Photo Credit: John Ramos @ South Park Boxing Academy
Things have come full circle for "El Finito'' Hector Tanajara, the 25-year-old San Antonio native, is literally back where it all started. Tanajara will battle rugged journeymen Antonio Mieja in Friday night's main event at the Tech Port Arena. Tanajara, a west-side kid, talked about how he remembers kicking around a soccer ball in the area which is now the arena he will headline.
It has been quite a journey for the San Antonian to get here. Not long ago he signed a contract to fight Ryan Garcia. A contract that was never signed by Garcia. A Garcia-Tanajara would have been a mega fight in late 2020 or early 2021. The high-level scrap between two all-world unbeaten lightweight prospects never materialized. A duck by King Ry! Tanajara takes a more humble approach. When asked if he was ducked by the undefeated star. El Finito said "All I know is I signed that contract multiple times."
Tanajara had compiled a 19-0 record and was in discussions for huge fights with both Garcia and now undisputed lightweight champ Devin Haney. Fights that would have put the Texan in another stratosphere and fights he could have won. When Fort Worth-based journeyman Clay Burns, who fought both Tanajara and Haney at similar stages of their careers, was asked who had better skills, Haney or Tanjara? Burns responded without hesitation, "Oh, Hector! That kid is sharp!" That's the level the San Antonian was operating. He still has those "sharp skills" and he still has Trainer of the Year Robert Garcia in the corner.
However, things have taken an unexpected turn for Tanjajara after the mega fight with Garcia fell through. Tanajara returned to the ring against undefeated prospect William Zepeda and suffered his first loss. An unexpected loss in a fight that was supposed to put him in position for a world title. He came back 8-months later in a must-win fight. He looked incredibly sharp in the first half of his battle with Miguel Contreras before running into a brick wall and struggling through the second half of the fight and having to settle for a draw in a fight where he was clearly the sharper and more skilled fighter.
It has been 34 months since Tanajara last won a fight. It was perhaps a career-best win, a one-sided beatdown of Juan Carlos Burgos. He looks to get back on track at a new weight class. He moves up to 140 (jr welterweight) in a move that seems to make sense. He should have more power in the weight class and better stamina which seemed to be his downfall in the second half of the Contreras fight which caused him to have to settle for a draw. "El Finito" seemed to be suffering from the weight cut. 140 looks to be a better fit for Tanajara, who says he "feels good at 140." Head trainer Robert Garcia noted, “Hector is coming off a loss and a draw, and I want to build him back up slowly.” That rebuild starts Saturday night, right back where it all started. The west side of San Antonio, right by where that little kid was once kicking around the soccer ball. He now looks to get back into the world title picture.