It's been well over two years since "El Finito" fought in front of his hometown crowd in San Antonio. That performance he gave back in 2020 at the Alamodome was perhaps the best of his young career at that point. A dominating 10-round UD victory over former world title challenger Juan Carlos Burgos. A fight that was supposed to set up bigger things. Ryan Garcia and Devin Haney's fights were discussed. A contract was actually signed for a Ryan Garcia fight. Signed by only one party, however, that was Tanajara. "We signed the contract a few times and nothing ever happened. I was getting ready for the fight and the fight switched on me." Tanajara explained.
Since then, things have hit a bit of a speed bump for " El Finto" he was out of the ring for a year and a half waiting on a big fight mix in the pandemic, and it wasn't until last July that Tanajara was back in the ring. A night he just wasn't himself and suffered his first professional loss. Eight months later, Tanajara had to settle for a draw with Miguel Contreras. That was the last time the San Antonian was in the ring.
He looks to bounce back and return to the place where he was the last time he fought in San Antonio, a rising young prospect on the verge of mega-fights in a loaded division. He will enter the ring on November 18 as a 140-pounder. "I just want to see how I feel at 140. If I feel great, I'll stay. If not I'll go back down to 135." Tanajara explained and added, "I feel stronger and more powerful (at 140)." He will battle with the largely unknown Antonio Mieja of Nuevo León, Mexico. Meija has a record of 10-4 (8). "I don't know too much about my opponent, my trainer and my team takes care of that." Tanajara explained, " I know everyone who comes to fight gets my respect. It's a fight just to get into the ring."
The talent and skills that made Tanjara not only an amateur stand out but one of the premier prospects in the sport not long ago are still all there. The Alamo City native was signed by Golden Boy at the age of 18 and he ran off 19 consecutive wins to start his career. Including dismantling Roger Gutierrez over eight one-sided rounds in 2018. Gutierrez would go on to win a world title just two and a half years later. Tanajara's name was mentioned among the premier 135-pound prospects at the time. That included Haney and Garcia. Tanajara was at least at their level. The skills and the talent are still all there. The path back to the world's elite level is clear. That path back starts where it all began San Antonio, Texas.