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Christian Morales: No Risk, No Reward | Zuffa Boxing
Las Vegas Native Plans To Turn Short-Notice Assignment Into Career-Defining Moment As He Competes In His Hometown For The Very First Time.
When Christian Morales got the call to be a part of the second fight card in Zuffa Boxing history on just 11 days’ notice, he jumped at the chance. Now he plans on turning his short-notice assignment into a life-changing weekend.
Las Vegas local Morales will step up to fight Oakland’s Damoni Cato-Cain in a 147-pound welterweight contest over eight rounds. And, despite the short notice, he has declared himself ready to go, and determined to make the opportunity count.
“I was shook!” he admitted.
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“You know, when I got a message, and it all it said was, ‘Are you ready?’ And I was like, ‘Yeah, I'm ready.’ And it was just a fight for February, 1 . Eleven days’ notice. And I was like, ’OK, let’s do it!’”
It’s a chance to embark on a family adventure, with Morales trained and cornered by his brother Marcos, who has been a huge influence on his career to date.
“He's my head coach, he's my trainer, he's the one that does it all,” said the 22-year-old.
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“As kids, he will always make me and my cousins fight a lot, and I always seemed like I knew how to fight. Apparently, my dad is a big boxing fan, and my brother used to watch boxing.
“So one day, (when) I was seven, eight years old. He said, ‘There's a boxing gym around the corner from where we live,’ in East Las Vegas. He asked me if I wanted to try it out. And we went to try it out. And from there, we just stuck to it.”
Despite living and training in Las Vegas for his entire life, Sunday night will be the first time he competes in his hometown. In fact, it’ll be the first time he’s ever competed on U.S. soil with all seven of his prior fights taking place in Mexico.
“It's very exciting, especially being here in my hometown, Vegas,” he said.
“So I'm looking forward to it, and especially here, all my people there to cheer me on, even though we have to block that out. So, you know, we have to stay focused. And, you know, just win again.”
“Just win” is something Morales has been quite successful at so far in his professional career. Since turning pro as a 16-year-old back in 2020, he’s fought seven times, and has won all seven by knockout.
Now, after accepting a late-notice call, Morales will step in to end a seven-month layoff when he takes on Cato-Cain at the Meta APEX on Sunday night.
Despite the short turnaround after a lengthy layoff, Morales said he has no issues with regard to prep time, and said he’ll arrive in shape, on weight and ready to go on fight night. It’s because he had a very simple approach to preparation as soon as he knew he was confirmed for the event.
“Just study, have a game plan and just cut the weight I have to cut – not much,” he said.
“So, I'm ready. We’ve just got to focus on a game plan and execute it.”
Morales’ last fight – a second-round stoppage of Guillermo Borboa last June, was his first fight in four and a half years. Prior to that he had paused his career due to a combination of injuries and work.
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Christian Morales Fight Week Interview | Zuffa Boxing 02
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A torn ACL meant he had a tough two-year road back to fighting fitness, all while he continued work as a plane detailer at his father’s business at Atlantic Private Airport in Las Vegas.
But now he’s found his way back to the sport, and plans on taking full advantage of the opportunity to showcase his talents this weekend. For Morales, it’s just a case of following his talents and sticking to what he’s good at.
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“It's a God-gifted talent,” he explained.
“So anything else I do, it doesn't make sense to me. Every time it is boxing, I always create ideas in boxing. When it comes to everything else, it doesn't stick with me. So I just stick to boxing.”
And while the opportunity that lies in front of him is a huge one, Morales said he’ll make sure he keeps everything in check mentally, including when he makes the walk to the Zuffa Boxing ring for the very first time.
“Just control the chaos, which is in the inner self,” he said.
“I can't really focus on what's outside. Nothing's really physical in this world –everything's all inner. So, you got to control the chaos inside, just focus on the game plan that we have on Sunday night, execute it, and just come out victorious – knockout, decision, whatever.”
And when pressed to tell us what the fight will look like if he produces the performance he has planned, his response was much like the outcome of his fights to date, short and sweet.
“Knockout,” he said.
“(In a) very creative fashion.”
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