BC student, Miguel Contreras, a 20-year-old professional boxer, had a long journey from his amateur days to his now 6-0 professional career.

The record for Contreras stands undefeated and five of those wins come by knockout. 

“My mom signed me up to be at PAL (Police Academy League) just so I would have somewhere to be while she was at work, and boxing was one of the first things I saw and I wanted to try it,” Contreras said.

He started training at the age of eight and had his first amateur fight at the age of 13. Contreras had 60 amateur fights over the span of five years and held a record of 53-7 throughout that span, bringing home two titles and a bronze medal. 

He made the trip to Kansas City for the National Silver Gloves where he came out as the champion. Contreras then made a trip to Nevada for the Jr. Golden Gloves and came out victorious in that one as well. 

He then went to West Virginia for the Jr. Olympics and brought home a bronze medal.

“Only time I’ve ever been on a plane or out the state it was for boxing, I’m forever grateful for this sport,” Contreras said.

After all of those accomplishments, Contreras entered the professional realm at the age of 18.

“My game has improved a lot from my first fight to where I’m at right now,” Contreras said.

Contreras sparred with pros from LA, such as Olympian Carlos Balderas and world champion Oscar Valdez.

“Sparring with those guys taught me a lot and gave me more experience and great chances to learn how to improve my own game,” Contreras said.

Contreras’ most recent match took place on Sept. 29 where he achieved a win with a fifth-round TKO. 

Contreras works immensely for a six to eight week period of time leading up to his fight that he and his team call “training camp”.

From the first day, Contreras participates in strength and conditioning three times a week at six in the morning. 

After that, he would go to class, and every single day he would follow class with practice and a trip to In-Shape gym after that for his own cardio workout. 

On weekends Contreras says he would usually go for a long eight-mile run.

Six to eight weeks of that all leads up to the big day. 

“Until the fight, the big day is really just eating and resting,” said Contreras.

“People always ask me if I get nervous before a fight, and I always answer that with a question. I ask them if they get nervous before they clock in for work. This is my job and I prepare for months for this moment so there is no need for me to be nervous,” Contreras said.

Contreras also works around his boxing schedule and still makes time for his education. 

He is a kinesiology major and says education is his backup plan. 

After his career, Contreras hopes to either be a boxing trainer or maybe even open up his own boxing gym.

Typically, there are a few months between fights, however, Contreras says he could be back in the ring by December.

 “It is a one-man sport and you can’t blame anyone else on your loss, and I know that nobody works harder than me,” concluded Contreras.