David Estrada now checks in as a Miami welterweight, but his boxing history has deep roots in Chicago.
“I fought as an amateur in Chicago Park District bouts, and my first three professional fights were in Chicago,” said Estrada, who is on the threshold of the biggest opportunity of his six-year pro career.
He is preparing to step in the ring next Saturday against Shane Mosley, the former lightweight, welterweight and junior middleweight champion. Mosley’s career has hit the heights of two victories over Oscar De La Hoya and the depths of losing twice to both Vernon Forrest and Winky Wright. The latter two losses were at 154-pound junior middleweight, convincing Mosley to return to 147 pounds, where he was more successful.
That means Estrada, 26, will try to reach the elite status of contender by climbing over a seasoned ex-champion who is equally determined not to drop further from the top.
Estrada and Mosley will square off on the undercard of two title fights on ESPN’s debut pay-per-view telecast (8 p.m., $29.95), but Mosley’s name ensures that the matchup will get plenty of attention. Just as Estrada has everything to gain from victory or even a strong showing, Mosley has plenty to lose if Estrada does well.
“I expect him to come in in the best shape he has been in, but so will I,” Estrada said. “To me, Mosley is nobody special. I treat it as facing any other fighter. He’s going to try to stand toe-to-toe with me, and I’m just going to go right after him.”
Estrada has been fed that confidence by working with Angelo Dundee, a trainer with years of experience with confident fighters, none more confident than Muhammad Ali.
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“He’ll be so ready for Shane Mosley I’m not concerned,” Dundee of Estrada, insisting that he has risen gradually to this moment, always in condition as he learned to be a multifaceted fighter.
“He’ll rise to the occasion. It’s going to be a great fight and we’ll lick this guy. . . . Then we’re going to fight for a title, and that’s what I’m here for.”
Estrada, who was born in Chicago, moved when he was 3 and has lived here off and on since, still has many friends and relatives in the city, including his grandfather and two uncles who boxed in the Chicago Golden Gloves.
“I try to come to Chicago after all my fights,” Estrada said. “When I’m away, I miss the pizza, Italian food and Mexican food. Usually, the first place I stop when I’m in Chicago is for Mexican food. I don’t mean the fancy restaurants like they have in Miami; I mean the little ethnic places with burritos, tortas and tacos.”
The only blemish on Estrada’s 18-1 record is a loss to Ishe Smith, who is among the competitors on the NBC boxing reality show, “The Contender.”
“I don’t really care if I fight him again,” Estrada said. “But if things keep going right for each of us, I guess it could happen.”
While Smith is taking the reality-show route in search of fame and fortune, Estrada is facing the reality of a real contender and a man who has reached the pugilistic pinnacle.
For Mosley, facing Estrada will be a rare undercard appearance.
The co-main events are a welterweight title fight between champion Antonio Margarito and challenger Kermit Cintron and a lightweight title fight, pitting champion Juan Diaz against Ebo Elder.
Also on the card, heavyweight prospect Calvin Brock faces literally his biggest challenge against 6-foot-6-inch, 270-pound Jameel McCline, whose last bout was a title fight, a loss by decision to champion Chris Byrd.
Flick pick
“Ring of Fire: The Emile Griffith Story,” set for telecast at 8 p.m. Wednesday on USA Network, proves that in this age of TV reality shows and “based on a true story” movies, there is no substitute for reality.
On March 24, 1962, Emile Griffith brutally beat a man on a live national telecast. He was fighting Benny “Kid” Paret in a welterweight title bout. Knocked into a coma when Griffith pummeled him in a corner late in the bout, Paret died 10 days later in the hospital.
“Ring of Fire” explores six-time champion Griffith’s life before, during and after that pivotal moment. It is a tour de force that skillfully blends archival footage and interviews with fighters and writers who know the story, as well as Griffith himself.
The story touches on issues ranging from violence to homosexuality as it builds to the climactic meeting between Griffith and Paret’s grown son.
USA Network has decided that the 87-minute film directed by Dan Klores and Ron Berger will be shown without commercials.
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