By Przemek Garczarczyk
Welterweight Brian Ceballo, who just signed with Tom Loeffler’s 360 Promotions, will make his pro debut tomorrow night in the co-feature of the inaugural “Hollywood Night Fights” event at The Avalon, an iconic and historic Tinseltown landmark that has an extraordinary legacy of hosting memorable events since it opened in 1926.
The 24-year-old Brooklyn native Ceballo, who is managed by “Split-T Management,” has won 17 National amateur championships. He’s a 5-time New York Golden Gloves champion, the 2017 United States Amateur Champion, and has had 200+ amateur bouts.
Ceballo has always dreamed big. “I always wanted to make an Olympic Team, but unfortunately, it didn’t happen – for whatever reasons,” he told Fightnews.com. “But it made me stronger because it’s something you have to overcome. You have to go forward because the ultimate goal is to be on top and be a world champion.
“Now there is a new pressure – to win first professional fight, but I know that pressure is something always present when you’re a fighter. I can deal with that. I know that I’m ready to succeed on Tuesday. I’m more than ready.
“It doesn’t really matter that I’m from Brooklyn, and I’m starting my career in much more glamorous Hollywood. During my amateur career I fought in California, in different countries – it’s about what I can bring to the ring. This will make a difference.”
Tom Loeffler, CEO of 360 Promotions, has always said that he prefers to work with fighters that – outside of being great athletes – are also great human beings. Ceballo fits that bill perfectly. Engaging personality (plays piano, guitar and sings!). But he knows that it will help him during career only if he’s victorious in the ring.
“When people are talking about me, they miss my personality more than anything else. They know me as a fighter, but they don’t know me personally. I’m very respectful (to my opponent) outside the ring but I also know that it ends when we fight. I know that.
“My biggest strength is that I can adapt to any fighter. Over the years of training, I realized that there’s not just one blueprint how to win the fight. You have to adapt. Whatever the other fighter will show in the ring, I can adapt to it.
“Of course, this is a new journey for me, and there’s always a room for improvement. My opponent is 1-0, with one KO, he comes from Mexico, he comes to fight. So will I…”