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09/19/2008 Archived Entry: "Boxers in the Crowd: Adrian ‘El Tigre’ Granados Looks to Impress This Weekend"
Boxers in the Crowd: Adrian ‘El Tigre’ Granados Looks to Impress This Weekend
By Juan C. Ayllon
Photos courtesy of Rick Ramos
There’s a new and exciting fighter emerging from Chicago. His name is Adrian “El Tigre” Granados. 1-0 with 1 knockout as a professional boxer, he’s got an outstanding amateur career and will be fighting next on Saturday, September 20th in Piedras Negras, Sonora, Mexico.
Now promoted by Golden Boy Promotions, he is a member of the Romanza Boxing Gym, run by the legendary trainer Ignacio ¨Nacho¨ Beristain, who’s has had 16 world champions in his 50 years of experience and whose legendary fightes include: Ricardo ¨Finito¨ Lopez, Humberto ¨Chiquita¨ Gonzalez, Daniel Zaragoza, and Gilberto Roman. That's not to mention the current luminaries he works with, such as Juan Manuel Marquez, Rafael Marquez, Abner Mares and Vicente Escobedo.
That's pretty heady company to keep for a novice pro, yet he still managed to make quite an impression on Rick Ramos, who with highly regarded trainer Sam Colonna co-owns the Chicago Boxing Club.
"I really do not get impressed easily, butIi can tell you that I BELIEVE that Adrian has ‘it!’” says Ramos. “ Adrian stopped by my work one day and introduced himself. We talked and I took a instant liking to him. I saw FIRE in his eyes and heard HUNGER in his voice. I am very excited to have met him and I am excited to watch him take off!"
Speaking by cell phone from Mexico, Granados had a few words to say about highlights from his amateur career as well as his upcoming bout.
Granados has his hands taped
"Starting off my first year, I won a [n] [Illinois] state championship, I went onto the regional finals. Next year, I was able to win the state championships again and this time, I was able to win the Regionals, as well. I went to Nationals I’d say around five or six times. In the PALs, I finished in the quarter finals; in the Eastern Team Trials, I finished in the semi-finals. As a junior, I won the Junior Golden Gloves National Championship, I went to the Ringside World Championships a couple times—twice I got to the semi-finals.
"This last year, I was able to win the State Championship again and the Regional Championship and in Nationals, I ended up with a ranking of number five in the nation.
"I think when I was a junior, when I won that Junior Golden Gloves National Championship, that was pretty big for me and I had a lot of tough fights. I remember a war I had with this guy from Texas, and then there was another fight with a guy who was from Philadelphia. It was a hard-earned belt."
On his first professional victory:
Yeah, I debuted on the 30th of August – yeah, I won by K.O. in the first round.
JA: In 54 seconds or something like that?
Yeah.
On his upcoming fight:
This fight is coming up; it’s being promoted by Golden Boy Promotions…I’m hear in Monterey, Mexico. The main event is going to be televised on HBO Plus. It’s a new program they’re doing – The Next Generation of Boxing. I got pretty lucky being able to get hooked up with these guys.
* * *
At this point, his cell phone signal dropped out and subsequent efforts failed to reconnect.
It's just as well. His pro career is so green -- and perhaps so south of the border -- that I could not corroborate his professional record on www.boxrec.com. The fact remains that only time will tell whether his promising amateur career will translate to great success in the pros.
In the meanwhile, here are some tantalizing statistics on Granados, as compiled by Rick Ramos:
Amateur record....75-10
Ranked 5th in 2008 National Rankings at junior welterweight
Junior Olympic State and Regional Champion
Chicago Park District Champion
Junior Golden Gloves National Champion
US Championships State and Regional Champion
US Championships National Quarter-Finalist
Ringside World Championships Semi-Finalist
Eastern Team Trials Semi-Finalist
Mexican Olympic Team Reserve
To read more on Granados, click on the link below:
http://rickramosboxing.com/meetadriangranados.html
