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Story by Carl Prather If you remember the sword-swinging barbarian Arnold Swarzeneggar played in the eighties, it’s easy to think where Miguel Torresillas may have picked his name. Instead, it was his friends who gave him the nickname when he was about 15. He would fight with them in the streets of Juarez, Mexico, though not with sticks for swords—with straight up fists. They started with “Conan,” but when he started boxing, “the Destroyer” was added, after he started taking out his opponents. It’s fitting, really . . . especially when you consider his streak of destruction. Since he’s resurfaced in Albuquerque, after a year lay-off, Torresillas has been putting his opponents to the test, and to the canvas. Take the last three fights, for example: Shawn Gallegos of Las Vegas, NM was a hot prospect with no losses on his record until Conan showed up. Torresillas showed up, floored Gallegos in the 4th round, and won the fight by split decision. Tommy Aragon was next for Torresillas. While a couple losses spotted his record, Aragon had never been knocked out—until Conan. Torresillas introduced Aragon to the canvas two minutes, 30 seconds into the 2nd round. The 2nd may prove to be Conan’s favorite round for priming his opponents to go down. Just last weekend, Jose Ivan Espinoza was dropped not once, but twice in the 2nd. The second time he went down, he didn’t get back up.
Torresillas, now in his mid-twenties, has it in his blood, and he works hard at maintaining it. His father was a boxer and his brother competes as an Olympic-class runner. Miguel trains vigorously with the team at JCG Boxing, a unique class in and of themselves, in El Paso, Texas. With the JCG crew—a team that also includes Alex “El Diablo” Becerra and Cesar “El Gallito” Lopez, Miguel learns more than just how to spar and maintain a proper diet. Al Garcia, with his son Jorge and Michael Nevarez, are among those who keep Miguel focused. In addition to the boxing shop, Al also runs Fairview Foods and Distributing in El Paso. Jorge helps with the training, as does amateur boxer Nevarez, who has a 3-2 record himself and is looking forward to turning pro. The entire stable of JCG Boxing consists of 8 professionals and 12 amateurs. Trainer/manager Al Garcia is firm in demonstrating that boxing can be clean, both as a sport, and as a business. “It’s important for me to demonstrate a clear image of boxing,” says Garcia. “They get 100% of their purse, I don’t take any of it. They worked for it—they get it. I support them and sponsor them in a lot of ways . . . food, lodging, whatever I can. There are a lot of people out there who don’t honor the contracts.” Garcia says he tries to avoid dealing with those people. He is also concerned that too many boxers are getting ripped off out there, and not enough of them are getting taken care of. With Al showing these boxers that he’s not out to get rich off of them, he hopes to keep their morale high and attitudes positive while they climb their way to the top. On the days when Miguel is not training, he works with animals, grooming and assisting veterinarians. This is how and where he met his wife, who is a veterinarian herself. They are expecting their first child early next year, perhaps around the same time he hopes to catch up with Jose Juan "Maromerito" Mendez. Mendez—the Juarez veteran who’d upset New Mexico in November by defeating Ray Sanchez III—had been slated to fight Torresillas last weekend at Isleta. But after the border patrol prevented Mendez from crossing over, the fight was cancelled last minute. (While Mendez was unable to make the fight, that doesn’t mean he has escaped the winning streak of the Destroyer. Word around the campfire is that Mendez may show up on a big-name fight un El Paso sometime around March—you can bet Conan is willing to be in the opposite corner.) Last weekend, Miguel was tactical and smooth in scoring the only knockout of the evening by leveling Mendez’s replacement, Jose Ivan Espinoza. One minute, 11 seconds into the 2nd round, Espinoza couldn’t get back into the game, and Miguel was named winner by KO, boosting his record to 12-3. It was nearly a flawless victory, that had Conan trying to figure out his much-taller opponent, then going into “destroyer” mode, pulling from the sparring practice that gave him the higher redirection of his punches, and connecting with Espinoza. In and out of the ring, Miguel is a genuine person; shy at first, easily embarrassed, and always respectful. The frustration and almost sadness in his face was obvious the day of the weigh-in, when he learned that Mendez couldn’t make it across to border to meet him in the ring. He had been training hard for this fight, and sparring with a shorter partner to accommodate the Sanchez-conqueror. However, in the end, it was that he had two sparring partners during his training, the other being a taller partner and, ultimately, the one giving him the technique and skill he needed to beat this last minute replacement. So much goes in to preparing for a fight—eating right, dieting, exercising, sparring, concentrating, and of course, studying up on your opponent. Not much can prepare you for a late switch, but Miguel stayed positive and all the while, focused on his skills and worked close with those on his team. Sending Espinoza home with an added loss, making his record 6-3, is only one more stepping stone in Miguel’s path to the top, as he has every intention of going for a belt. Having defeated Tommy Aragon and Shawn Gallegos, Torresillas plans to continue to spoil the plans of New Mexico’s lightweight prospects on his way to the top. Fighting Ray Sanchez III, after he regains his footing, is also on his mind. When asked if he’d like to take on Ray, in particular, for a belt sometime in the future, Miguel replied, “No…not really. I’ll fight anyone for the belt. It’s too hard to predict who will be holding the belt when I’m ready to go for it, so I’ll just go for it.” There’s no trash-talking with Miguel. “Watch me fight,” is all he has to say. # # # Miguel plans to continue fighting out of El Paso and Albuquerque, and he’d like to say thank you to all of those that have supported him in Juarez, Texas and New Mexico. # # #
Site & photos by cozzone. |
Conan
the Destroyer!