Lightweight Giovanni Cabrera was one of the talented young boxers to come out of Freddie Roach's Wild Card Boxing Club. However, three years ago he fired his longtime trainer and manager and went on a hiatus. Cabrera beat several undefeated prospects during his development, but Roach and Manny Pacquiao gave him his big break.
Cabrera is scheduled to fight William Cepeda on July 6 at Toyota Arena in Ontario, California.
Cabrera (22-1, 7 KOs) struggled during the pandemic. He had parted ways with longtime trainer Johnny Noshita and manager Sam Ditusa. He refused to give up, but he didn't know what to do. A lack of activity had left him unranked in the world at his weight class. While looking for an apartment in Chicago, he had a serendipitous encounter that changed his life.
“I moved to the South Side of Chicago, and my property manager said he knew Freddie Roach and said, 'Man, I'll help you set up a meeting,'” says Cabrera, 29. “So I drove down to Las Vegas and met his uncle, Chuck Cameron, who was a longtime friend of Freddie's and who gave him a job when Freddie was boxing in the '80s.
“I packed all my stuff in my car and drove to Las Vegas hoping to impress this guy and set up a meeting with Freddie.”
They had dinner at the ARIA Resort & Casino and the meeting went well, and it was decided that Cabrera would meet with Roach after dinner.
“I came to the gym the next day, I think it was July 18th, the day before my birthday,” Cabrera said, “and Manny Pacquiao had just arrived for his final fight against Errol Spence. [who was replaced by Yordenis Ugas]I pulled up to the gym and he was leaving, and I was like, 'Oh, that was so cool, right?'”
When Cabrera walked into the gym, Roach called him a “Chicago kid,” and after a brief introduction, they got down to business, with Cabrera detailing his undefeated record, his accomplishments as the Chicago Golden Gloves champion, and his bronze medal at Mexico's National Olympic Games.
“He didn't seem too impressed,” Cabrera recalled. “He said, 'Well, if you can do it, you can stay. We'll see what happens.'”
Two days later, Cabrera found out. After a long break, he stood in one of the most famous boxing gyms in the world and heard the big news.
“'Hey Joe, Manny Pacquiao wants to meet you,'” Cabrera said Roach told him. “'If he likes you, maybe you can spar on Saturday.' Five minutes before Manny Pacquiao was supposed to arrive, he said, 'Hey, Pacquiao fired both his sparring partners and he wants to fight you right now for six rounds.' I was excited and terrified all at the same time.”
“I was on hiatus for a year, then the pandemic happened and now I'm facing an icon.”
It's important to note that Cabrera was also wrestling with his inner fan, as he had the chance of a lifetime to face someone who was a deep inspiration to him.
“One of the reasons I started boxing was because of Manny Pacquiao,” Cabrera said. “It was like a scene from a movie. It was surreal. I was super scared, but my reflexes were 100 percent and I gave him a good fight.”
“He hired me as his sparring partner for the rest of the camp,” Cabrera said. “That was my starting point. When I got out of the ring that day, Freddie said, 'Well, you know, I knew two things were going to happen. Like you said, you were either good or you were going to get knocked out.'”
Cabrera has not been shy about asserting just how good he is heading into his upcoming bout with Cepeda, and the challenges he faced both early in his pro career and as a wild-card contender have made the young fighter stronger than he ever expected.
“So,” Cabrera said, “that's how it all started for me and Freddie.”
