Alexis Rocha gets asked the same tiresome questions most boxers receive on a daily basis.
“Why aren’t you eating?” Rocha’s friends ask during outings.
“Is it hard to cut weight?” strangers ask during small talk.
But those annoying questions haven’t been asked as frequently since Rocha’s sensational knockout victory last week against George Ashie during the first boxing event at the YouTube Theater in Inglewood.
That was Rocha’s second fight as the main event and his third might be on pay-per-view against boxing star Terence Crawford, the long-reigning welterweight champion.
“I always tell everyone when they ask me, ‘Do you think you’re ready (to fight Crawford)?’ I won’t know until I’m in there,” Rocha said. “I won’t know until we’re firing away and throwing hands at each other. You know, but if that’s the fight to be made, then it’s the fight to be made.”
The boxing world has clamored for an undisputed showdown between Crawford and Errol Spence Jr., the three-belt 147-pound champion. But many fight fans are no longer holding their breath because, once again, boxing politics have gotten in the way of the dream matchup.
Spence is reportedly set to fight Keith Thurman in the spring, leaving Crawford without an opponent, and he’s also in need of a promotional company after parting with Top Rank.
Crawford, 35, recently met with Oscar De La Hoya, the face of Golden Boy Promotions, and De La Hoya likely offered a fight against his best welterweight – the 25-year-old from Santa Ana.
Rocha (22-1, 14 KOs) isn’t a seasoned fighter like Spence, but he knows the boxing game. Rocha needed a flashy knockout to attract attention and generate buzz for a potential matchup with Crawford. And you can’t forget the mandatory callout during the post-fight interviews.
Rocha wants Crawford next, he said in the ring, after making all of Santa Ana proud with his vicious right hook that dropped Ashie to end the DAZN-televised main event.
“It was a really good knockout,” Rocha said. “I think I needed it to get the buzz going about who I am. I wanted to show that I could be a headliner. And that’s the best part about it, that I brought up a pretty good crowd. I delivered a good performance, and I hope DAZN and Golden Boy see that, so they could put me in another main event in the future.”
Rocha isn’t Spence, but he has knockout power and he’s willing to engage to entertain boxing fans. Fighting Crawford would be a daunting challenge and Rocha candidly said he can’t list any weaknesses for the rugged champion from Omaha, Nebraska.
Rocha, however, is more concerned with seizing the opportunity if he’s tabbed as Crawford’s next opponent. He was ready when Golden Boy called about needing a main event less than six weeks after boxing star Ryan Garcia withdrew from being the headliner at the YouTube Theater.
“They reached out to me and my coaches,” Rocha said. “And they told me I would need to be ready in five and a half weeks and most people would have been like, ‘No, I need eight to 10 weeks for camp and for a main event.’ But I was already in the gym.”
Rocha’s life changed because he said yes to the last-minute opportunity. There’s talk about him possibly receiving the keys to the city from Santa Ana in the coming weeks.
Rocha went from fielding annoying questions about his boxing regimen to now being constantly asked about Crawford.
All the sacrifices paid off last week with the knockout victory and he got to share the moment with his older brother Ronny Rios, a junior featherweight contender.
“He’s the only one that can go through my shoes,” Rocha said. “No one knows what you’re going through. It’s hard when you’re cutting weight and you go out and you can’t eat food. Everyone’s like, ‘Oh, it sucks. You can’t eat.’
“But it’s much more than that. You’re dehydrated. You’re a little cranky. Ronnie understands what I’m going through. Because he knows that pain.”
Whether Rocha gets a shot at Crawford, his sacrifices and preparation have created several opportunities for his next boxing chapter.
“The job for me is simple,” Rocha said. “To fight the best and Terence Crawford is one of the best.”
