In person, Eric Serrano is polite and soft-spoken. He’s friendly, but shy. He’s the exact opposite of who he is in the ring.
“He turns into a different person,” said Carlos Ruiz, Serrano’s coach. “He tears his opponents apart like an animal.”
Serrano, 18, is now known in boxing circles as “El Animal.” He got the nickname where all nicknames start: in the gym. He had just started boxing and was sparring against any fighters who wanted to try their skills against him. Serrano kept taking down his opponents, one after another, Ruiz said. The crowd watching started to whisper, “This guy’s an animal,” and the name stuck.
El Animal is now known throughout the state as someone to fear in the bantamweight division. Serrano has won every tournament he’s entered this year. We’re talking state tournaments, too
He started with the Golden Gloves tournament at Lincoln Park in February, then the Desert Showdown in Coachella in June, and the State PAL tournament in Oxnard in August. He won them all.
Not only did Serrano dominate the bantamweight division, he was so intimidating to his competitors that a few of them dropped out rather than face El Animal in the ring, Ruiz said.
“Each gym has that one kid that excels and rises above everybody else,” Ruiz said. “He is that boxer.”
Serrano, according to his coach, is Santa Maria’s next rising star in the sport of boxing. At 119 pounds and 5 feet, 8 inches tall, Serrano stands inches above most of his opponents, most of whom are in the 5-foot-3 to 5-foot-4 range. His reach is intimidating, his speed is enviable, and he can take a punch. He’s the perfect package, Ruiz said.
“My coach says that some people have it, and some people don’t,” Serrano explained. “He says I have natural talent.”
He’d have to, to have progressed as far as he has in such a short time. Serrano first picked up his gloves two years ago. Living in Arroyo Grande, he had no idea that there was a boxing club anywhere on the Central Coast. Then he heard about the Santa Maria Boxing Club.
Serrano came to a few workouts, and then entered his first tournament. Serrano asked Ruiz, already a coach at the Boxing Club, to take him to that tournament.
“He was like a rough diamond,” Ruiz said. “The first time I saw him fight, I knew he was going places.”
Ruiz has been his coach ever since, and together with Willie Flores, manager of the Santa Maria Boxing Club, has cooked up big plans for Serrano. Those plans start with Serrano’s first national tournament, the National PAL Boxing Championships on Sept. 27 in Oxnard.
“Only the good survive there, and if he survives this tournament, he’s proving that he’s one of the best boxers in the country,” Flores said.
More than 600 fighters will be there, including the top 10 fighters in the world, Ruiz said. Serrano is too young to be ranked. Instead, he’ll be one of the hundreds of fighters entering the tournament for a chance to show off some skills.
It’s a single-elimination format with a lottery start. Serrano could go up against an easy opponent in the first round, or he could face one of the stars. But it doesn’t matter who he draws in the first round, Ruiz said, because Serrano is ready.
“I think he’ll win,” the coach said.
If Serrano does well at this tournament, the success will go a long way toward making him a well-known boxer. That’s a good thing, especially since Serrano plans to turn pro, possibly right after the national championship—if he does well. More likely, Serrano will star in his first pro match next summer, Flores said.
Serrano is almost ready, Flores said, and they know that because lately he’s been sparring with current California welterweight champion Tony Ojeda and holding his own. With Ojeda getting ready to wind down his career, Flores said that it’s the perfect time for Serrano to start up his. He’ll have the full attention of coach Ruiz, and he’ll have manager Flores at his disposal.
Since he’s still young—and possibly still growing—he’ll need more coaching and guidance in the next few years to reach his peak, Flores said.
“Keep an eye on Eric Serrano,” the manager warned. “He will be Santa Maria’s next boxing champion.”
For now, though, they’re taking everything one day at a time, and Serrano said that he’s not nervous about the national tournament. He’ll stay calm right up until the moment it’s time for this teenager to once again turn into an animal.
Sports Editor Sarah E. Thien likes cats. Contact her at sthien@santamariasun.com.
This article appears in Sep 25 – Oct 2, 2008.