Lightweights Giovanni Cabrera and Gabriel Flores Jr. meet in Hinkley, Minnesota this Saturday night

Giovanni Cabrera (20-0, 7 KO’s) will step into the ring for his 3rd bout of the year on July 23, when he faces off against fellow, fast-rising lightweight prospect Gabriel Flores Jr., a tough and talented boxer out of Fresno, California who sports an almost identical record at 21-1 (7 KO’s). 

The fight will be one of the co-features on a card that sees former world title challenger Joet Gonzalez and former world champion Isaac Dogboe in the main event. The card, live from Hinkley, Minnesota, will be shown live on ESPN. 

Chicago native Cabrera will be boxing for the third time for his new promoter, Las Vegas’ legendary Top Rank Boxing, and he is a perfect 2-0 so far. He dispatched Rene Tellex Giron over eight in Tulsa, Oklahoma. His last fight was a stoppage win over Elias Araujo in eight in Las Vegas in May. Fighting fellow lightweight contender Flores is bold, but not a surprising move for the talented southpaw Cabrera.

The last time he spoke with MaxBoxing, Cabrera made it clear that while he feels he’s in no rush, the Chicago native is looking forward to showing what he can do. 

“I have Freddie Roach in my corner and the skills to reach the top. It’s now or never. The time is now, and I want to go for it”, he said. 

Cabrera is being trained out of the Wild Card Boxing Club in Los Angeles under the direction of legend Roach. Outside the ring, respected veteran manager Steve Feder is making the moves. 

So, he certainly has the pieces in place outside the ropes. Now, he is excited, once again, to show what he can do in the ring.

While Cabrera has been perfect in 20 outings, the only blemish on his record of Flores is a 10-round loss to rugged Mexican Louis Alberto Lopez in the fall of 2021. The loss for Flores, who turned pro as a teenager, surprised many after being so impressive in his first 20 bouts. However, a closer look at Flores resume shows a vastly underrated fighter who has upset a lot of undefeated prospects. He’ll be just as motivated as Cabrera to win on Saturday night.  

In short, this is an intriguing fight for boxing fans and a good test to see where both fighters currently are in their career. Cabrera is undefeated. Flores is only one fight removed from a disappointing loss. Kudos to both fighters for keeping it old school. They aren’t worried about protecting records or looking for an easier path. They are both ready and willing to take on a difficult assignment.   

MaxBoxing caught up with Cabrera manager Steve Feder in Los Angeles, CA, to get his thoughts on the bout.  

Bill Tibbs: Hi Steve, thanks for taking a minute to chat.

Steve Feder: Hey Bill, no problem. 

BT: Giovanni vs. a good, tough, talented guy in Gabe Flores, Jr. At this stage, it seems like a bold step for both fighters. Is that accurate? 

SF: I think it’s a very interesting fight for both guys at this stage of their career. Both guys have experience, and I think although Flores has been more active because of the layoff Gio had, he is more than ready for him. And, I think because of the way these two fighters match up it could be a very good fight. There is a couple of ways that the fight might play out, but I see Gio being successful no matter the style of fight. I think Flores is a tough, talented fighter and I have a lot of respect for him, but I think it is a good fight for Gio.     

BT: Were you surprised that Top Rank wanted to test two of their prospects against each other? 

SF: I think ESPN is looking to make good fights, and they want to put the right matches on for the viewers. From Top Rank’s end, I am guessing that they want to look at both guys and see what they have - what can they do? Where are they going? It is a good fight and a good match-up to see what they do against each other. I had no problem taking the fight. I think Gio does very well against him. I think when you have a fighter, you make the steps up in stages, and some are relatively safe even though they are a step up the ladder. But, at some point, you are going to get that call for the test, that call that asks you to show where you are at and where you can go. So, when we got the call for a bout against a guy like Flores, we weren’t really surprised, you know the call is coming, you just have to be ready for it.    

BT: Freddie (Roach) has worked with every imaginable style as a trainer. Is there anything, in particular, he has been working on with Giovanni?

SF: Well, Fred is, in my opinion, the best trainer there is. And, he is very accustomed to working with southpaws. He is a very offensive-minded coach; he is great at teaching how to be offensive in the ring. I know that what he has been working on with Gio is really trusting his instincts, trusting his boxing skills, and taking it to his opponents with those skills. Working off his jab and his natural offensive skills - working down the middle and taking it to his opponent. Giovanni is a lot stronger than he was even two fights ago. Gio has also been getting some great work from Pepe Reilly. Pepe has been putting a lot of time in with Gio and it shows. He has the right guys working with him, and now it is time for him to show what he can do. People may have just viewed him before as just being awkward to fight, but he is very strong, a lot stronger than he has shown. 

BT: Both fighters would be seen as more boxers as opposed to just straight-ahead bangers. Do you see this fight a tactical fight in that sense?

SF: In some ways, I do hope it plays out as a tactical fight because I see Gio winning a tactical fight. But, if it turns into a slugfest, I think Gio is going to surprise people with how strong he is. He is a strong puncher, but his awkward boxing style has been his game so far, so he hasn’t really shown a lot of his strength.  

BT: Can I get a prediction? 

SF: I really don’t like to predict because you never know how a fight can play out. I would say that I probably see the fight going the distance. Gio knows there is a lot on the line for him and he is going to bring all that motivation into the ring. If Flores tries to start slugging, he might be very surprised how strong Gio is. It’s a great fight.  

BT: Thanks Steve, best of luck in Minnesota.

SF: Thanks Bill; appreciate it.