A promotional attempt at resurrecting the Phoenix boxing market will start at the roots of some of the city’s better days with Hall of Famer Michael Carbajal in the corner as the trainer for Canadian junior-middleweight Janks Trotter on a March 18 card featuring super-middleweight Jesus Gonzales in a homecoming against Dhafir Smith at Celebrity Theatre.
“It’s an opportunity,’’ said Carbajal, who wants to rebuild his life as a trainer after an estimated $2 million in assets were taken from him in a fraudulent scheme that led to a conviction and 54-month prison sentence for his brother, Danny. “It’s up to me, but this could lead to something.’’
Darin Schmick of Fanbase Promotions reached out to Carbajal not long after he decided to stage five cards in Phoenix after Gonzales fought and won two months ago in Calgary, Schmick’s hometown.
Schmick had long been acquainted with Phoenix, the city’s busy gym scene and its rich boxing history, which is featured by Carbajal’s unique and turbulent story.
“Mention Phoenix and you think of Michael,’’ said Schmick, who has matched Trotter 4-0, 4 KOs) against Arturo Crespin (6-1, 2 KOs) of New Mexico. “I know things have been tough for him lately. But we also know he can help Trent and we feel like we can help him at the same time.’’
Schmick’s promotional schedule includes a news conference and official weigh-in next week at the Ninth Street Gym, an old church where Carbajal trained for an unprecedented career as 108-pounder and the first in the lightest weight classes to fight for a $1 million purse.
The Carbajal angle is just one part of Phoenix theme. Gonzales, a leading prospect in 2003, returns after controversy and a loss, his only defeat in 26 fights, to Jose Luis Zertuche in 2005. After the loss – an eighth-round stoppage, Top Rank dropped him.
“At 26, he is still a young man with a 25-1 record,’’ Schmick said of Gonzales, who won a second-round stoppage over Jason Naugler in Calgary on Nov. 12. “He’s also a terrific story.’’
In the 28-year-old Smith (24-19-7, 4 KOs), Gonzales faces an experienced fighter whose record includes a unanimous decision over former Jeff Lacy on Dec. 11 and a 2007 loss by sixth-round stoppage to current super-middleweight champ Andre Ward.
