Pepe Riley is one of the assistant trainers at Wild Card Boxing Club and has witnessed the huge growth of 2016 Mexican Olympian Raul Curiel.
Kriel stopped Jorge Maron Jr. in the first round of a 10-round DAZN opener scheduled for April 27 at the Save Mart Center in Fresno, California.
Riley, a 1992 Olympian who was in the same U.S. Olympic class as Curiel’s promoter and Olympic gold medalist Oscar De La Hoya, is now optimistic about Curiel’s future (15-0, 13 KOs).
Kriel, 28, has won 10 consecutive fights by knockout since April 2019. He is currently ranked 7th in the WBC welterweight rankings. While Dickie Eklund Jr. and Reilly corner Curiel for his final fight, head trainer Freddie Roach looks at Jaime Eklund Jr., who is one week away from a fight with Saul “Canelo” Alvarez, who he lost by unanimous decision. Finished preparing Munguia.
“Raul Curiel is one of the most improving fighters in our gym,” Riley said. “He's probably grown more than anyone realizes.”
Given the state of the welterweight division, an opportunity could come in the near future. Terrence Crawford is moving up to junior middleweight and is scheduled to fight Israil Madrimov on August 3 in Los Angeles, California, but many believe he will not return to welterweight. Crawford holds three of the four world titles at welterweight. Jaron “Boots” Ennis holds the IBF welterweight title and will face Cody Crowley on July 13 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
Former three-belt titleholder Errol Spence, who has been inactive since a ninth-round technical knockout loss to Crawford, appears to be looking to move up in weight as well.
Curiel is realistically looking at a meaningful welterweight fight in the near future after struggling with a lack of activity from October 2019 to January 2021. Riley sees Curiel’s commitment to the sport as one of his X-factors.
“He’s been really dedicated to his job lately and I think it’s really showing,” Riley said.
