Jorge Maravillo embodies the community he comes from.
Maravillo outpointed Jesus Gonzalez of Santa Ana, California this past Friday night in Santa Ynez, California via a unanimous decision.
The 23-year-old now hopes to be one-in-a-million; a fighter with limited amateur pedigree who wins a world title. In fact, he only had 25 amateur fights but cites two inspirations, his father and his hometown.
“As a kid my dad [Jorge Maravillo] used to box,” Maravillo told BoxingScene. “He was an amateur, so I want to say that made me think about boxing, but I have always been a fighter at heart.”
His father is also Jorge Maravillo, yet Maravillo is not a junior.
“I have a middle name, my father doesn’t,” he explained.
Marvavillo is now 9-0 with eight knockouts. He trains out of the salad bowl – Salinas, California.
The hardworking, blue-collar town that might not be known, but is seen nationwide, the Salinas Valley is responsible for 70 per cent of produce in the United States.
“I would say resilience,” Maravillo said of his upside. “I think everybody in Salinas embodies hard work. Even the tough situations you are in, a lot of BS around the town, everyone is able to persevere.”
American author John Steinbeck wrote prose about Maravillo’s hometown. He used Salinas as his set piece for East of Eden. The southpaw slugger, who trains beside Top Rank’s featherweight Ruben Villa, hopes to write his own masterpiece over the next few years.
“I have always had that fire in me,” Maravillo added. “That fire to work hard, to do the extra reps, extra sets. I see myself as an all-around hard worker.”
He works with the Garcia family of Salinas, California.
“Camp went good,” said his coach, Max Garcia. “He doesn’t have a deep amateur pedigree so there is that, but he can punch.”
Max Garcia’s son, Sam, serves as the co-trainer for Maravillo, and stated: “He [Maravillo] is a really hard worker. He is a blue-collar fighter, who gives the sport everything he has.”