Gustavo Morales said he weighed 220 pounds and smoked a pack of cigarettes per day just a few years ago.<\/p>\n
Now he weighs about 156 pounds and lives a much healthier lifestyle.<\/p>\n
The Allentown resident is a super welterweight who is undefeated as pro boxer, and because of how he has changed his life and has shown what hard work can do, he has become something of a role model in the community.<\/p>\n
Many of his fans will be there on Friday night when the second-ever boxing card is held at Allentown\u2019s Archer Music Hall,<\/p>\n
Morales fought on the first card at Archer Music Hall, and he figures to be one of the top draws again on a card that is headlined by a super featherweight (130 pounds) bout between undefeated and reigning World Boxing Association (WBA) Continental Americas champion Deonte \u201cLay \u2018Em Down\u201d Brown (17-0,11 KOs) and hard-hitting knockout artist Yohan \u201cLa Fiera\u201d Vasquez (26-6, 21 knockouts).<\/p>\n
The card, which is being staged by Red Owl Boxing, which is based in Houston, is being called \u201cBoxfest XVIII\u201d and tickets are available at Ticketmaster.com and the Archer Music Hall box office.<\/p>\n
The five-fight preliminary bout card will stream live on Red Owl Boxing\u2019s YouTube channel, beginning at 5:30 p.m. and will be immediately followed by a livestream of the five-bout main card on DAZN, beginning at 8 p.m.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe are looking forward to returning to Allentown and bringing a tremendous fight card headlined by one of Red Owl Boxing\u2019s top up-and-coming champions, Deonte Brown, who has a very challenging task in front of him in Yohan Vasquez,\u201d said Red Owl Boxing CEO Greg Bloom.<\/p>\n
But perhaps no one will hear more cheers than Morales, who immigrated from Mexico in 2009 at the age of 16 and began his own local construction company called ABE Stone Masonry.<\/p>\n
The 33-year-old will face Kevin Luna (3-3) of Houston in his super welterweight contest.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m really a humble person and I just want everybody to come and enjoy the show,\u201d Morales said. \u201cI want us to be able to continue these events and I just want to put on a good show, a good fight so that everybody who comes and who took the time to spend money on a ticket will get their money\u2019s worth.\u201d<\/p>\n
As someone working in construction, Morales knows what working for a living is all about.<\/p>\n
But while building his business, he kept alive a dream he had growing up as a kid in Mexico where his family had connections to boxing.<\/p>\n
\u201cEverything in life is hard work,\u201d he said. \u201cThe way I see it, when I\u2019m in the gym and doing these crazy workouts, I\u2019m sitting there dying and I am thinking to myself \u2018Why didn\u2019t I take up another sport?\u2019 But at the same time when I am in the ring and I am fighting. I enjoy it. You have to enjoy the process of everything. You work hard the whole week and it\u2019s like you get to the end of the week to receive your reward.\u201d<\/p>\n
Morales\u2019 family had connections to world champs such as Francisco Vargas and Erik Morales in Mexico City. His family still comes and supports him in Allentown.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou know this was a dream of mine at one point in my life; I used to watch a lot of pro fighters and when I started boxing to lose weight, I used to look up to them.\u201d he said. \u201cI just wanted to look like them at one point of my life. I wanted to be like them. I just wanted to lose weight. A lot of people gave me criticism when I started boxing. They told me I was crazy and I was going to get hurt. That made me want to prove them wrong. When I made the decision to go professional, the people said the same thing. They said I was crazy. They said it takes a long time, but all it takes is hard work and a lot of dedication and a lot of believing in yourself.\u201d<\/p>\n
Morales had a coach who believed in him. He trains out of the Show Stoppers Boxing Gym on South 12th Street in Allentown and works with David Hamilton.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe noticed my skills from before I could even think about a career,\u201d Morales said. \u201cHe\u2019s the one that is in my head and tells me to trust my skills. Once I started listening to him, everything started to come together.\u201d<\/p>\n
Morales isn\u2019t sure how far boxing will take him, but he said getting involved in the sport has been life-changing.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt really has changed everything for me,\u201d he said. \u201cYou know a lot of the kids at the gym they look up to me. They gave me a lot of motivation, and they give me the drive to push myself and whenever I feel tired, I see all of these kids looking up to me and they give motivation to push myself a little more.\u201d<\/p>\n
Bloom is excited about this card and looking forward to holding more events here and elsewhere in the region while building his own venue to be called \u201cThe Owl\u2019s Nest\u201d in Houston.<\/p>\n
The intimacy of the venue makes it a great spot to see boxing, and he sees Allentown having the potential for being a boxing hotbed.<\/p>\n
\u201cOur first event at this venue a few weeks ago was very successful and we look forward to having an even bigger crowd this time,\u201d Bloom said. \u201cWe had no problems and see great potential to keep coming back and putting on shows with talented fighters from Pennsylvania and the area.\u201d<\/p>\n
Welterweight Ruben Rodriguez of Whitehall (6-0, 6 KOs) is also on Friday night\u2019s card.<\/p>\n
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