By Robbie Pangilinan
The name Juan Manuel Rubio Medina may not ring a bell as a famous boxer to many, but he is a five-time world featherweight champion with a record of 64 wins with 30 KOs in 78 professional boxing bouts. The only other fighter in boxing history to have won the world title five times in the same weight class is Sugar Ray Robinson.
This year, Medina, hopes to have a chance to bag his sixth title by fighting against Lacandon Cruz who currently holds the IBF featherweight title.
“This will be Medina’s last hurrah,” Sergio Alberto Sotelo Maesse, his promoter, says. “And I am confident that Medina can beat Cruz.”
Medina has nothing to lose in this fight. Sergio explains, “If he loses, he retires with dignity. If he wins, he will be the only fighter to have won six times the title in the same weight class.”
Medina, also known as “Mantecas”, tried playing soccer and basketball but boxing was his favourite. He debuted as an amateur only five days after he first started training and he turned professional at 15 years old. Originally from Tecuala, Nayarit, Mexico, Medina was brought to Tijuana to fight at a young age. Sergio recalls that Medina has always been the underdog. “Manuel is a great boxer who has been through everything you can imagine, both good and bad, inside and outside the ring and he has always come out a winner,” Sergio proudly says.
Even while he was inactive in boxing, Medina continued to be disciplined; he jogs for two hours in the morning and trains in the gym for two to three hours in the evening. He is also very strict with his diet. He developed his signature moves by always staying an extra hour after the training to practice his lateral movements, bending and shadow boxing.
“He is a very disciplined fighter, that’s why he has been around for almost 20 years,” Sergio shares. “His strengths are his lateral movements and punching accuracy. His weakness is that he doesn’t have a KO punch,” Sergio says.
This boxer who idolizes the likes of Julio Cesar Chavez, Sugar Ray Leonard and Salvador Sanchez, is always very happy to represent his country, Mexico, in all his fights. He wants to fight Erik Morales, Marco Antonio Barrera and Guty Espadas. But for now, Medina is preparing for his next fight—his one last shot at boxing immortality.
“I am very focused, jogging more than usual and having more sparring rounds than what I normally have. I am preparing to show up with exceptional conditioning so that I would not get tired during the fight,” Medina declares.
This great warrior is a role model not only in boxing but in his good life example. “I admire him and I'm proud to be his manager, but most of all I'm proud to be called his friend,” says Sergio.
“He is a wonderful human being who deserves to be in the Hall of Fame. The sport owes him a chance at winning the title and writing another glorious page in boxing history,” Sergio ends.
