His career interrupted for 2½ years, undefeated Milwaukee boxer Luis Angel Feliciano is eager for opportunities
Luis Angel Feliciano envisions a sold-out Fiserv Forum with droves of people from Milwaukee's Puerto Rican community chanting his name. In order to make his dream a reality, he has to keep winning.
A Milwaukee native and Marquette University graduate, Feliciano, 29, is 16-0 in professional boxing matches. He won his most recent bout in August by majority decision after suffering a first-round knockdown — the first time he was knocked down in his career, at both the amateur and professional levels.
"To be honest, I didn't even feel anything," Feliciano said. "All I saw was a flash and then next thing I know I'm staring at the lights."
Feliciano got up, though, bounced back and knocked down Mexican fighter Alejandro Frias Rodriguez in the fourth round of their super lightweight match. Two judges scored the fight in favor of Feliciano while a third judge scored it a draw, handing Feliciano his 16th professional win.
The Rodriguez fight was Feliciano's second fight in 2022. Earlier in the year, he easily defeated Mexican fighter Hector Colin, not losing a single round on the judge's scorecards.
Before the Colin fight, Feliciano hadn't fought in nearly 2½ years. He says the hiatus was due to the COVID-19 pandemic and conflict with his former promoter, Golden Boy Promotions. Golden Boy is owned and operated by boxing great Oscar de la Hoya. Feliciano signed a contract with the promotion company in 2016.
"Everything went well for the first three years," Feliciano said. "I was 14-0, I won a regional title, I was ranked top-25 in the (World Boxing Council), then came the pandemic."
Feliciano said he was scheduled to be on a fight card featuring Mexican superstar Canelo Alvarez, but it was canceled due to the pandemic.
"Then a lot of things started happening," Feliciano said. Golden Boy began to offer Feliciano lower-ranked opponents and less money to fight, he said. "I'm deserving of better fights and better money, better pay, better opportunities," Feliciano said.
In addition to what Golden Boy was offering, Feliciano said the promotion company was responsible for a conflict his manager was having with another boxer signed to Golden Boy.
"It got to the point where we wanted the release," Feliciano said. However, Golden Boy didn't release Feliciano easily. The two parties went to arbitration, with the promotion company ultimately releasing Feliciano from his contract in January 2021.
"I get it. It's the business of boxing," Feliciano said. "But, if you look at the fighters that they've had, for example, Canelo, Seniesa Estrada, there's a lot of fighters that aren't with the way they conduct business, and that's how it played out with us."
Feliciano was not able to secure a promoter or a fight in 2021, and therefore his absence from the ring continued a little while longer. Then, he was able to strike a deal to fight Colin in May in Mexico. "I was down in Mexico getting the cobwebs off," Feliciano said.
The next fight in August against Rodriguez was really the first time Feliciano faced adversity in his career. He was cut and suffered a hand contusion, in addition to being knocked down. Every previous fight was decided by knockout, technical knockout or unanimous decision.
Feliciano became North American Boxing Federation champion in 2019 and successfully defended his belt later that year, then his hiatus happened. He was forced to vacate the belt because he wasn't fighting.
He was ranked in the top 25 in his weight class — super lightweight — before the hiatus. Since his return, Feliciano broke into the top 40 of the WBC rankings in October. However, as of Jan. 17, he was not ranked again, according to WBC's website.
Now, Feliciano wants to fight again as soon as late February or early March. He still hasn't secured a promoter but says he is in conversations with Premier Boxing Champions about fighting in a few weeks.
PBC was started by Al Haymon — best known for being Floyd Mayweather Jr.'s manager — whose goal was to bring boxing back into mainstream media.
Haymon considers himself a manager not a promoter, which would require PBC to be in compliance with the Muhammad Ali Boxing Reform Act, signed into law by President Bill Clinton in 2000, which forbids a manager from also serving as promoter. Two promotion companies, Golden Boy and Top Rank, sued Haymon and PBC as a result.
The suit with Top Rank was settled in 2016, and the Golden Boy suit was dismissed in 2017.
PBC's fights air on Showtime. The group represents Gervonta "Tank" Davis, one of the biggest stars in boxing, and Feliciano sees an opportunity to strike a deal for a fight.
Feliciano wanted to stress "we don't have any commitments with (PBC), as far as contractually, we don't."
If any potential deal falls through with PBC, Feliciano said he will have to approach local promoters in boxing hub Las Vegas, where he resides. "Ideally we would like to work with PBC, that's the plan," he said.
Feliciano believes he can contend with the best, but it will take work
Feliciano understands that his hiatus hinders his chances of getting a title fight anytime soon and realizes that he needs to significantly improve his ranking in order to get a shot. "You have to be top 10 to fight for a world title, you have to be," he said.
"We're not in that position yet, we still got to get through what we got to do, and get ourselves in that position," Feliciano said.
His goal is to have four or five fights this year to help improve his ranking as he approaches the age of 30. "Good thing boxing rankings aren't about age, but it's about who you beat," Feliciano said.
With the help of his manager, Rafael Heredia, Feliciano matches himself up with others in his class. And typical of the mindset of boxers, Feliciano sees himself as a threat to those at the top of his class, "I look at all the guys at 140 (pounds), I just don't look at one guy. ... 140 (pounds) is an open weight class" he said.
The super lightweight division includes some prominent names, including Josh Taylor, Ryan Garcia, and Teófimo López. A Scottish boxer fighting out of the United Kingdom, Taylor was the undisputed champion from May 2021 to May 2022 but vacated some belts after not fighting for nearly a year.
"There's not one definitive guy at 140 (pounds) like how it used to be, last year, a year and half ago, where it was Josh Taylor. That was the guy," Feliciano said.
Feliciano, born in Milwaukee to Puerto Rican parents, was always meant to be a fighter
In 1991, Evelyn Gonzalez and Luis Alberto Feliciano Sr. moved to Milwaukee from Utuado, Puerto Rico. Evelyn gave birth to a son, Luis Jr., in 1993.
Feliciano grew up in an area with strong Puerto Rican population between the city's Riverwest and Harambee neighborhoods near North Holton Street. He has a lot of family still in Utuado and is proud of his Puerto Rican heritage. He wears the U.S. territory's flag proud on his trunks. He grew up idolizing Puerto Rican boxing greats Félix Trinidad and Miguel Cotto.
During his ring walk in older fights, the broadcast would sometimes say his hometown is Utuado, Feliciano said that is wrong, "that's boxing being boxing," he said. He argues the powers that be in the sport want to emphasize his Hispanic heritage to make more money. "But I'm proud to be from Milwaukee, I wear that proudly."
Despite being an east-sider, Feliciano would spend most of his days on Milwaukee's south side at the United Community Center gym.
He first started boxing 11 days before his 8th birthday after his dad took him to the UCC. From the jump, Feliciano knew he was meant to be a fighter. As soon as the bell rang for his first fight, he ran across and let fists fly.
"I won the fight, and I was crying," Feliciano told the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel in 2015. "I got very emotional. I hugged my dad, and that was a great moment. I'll never forget it."
Feliciano was under the tutelage of Israel "Shorty" Acosta at the UCC. Acosta has been running the boxing program at the UCC since 1973. He and his wife are such staples in the community that the UCC middle school is named for them.
Under Acosta, Feliciano was the 2015 U.S. elite men’s national champion. He also was a two-time Ringside national champion and won titles in the Police Athletic League (PAL) and Under-19 national tournaments.
He also competed in the 2012 and 2016 Olympic trials and represented the United States at the 2015 Pan American Games.
Feliciano says Acosta and the people at the UCC are like a second family and the gym is a second home.
"That place means everything to me," he said.
Feliciano spent his first 22 years in Milwaukee. He attended Rufus King High School on Milwaukee's north side. He graduated from Marquette University in 2015 having studied criminology and law studies. He hopes to utilize his degree if boxing doesn't pan out.
"I've always said that my plan is to have a great successful boxing career where I can just have my money and retire and do nothing, but sometimes it doesn't work that way," Feliciano said. "I'm glad that I put the work in, my college degree is something I take a lot of pride in."
A first generation college graduate, Feliciano envisions himself as a FBI or CIA agent after boxing.
After college, Feliciano moved to Big Bear Lake, California, to pursue his professional boxing career. It is almost necessary for young boxers to move to boxing hubs in order to ensure the best gyms, coaches, managers, and promoters. "You have to live where you grind," he said.
While in Big Bear, Feliciano was in the same camp as boxing star Gennadiy Gennadyevich Golovkin, known as "Triple G."
"That camp was a blessing," Feliciano said. "For my first camp, I was with Triple G, that was a blessing. I mean being around those world champions, they taught me to train like a professional, how to be a professional."
Following a few years in the Los Angeles area, Feliciano moved to Las Vegas last year.
Feliciano loves to come home and enjoy Milwaukee's summers
Feliciano tries to visit Milwaukee at least twice a year. His parents and sister still reside in the city.
"Everything depends on my boxing schedule," he said. "Last year, I had to stay in Vegas and train and couldn't go back for the holidays. ... Those are the sacrifices you have to make."
"Ideally, I for sure have to go at least one time in the summer," Feliciano added. "Milwaukee summers are very underrated. There is so much to do in the summer, it is very lively."
The idea of a major summer boxing event at Fiserv Forum is something that intrigues Feliciano. Boxing champions who have enough status in the sport can sometimes host events in their hometown. It also happens in mixed martial arts.
Former UFC lightweight champion and Milwaukee native Anthony Pettis was able to headline a show at the old Bradley Center in 2013.
"I know Anthony Pettis got the chance and I saw how big that was. The atmosphere was crazy. I always envisioned myself doing that, that would be great," Feliciano said. "And I think that would motivate a lot of kids, especially the Latin communities on the south side, even the east side."
Feliciano said he is able to return to the UCC occasionally and meet with the young boxers at the gym. "Every time I visit Milwaukee I always like to stop by (the UCC) and see the kids, because they look up to us."
Many don't think of Milwaukee as a thriving boxing hub, but Feliciano said the UCC and other gyms have changed the narrative.
"Milwaukee is a really underrated fight city; you've got boxing and MMA," he said. "There's a lot of great fighters that come from Milwaukee."
Feliciano needed to make a change in his inner circle; he calls it a 'fresh start'
For 22 years, Feliciano's coach was Acosta at the UCC. That changed when he moved to California.
Feliciano said he recently needed to make a change at coaching now that he has entered a new "phase" in his career. He used to train with Ben Lira in Los Angeles but recently secured the services of Ismael Salas in Las Vegas.
"I think it was time," Feliciano said. "God bless him. (Lira) is a great man. Very smart, very wise man. I have so much respect for him. But I think it was time to get out of the Golden Boy shadow, although (Lira) is not associated or affiliated with Golden Boy. We needed a fresh start in a sense. I think that's what I needed."
Salas is a Cuban trainer who has worked with multiple world champions. "He's a very knowledgeable guy," Feliciano said. Salas would be in Feliciano's corner if he secures a fight in a few weeks.
"Conversations are ongoing," Feliciano said in regards to announcing a fight within the next few weeks. One thing is for sure, Feliciano is ready to go, but whether he gets the opportunities he desires is out of his control. "Boxing is all about politics, it's a business" he said.
PBC has announced a number of future fight dates, but Feliciano has not made a card yet. That could change.
"They have so many fighters," Feliciano said. "So we're just trying to wait and see if they can give us a day."
Contact Drake Bentley at (414) 391-5647 or DBentley1@gannett.com. Follow him on Twitter at @DrakeBentleyMJS.
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This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Unbeaten Milwaukee boxer Luis Angel Feliciano looks to advance career
