This Saturday, April 18, Oceanside’s Frontwave Arena is presenting two of San Diego’s biggest fighters.
As a double headliner, Julius “Juju” Ballo and Jonny Mansour are fighting for the “SD Fight Night: Family Business,” a 12-bout card, displaying San Diego’s talent pool in the ring. Weeks in advance of Fight Night, Juju Ballo, Jonny Mansour and Frankie Garcia gave their insights and expectations on what is to come.
Fresh Talent – Franklin Garcia
21-year-old San Diegan fighter, Franklin “Frankie” Garcia (1-0, 1 knockout), made his pro debut on Feb. 26 at Sea World San Diego’s first-ever boxing event. He won by a second-round KO, which marked his first professional victory.
This weekend, Garcia is going into his second professional fight, against Rahmel McKinley (1-2) as a 4-rounder in the Super Lightweight Bout.
“Pressure is going to be there. I’m not feeling it yet, but it is my hometown, it’s Oceanside and I live in Vista, so I’m a couple minutes away, and everybody knows who I am, where I’m from,” Garcia said. “So there’s going to be pressure, especially because of Jonny Mansour, Julius Ballo, all these other fighters. I know the hard work I’ve been putting in since I started, and I haven’t stopped, and I’m still going.”
There’s always plenty to learn and take note of from your debut fight, especially in the pros.
“Being more calm from the first round, not getting touched at all, my coaches don’t want me to get touched,” Garcia said. “The first fight I got touched a couple times, and it wasn’t hard, but I got hit. So this time I’m going to be calmer and more relaxed.”
His opponent, McKinley, already has a few fights on his record, with one win and two losses.
“I’m not going to say he’s broken down because of the two losses, but I’m thinking that maybe he’s coming with a different mindset of, ‘Okay, I’ve been hit, I’ve been hurt, I’ve won, so I’ve been through it, I’ve been through it all.’” Garcia said. “He’s probably thinking I haven’t been through it all, so I’m coming with a different mindset. I’m coming with the mindset of, he’s just another opponent, but then we’re both humans, we’re both going to fight, we’re both going to go in there and show what’s up, so we’re going to showcase our skills.”
“I plan on going in smart, going in smart and breaking him down little by little. If I can break him down in the first round, that’s great. If it takes two or three more rounds, let it be two more rounds. I’m just ready for whatever’s going to come my way,” Garcia said.
Family Business – Juju Ballo & Jonny Mansour
Jonny Mansour (6-0, 2 KOs) and Julius “Juju” Ballo (2-0) are undefeated cousins who have been training alongside one another leading up to their double-headlining event “Family Business.”
“That’s the beautiful part about it. It’s a family business,” Mansour said. We went from dreaming to be on the USA team together to being roommates. Then we went from dreaming to be professional boxers, to fighting on the same card. It’s a blessing to have family as a part of this because we push each other to become as best as we can every single day.”
Ballo shared the same enthusiasm, saying, “It’s definitely crazy. Imagine you have someone you grew up with, and you guys are both professional [boxers] and fighting on the same card. Not only fighting but both headlining. So it’s a great feeling.”
The cousins both went straight to reminiscing about their journeys, debuts and past fights that have led them to this huge event.
“I was able to gather a lot of experience traveling with the USA team,” Mansour said. “It’s different when you’re fighting in different countries, building that amateur background and amateur pedigree. Now, as a professional, I feel like that is starting to show.”
Ballo has fought underneath mainstream events before.“I’m just grateful to have this opportunity. I had my first fight at Madison Square Garden in New York last year, my second fight was in Hollywood and my third fight will be back in San Diego. Not only am I fighting in my hometown, but I’m headlining the event, so I’m excited to do that with my family and my friends,” Ballo reflected.
They both have tough competitors, with Mansour’s fight coming before Ballo’s on the card against William King (6-3-2, 3 KOs) for an 8-round bout in the Lightweight Double-Main Event. William King lost his last fight at Pechanga Arena in Temecula, but his record has more wins than losses.
“King is definitely a skillful, quick opponent, but I’m just going to be there to do what I do best and show the fans a victorious night,” Mansour said. “He has 11 professional fights and has never been stopped before. So I’m looking to make history with this fight and stop this guy.”
Ballo is the last fight on the card with opponent Roman Reyes (6-1, 5 KOs) for six rounds in the Super Featherweight category.
“He’s a great opponent, he’s at six wins, five wins, a knockout, a loss, but he doesn’t bring the amateur background that I have. I have over 200 amateur fights, so it’s a different type of IQ. I’m sure everybody will see that on April 18th,” Ballo said.
The fighters also shared their expectations for Saturday.
“I have a super vocal crowd. I expect very, very high energy,” Mansour said. “It’s going to be electric inside the arena and I’m looking forward to performing in front of my hometown crowd. I consider everybody in that building family and we had 1,200 family members inside that arena at Saquon Casino in March of last year. This time, I’m expecting a lot more.”
Ballo also emphasized the importance of a good, entertaining fight for the fans.
“I’m looking forward to seeing what God has in store. I’m going to go in there and do my job, and I’m not going to force it…I feel great. I’m just looking forward to putting on a great show for the people,” Ballo said.
On Saturday, April 18, at 5 p.m., the long-awaited “SD Fight Night: Family Business” will take place, with tickets still available and over 4,000 sold. This event is bringing back our San Diegan fighters and showcasing rising stars.
