Raul Curiel (12-0, 10 KO’s) had an impressive outing against Brad Solomon on Saturday night. The former Mexican Olympian knocked out his most experienced opponent yet with a brutal uppercut that ended the match in the second round. The fight was streamed on DAZN. 

Curiel is trained by the Hall of Fame coach Freddie Roach.

The 27-year-old Tampico, Tamaulipas native hadn’t fought for a year, but signs of rust were nonexistent.

“I felt good in there. I’m hungry for more activity in 2023. I want as many fights possible,” Curiel said. “2023 will be my break-out year. I need to fight higher level fighters in order to get to another level and I’m ready for it.”

“From the first time I put my gloves on I knew this was going to be my job,” he remembers. “And now that’s what I do and I love it because it’s what makes me happy. And that’s why I’m so passionate about it.

“What can I say? I’m training with a legend in Freddie Roach and that gives me supreme confidence. It makes me confident that I can bring the fans the fights they want and the victory for me,”

Roach thinks very highly of Curiel.

“He’s a heck of a combination puncher. He’s very fit. He ways shows up in shape. Whenever you put him in to do sparring he does very well. He lets his hands go and he looks great in there. I think he’s evolving quite well and he’s ready to step up the level of competition.” 

Although he considers himself a boxer/puncher, Curiel always hunts for the knockout. 

“When you knockout your opponent, you leave no doubts. No one can say anything. So I always look for the knockout. It’s also more exciting for the fans and I always want to put on a show," Curiel said.

He has well defined goals. “I have this deep need to be a world champion. I want to be a world champion for my state of Tamaulipas, for my country Mexico and for my family. I want to make people proud of me. I’ll be putting in all the necessary work,” he says. “God willing I’ll be a world champion and a fan favorite.”