spite of them. Judging by his current win streak, and an answer given to respected English boxing journalist James Slater, Aguilera might fit into the second camp. “Every champion, except Floyd Mayweather Jr., has a loss on their record. Look at Manny Pacquiao; he lost when he was young. He got stopped, yet he is now the best fighter in the world. I believe with hard work, I can get myself up there to the top as well.” Considering that the IBF is considering this bout a title eliminator, the top is tantalizingly in reach.
A first round kayo of a former world champion can do much to erase the past, and is exactly what has happened to Aguilera. Few expected Aguilera to defeat Oleg Maskaev, and none would have bet on such a resounding stoppage. Aguilera has displayed better-than-average hand speed for a heavyweight, but before the Maskaev bout, Aguilera seemed to lack real pop in his mitts. It was a looping left, followed by a picture-perfect short, straight right hand that did the trick against the experienced Russian. Aguilera currently sports a 59% kayo ratio, but for many, the question remains if the kid has found his power or if Maskaev is just shot. How Aguilera’s punches affect the durable Peter will reveal a lot.
The former champion has a lot riding on this fight, and people should remind themselves that Samuel Peter is still only 29 years old. Because of the Nigerian’s natural power, too much emphasis was put on the pursuit of knockouts. He is now laboring on basics that were neglected earlier in his career. Peter showed those vulnerabilities even before an abysmal performance against Vitali Klitschko that was followed by a similarly lackluster loss to Eddie Chambers. Peter has been backed into a corner, and his reputation as the rising star of the heavyweight division can be erased with a loss to Aguilera. Peter has had three consecutive wins since signing with Top Rank, and reported to have reduced his weight to 240 pounds from the 265 he scaled, in the loss to Chambers. Aguilera believes it makes little difference. “It doesn’t matter what he weighs. He’ll still be a mummy, he’ll still be slow. “
Aguilera works hard to afford himself every possible chance at victory. He has been in training for six weeks and brought on a nutritionist and strength coach to further aid him in his biggest task to date. “Everybody’s going to be surprised in this fight, I’m prepared to go 15 rounds,” said Aguilera. In the interview with James Slater referenced earlier, Aguilera expounded on Peter and power-punchers in general. “You have to be smart against them and box, and also have the balls to fight at times.” However, Aguilera is not ceding the power department completely. “Well, I have a lot of power too. We’re both strong guys. I have no fear of him or his power and I know the only way he can beat me is if he catches me with one great shot. But that’s not gonna happen. No way.”
You can contact Marty at mmulcahey@elpasotel.net or www.facebook.com/fivedogs
