Amarillo’s Jesse Prieto ready for another fight, this time inside the ring
Jesse Prieto has been fighting in one form or another for nearly half his life. Saturday night, he'll take part in the kind of fight he's been working toward for so long.
Prieto, an Amarillo resident and graduate of Hereford, is set to take part in Bomb City Brawl 5 this Saturday evening at Azteca Music Hall. It's an eight-bout boxing event assembling some of the top fighters in the region and the second fight of Prieto's professional career.
It's the kind of opportunity he's spent much of his existence trying to get.
“Ever since I was a little kid I’ve been interested in fighting," Prieto said. "Whether it’s kung-fu, karate, boxing or whatever. My dad would always show me these action movies that I’d get real into. I always just thought, ‘Man, I want to be like that. I want to be a fighter.’"
A native of Lakin, Kansas, Prieto began fighting at 19-years old. He started out in MMA in 2006 — with most of his fights coming in New Mexico (cage fighting was not legally sanctioned in Texas until 2008). He had 11 amateur fights with the last coming at the Memorial Civic Center in Lubbock in 2008. That fight ended in defeat, causing Prieto to focus on perfecting his fighting craft for many years.
It also gave him time to work on his day job, a different kind of fighting that doesn't involve fists or gloves: Firefighting.
Prieto anttended Amarillo College, where he studied fire protection and used to be a volunteer firefighter for Randall County. He's now a firefighter in Borger, while maintaining his residence in Amarillo, and commutes for work. Though the flame of passion for combat still burns bright, it's the combatant of fire that keeps him going.
“Fighting is important, but being a firefighter is more important," Prieto said. "I just want to put that out there because firefighting always comes first since I like to help people out on their worst days.”
Prieto is 35 and while firefighting is his full-time profession, he's never lost sight of his passion for the other kind of fighting. Since losing that fight back in 2008, he's continued to work on karate, jiu-jitsu and kickboxing. As time went on, he transitioned into boxing after encouragement from his trainer, Jose Montanez.
Since the switch to boxing, Prieto has continued to find success. He participated in Battle of the Badges, an amateur fight between policemen and firemen, winning with a second round TKO. Last year, he got an opportunity to take his skills to the next level with his inaugural professional fight.
Prieto won that fight on his mom's birthday, calling it a present for her, while he’ll also relish in the first-round TKO and 1-0 record.
This year, he's hoping to get himself a present with Bomb City Brawl 5 taking place on his 36th birthday. His wife, Ruby Solano, will be in attendance, as she has been for many of his fights in the time they've together for more than a decade and a half.
"Before my wife and I were married I was always married to the gym," Prieto said. "We worked at the same place and I would see her at work only and then after work I’d go to the gym for four or five hours. I would never see her outside of work so she’d say, ‘We have a high school relationship where we only see each other at school’ and I’d be like, ‘Yeah, because I’m training all the time.’ She knows how it is, and she supports me."
The same goes for Prieto and Solano's two children, a 15-year old daughter and eight-year old son.
"Ever since they were little they’ve known I go to the gym a lot," Prieto said. "At the same time, though, I try to make time for them and balance out my life. I make sure I have gym time, family time and me time. They’ve always got my back and support me in everything that I do.”
They'll be supporting him again this Saturday when he represents Texas Elite Fight Club against an opponent from Albuquerque, New Mexico who is also 1-0. There will be other local fighters participating as well, including Rudy Montenegro and Emmanuel Saez of Nick's Fight Club.
All fighters will participate in a weigh-in open to the public at Jorge's Tacos Garcia at 5:30 p.m. at 1100 South Ross St.
After that, the real show begins Saturday with the doors to Azteca Music Hall opening at 5 p.m. and the first fight starting at 6 p.m. General admission is $40 with additional tickets available for VIP and ringside seats. Prieto's fight card hadn't been set at press time.
No matter when he fights, Prieto knows what he'd like to get from the evening.
“Depending on how this fight goes I want to keep going," he said. "I want to keep pursuing boxing and hopefully get on a big fight card out of town. I’m just going to keep training and trying to be better.”
This article originally appeared on Amarillo Globe-News: Amarillo’s Jesse Prieto ready for another fight, this time inside the ring At Bomb City Brawl 5
