Giovani Santillan aims to prove he’s a ‘top five fighter’ in homecoming bout vs. Brian Norman

Giovani Santillan has had a roller coaster ride over the last four years. But after going from pseudo-retirement to stepping stone to welterweight contender, Santillan is now on the cusp of a world title shot.

Santillan believes the best is yet to come.

The southpaw Santillan, rated No. 4 by The Ring at 147 pounds, will face Brian Norman, Jr. Saturday night at Pechanga Arena in his hometown of San Diego, California. The 12-round bout will precede the main event bout between Emanuel Navarrete and Denys Berinchyk, both of whom will be fighting for the vacant WBO world lightweight title.

Both fights will air live on ESPN (10 p.m. ET/ 7 p.m. PT).

The compelling clash between Santillan and Norman will have more at stake. The WBO announced Thursday its interim welterweight title (not recognized by The Ring) will be up for grabs.

Santillan (32-0, 17 knockouts) is coming off an impressive knockout win over Alexis Rocha, who is currently rated No. 9 by The Ring, on October 21 in Inglewood, California. Rocha was the overwhelming favorite (-650 according to DraftKings) going into the fight, and was the mandatory challenger to face WBO world welterweight titleholder Terence Crawford.

The 32-year-old Santillan was the aggressor and dominant fighter from the opening bell, ending matters in round six.

“I think the game plan just worked,” Santillan told The Ring on Monday. “Everything we worked on in the gym, it just came together. I felt from the first round that I was starting to hurt him with my punches. That gave me confidence as soon as the round ended, I felt like I could end this fight early. I had to keep being smart defensively, but keep doing the things I was doing. I felt like I was attacking first, attacking last. I would finish every engagement. I felt like I was being effective from the beginning. Once I dropped him in the fifth round, I (realized) I broke his will. I felt like he didn’t want to be in there anymore.

“I definitely saw something I felt could expose. Over the past few years, (I’ve) been sparring a lot of southpaws. I feel comfortable in there with southpaws now. I feel very comfortable. I felt that it would probably give Rocha more trouble, him being in there with me than me with him, both of us being southpaws.”

Another added component on Santillan’s improved skill-set has been working with trainer Robert Garcia in Riverside, California over the last several months. Garcia also trains unbeaten junior middleweight Vergil Ortiz, unified flyweight titleholder Jesse Rodriguez, junior welterweight contender Jose Ramirez, and lightweight contender Raymond Muratalla.

Santillan has always been a talented boxer-puncher, but the amount of sparring at Garcia’s gym, along with working with Garcia has allowed him to hone and improve his skillset.

“I’ve only sparred with Vergil once, but I do spar plenty of times with Jose Ramirez,” said Santillan, who is managed by David McWater. “The first time we sparred was when he was getting ready to fight Josh Taylor. We‘ve helped each other a lot. I gained a lot (by) working with him. We always push each other. Our sparring sessions are like wars. They’re like fights. Some of the other guys (I spar) are Lindolfo Delgado. I’ve always had great sparring sessions with him. Raymond Muratalla, as well. He’s a really good fighter. Those guys are always pushing me to the limit. I feel like I’ve improved a lot being part of the training camp there.

“I think Robert has played a huge role in my improvement. Ever since I joined that gym in 2021, I felt that I’ve leveled up. I feel like I’ve taken off in the way I perform in the ring now. Robert is a teacher. I feel like, especially in the corner, he knows exactly what I need to hear for me to go out there. He gives great advice everytime I’m in the corner. I feel like that’s one of the bigger things that I’ve gained from him in that gym. Also, another thing about Robert that I notice also with fighters is that he doesn’t try to change your style. He tries to add on to what you already do and improve your style. So I think that’s what a great teacher does.”

Although Santillan is currently in a great place in his career, it was the opposite several months ago. A managerial dispute forced him to idly sit and watch as other fighters climbed the ladder into contender status.

Despite being frustrated, Santillian continued training, convincing himself an opportunity would come by. In the meantime, Santillan would train or work with beginners in a gym in the San Diego area, or provide one-on-one lessons with novices.

Santillan was grateful to eventually strike a managerial deal with McWater, and sign a promotional contract with Top Rank, allowing him to continue his career.

“I think, with the support of my family, there was a period of time where I wasn’t fighting,” said Santillan. “I went almost two years once without fighting. That was a really frustrating moment in my life. There was nothing I could do about it except wait and train. But I had faith that I could be here (as a world-rated contender). All I did was keep training.

“I was working at the gym, training and teaching people. So I made sure to try and stay around this as much as possible. I didn’t stay away from the gym. That helped me out a lot because I could’ve wasted time and got really out of shape, just gotten into some trouble, but I didn’t. I kept faith in what I wanted to do, believed in myself, and it’s helped me so far in this journey. It’s been a long journey but I’m excited to be where I’m at now.”

A world title shot could be within his grasp, should he defeat Norman. Becoming an interim world titleholder would almost guarantee Santillan would challenge for the world title, outright, whether against Ring champion Terence Crawford, or be elevated to full titleholder should Crawford stay at 154 pounds after his August 3 fight against Israil Madrimov.

Norman (25-0, 19 KOs), who resides in Conyers, Georgia, has not faced the level of opposition Santillan has faced thus far, but Santillan is not overlooking the 23-year-old.

“I feel that one of my advantages (going into this fight) is my experience. I’ve been in there with better fighters. I’m always in the gym, sparring these world-class fighters all the time, working next to them. I feel that’s a huge advantage to my side.

“Right now, this to me is like a world title (fight). I got to treat every single one of these like that. They’re that important in my career. I need to keep winning these fights to solidify my chance at getting a world title shot. This (fight) right here is everything for me. This upcoming fight. I’m taking it very (seriously). I’ve been in training camp since February, training hard. I’m really looking forward to this fight. What this fight would bring. Even with a great performance, I know that I will get my world title shot later this year, hopefully this year.”

Even after the obstacles he had to overcome, and having defeated some of the best fighters at 147 pounds, Santillan hopes to face the upper echelon of the division.

“I definitely believe that I’m a top-five (fighter) for sure. (There are) a lot of good fighters. I think this is what makes this all exciting for me right now. Even though Crawford left, there’s other names popping up right now. Those are exciting fights that I’m looking forward to. There’s Jaron Ennis, there’s (Eimantas) Stanionis, there’s Mario Barrios. The other guys that are probably going to be world champions for those other sanctioning bodies. There’s also a lot of 140-pounders that I think are going to be moving up pretty soon. I think this division is going to be very exciting very soon. I’m looking forward to all of that. That’s why this next fight for me this Saturday, I’m taking it very seriously because I need to get this win for me to get these bigger fights.”

In previous interviews with The Ring, Santillan had for years expressed his wish for a world title or significant fight to take place in San Diego. With a fight of this magnitude against Norman, Santillan is grateful for the opportunity to fight Saturday in his hometown.

“It’s exciting. It means a lot to me. One of the things that motivates me during training camp and it gets me to work even harder is knowing that I’m fighting in front of my people. I got to really show up for them. And, especially having this fight after my last fight, given the performance I gave, I feel like a lot more people are looking forward to seeing me fight this time around in San Diego.

Francisco A. Salazar has written for The Ring since October 2013 and has covered boxing in Southern California and abroad since 2000. Francisco also covers boxing for the Ventura County (California) Star newspaper. He can be reached at santio89@yahoo.com

Follow @FSalazarBoxing

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