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09/08/2006 Archived Entry: "‘ Soccer Mom’ seeks another title shot"
Area boxer, father looks to contend again
‘ Soccer Mom’ seeks another title shot
By Juan C. Ayllon
Courtesy of the Carol Stream Examiner
CARROL STREAM, Ill. – Friends call 6’2,” 220-pound Fres Oquendo “Soccer Mom.”
Sporting a shaven head, rugged good looks and designer sunglasses, Fres Oquendo shuttled his eight year old to football practice in a shiny black Cadillac Escalade SUV. Happily married with five kids, he lives in a nearby two-story, five-bedroom house. A pair of miniature boxing gloves hanging from the rearview mirror is a reminder of what makes all this possible.
At age 33, he is a professional boxer looking for one last shot at the heavyweight title.
“I’ll give myself a good three or four years, make history and retire with the glory of (…) being world champion,” said Oquendo.
On this particular evening, Fres Oquendo looked on with pride as his son, Fres Jr., slogged through a three-hour practice with the Carol Stream Panther’s “Silver 80,” an organized league for kids 80 lbs. and under. Two years into the program, Fres Jr. plays aggressively at both tight end and linebacker.
“I was born in Puerto Rico and grew up in Chicago,” said Oquendo. “Now I’m living the suburb life and it’s great for the kids, for the surroundings, growing up. I never wanted to have my kids in the city. I don’t want them going through what I went through. There are great programs out here and that’s what I want for my kids. It’s been a great ride for me, my career and my life.”
Oquendo smiled as he thought back to 1987, when, at 13, just a few years older than Fres, Jr., he began boxing and rose through the amateurs with his friend, current Interim World Boxing Council Lightweight Title holder, David Diaz.
“Throughout the years, we were in the same boxing team, Hamlin Park, and we won the Chicago Park District titles together, CYO titles, the Golden Gloves, and ended up winning the National Golden Gloves titles and going to the Olympic Trials,” said Oquendo. “It brings back memories knowing that as kids, we came a long way to be where we’re at today.”
Oquendo is dwarfed by today’s heavyweights that include seven-foot 320-pound WBA champion Nikolay Valuev, who defends his title in Rosemont on October 7.
“He’s not really a devastating puncher,” Oquendo says of Valuev. “He’s a pretty strong fighter, but I don’t see him holding the title that long.”
Oquendo has a record of 26-3 with 16 knockouts. That includes two championship attempts that fell short. In September 2003, he suffered a controversial unanimous decision loss to then IBF champ Chris Byrd, a bout that many saw Oquendo winning, and on April 17, 2004, he lost by technical knockout to then WBA champion John Ruiz at 2:33 into the 11th round, a fight that Oquendo felt was stopped prematurely.
Following nearly a two-year layoff after the Ruiz debacle, Oquendo shook off the rust with two quick wins this year. His latest win was over rugged Javier Mora (19-2-1, 17 KO’s), whom he nearly stopped in the first round and went onto defeat in 12 rounds by unanimous decision in May.
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I’ll give myself a good three or four years, make history and retire with the glory of (…) being world champion.”
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Also to his credit, Oquendo holds a knockout win over Maurice Harris, the only fighter to beat—and KO—current WBO Heavyweight Champion Serguei Lyakhovich. Combined with Oquendo’s skills and deceptive punch, that’s good enough to have a shot in today’s wide-open heavyweight division.
On September 6, Oquendo flies out to Hollywood to train with acclaimed trainer, Freddie Roach in anticipation of two opportunities in October. The first is a round robin event in Australia event pitting top 10 contenders “four rounds each for a total of 12 rounds."
Oquendo recently confirmed that he’ll fight former heavyweight champion Evander Holyfield on November 24 in San Antonio, Texas.
“It’s going to be a great fight,” he said enthusiastically.
“Hopefully,” Oquendo says, “beginning early next year, [I’ll fight] for a heavyweight title against one of the heavyweight champions and get that title that’s been eluding me for the last several years.”
In the meantime, Oquendo pays the bills with his real estate business.
“I ended up purchasing commercial property and I’m pretty successful at being a landlord,” he said. “Each and every fight, I put money away in property, so I can expand my income and my kids can have a better life growing up.”
His wife, Stacy, is taking classes to become a paralegal and get her real estate brokers license.
With his son’s football practice over at 9:10 PM, Oquendo beams, “It gives me a big smile that he is holding his little helmet and football jersey, ready to go home after a hard day of practice. It’s great being part of this atmosphere that my kids are in, and me doing my thing, my boxing and real estate, and everything’s okay. Thank God for that.”
