Gomez-Trinidad and Jauregui Plan on Waging a “Lightweight War” on “Boxeo De Oro”

The secret is out. Lightweights Juan Gomez-Trinidad and Javier Jauregui are coming, and the division’s world champions better watch out. On Thursday, June 19, in the main event of HBO Latino’s “Oscar De La Hoya Presents Boxeo De Oro”, both 135-pound standouts will battle it out in a 12 rounder that will determine the next challenger for WBA champion Leonard Dorin.

For Gomez-Trinidad, it doesn’t matter whether it’s Dorin, Paul Spadafora, or Floyd Mayweather Jr. The San Juan, Puerto Rico native just wants a championship belt.

“Anybody that gives me the opportunity, I want to fight,” said Gomez-Trinidad, 23-2 with 16 KOs. “I’m just waiting to get my opportunity to become a world champion, fight, and make a lot of money in this sport.”

A win over Jauregui will be a good step in that direction, but the Guadalajara native is promising a war on Thursday. “I feel real great and I’ve been preparing for this fight for a long time, and I expect to give one of the great fights on June 19,” he said.

Mexicans and Puerto Ricans usually put on a great show when they clash in the prize ring, and the fans at the legendary Grand Olympic Auditorium in Los Angeles are going to be in for a treat. The fans at home already know what they’re getting with Gomez-Trinidad, having seen him impressively dispatch of tough Efren Hinojosa in his first ‘Boxeo De Oro’ appearance earlier this year.

He’s planning on a repeat performance against Jauregui.

“I’m going to fight very intelligently,” said Gomez-Trinidad. “I already know his style and I’m prepared for him. I’m there to show the people what I can do, which is to do my job.”

But while Gomez-Trinidad has impressed all who have seen him fight, Jauregui is a veteran who has seen it all in his career. Only 29 years old, the Mexican has already compiled a 45-10-2 (32 KOs) record, and amazingly, he has been fighting as a professional since the age of 14.

“As an amateur I didn’t get a chance to fight with too many boxers because I started too early,” said Jauregui. “So before I turned 15 I had to turn professional because I had no more opponents. I felt really strange because I was fighting with boxers who were 25 to 36 years old.”

Since he was forced to grow up in public and learn on the job, Jauregui’s record is not as shiny as that of some overprotected prospects (though he does hold two knockout wins over former lightweight champion Jose Luis Castillo). But, as he said, “I’ve changed mentally and physically growing up in boxing. I started to feel different in the year 2000, when I got more accomplished and more confident.”

A relentless fighter in the mold of Mexican icon Julio Cesar Chavez, Jauregui is coming off a 12 round decision win over top prospect Alex Trujillo. Ironically, Trujillo hails from Puerto Rico, where boxing fans are second to none in their support of their fighters. Gomez-Trinidad knows that he is bringing the hopes of his people with him into the ring on Thursday.

“I feel very happy to support my fans and my island of Puerto Rico,” said Gomez-Trinidad. “I’m going to go back there and show the people that I’m going to fight for my country to the death.”

It’s an attitude epitomized by Gomez-Trinidad’s cousin, legendary former champion Felix “Tito” Trinidad. But Juan is determined to make his own name in the sport, starting this week.

“I can understand that people want to talk about Tito because of the person that he is and the job that he’s done, but I want to show people what I can do so my name can carry on,” said Gomez-Trinidad.

On Thursday, there’s more than a title shot on the line. National and personal pride are at stake when Jauregui and Gomez-Trinidad clash. And when the bell rings, it’s war.