Victorville's Danny Luna will make professional boxing debut on Golden Boy Promotions card in Indio
Danny Luna Jr. 's dream of becoming a professional fighter is on the verge of reality.
The 19-year-old from Victorville will make his professional debut in Indio on Thursday as the opening bout for a Golden Boy Promotions card at Fantasy Springs Resort Casino. Luna is scheduled to take on Jonathan Berry, a fighter who lost his lone professional bout last September.
“I just can’t wait to get in the ring,” Luna said. “I was supposed to debut last November but that fell through and it was disappointing. It made me feel like everything I did leading up to the fight was all for nothing. That feeling of my dream being so close but not happening was a little discouraging so now that it’s fight week, I am locked in and I feel great.”
Luna’s bout will stream on Golden Boy Promotions’ YouTube page Thursday around 5 p.m. The main fight card, broadcast on DAZN at 6 p.m., is headlined by former world champion Angel Acosta (22-3-1, 21 KOs) vs. Janel Rivera (18-8-3, 11 KOs) in the super flyweight division.
Luna now adds his name to a list of professional boxers from the High Desert that has grown over the past five years from Rigoberto Hermosillo and brothers Ryan and Sean Garcia, and Joey and Jerry Perez.
Luna is also the fourth on that list to have previously attended Silverado High School, including the Garcia brothers, with whom he spent much of his younger days training together.
Training alongside Ryan Garcia often leads to comparisons. That’s something Luna doesn’t mind, but he’s also set on his own path up the boxing ranks.
Truth is, those comparisons are too easy to make between Garcia and Luna.
They each stand about 5-foot-10 and have the same kind of physical build, hair, million-dollar smiles, and blazing fast hands.
“Ryan really showed me that the opportunity is there,” Luna said. “Seeing Ryan up there really is an inspiration for me, and lets me know that I can get up there too. He made me believe that if he can do it, then I can do it as well. From him, I learned that nothing can stop me from getting to where I want to go.”
Luna’s father, Danny Sr., knows the comparisons are there. He actually began to see the skillset between the two at an early age.
It’s not Thursday, but here’s a throwback.
Working on a story about Danny Luna, 19, of Victorville. He is making his professional debut in Indio on Thursday night. He used to train alongside @RyanGarcia back in the day. Now he’s competing on a @GoldenBoyBoxing card. pic.twitter.com/7V9cP51tI6— Jose Quintero (@DP_JoseQ) May 10, 2022
“When we started working with Ryan I told my son ‘that kid is special, just like you, watch him,’ ” Luna Sr. said. “Working with the Garcias really gave Danny that example of this is what you look like in the ring. And to be honest, they really do have a similar style. The power, the IQ in the ring, those are the same kind of things I’ve always seen in Ryan.
“Ryan is a very smart fighter. I see that in Danny too. And I’m not saying that just because he’s my son it’s just something I’ve truly seen in him long before we were working alongside Ryan.”
Luna nodded as his father broke down the similarities. They later shared a laugh with his father remembering his early days in the sport.
Luna never even had any interest in boxing, he said. He picked up the sport as a means of self-defense at the age of 5.
“My dad made me do it so I wouldn’t get bullied or come home with a black eye,” Luna said.
That’s not it, said the father.
“Because of that would have happened to him, then I would have beat him up again when he got home,” Luna Sr. joked.
The father and son have a tight bond, and it's evident from their joking interactions.
But don’t let the smiles and laughs fool you. The two mean business.
In a sport where the other person is trying to hurt you, honesty is a must when a father trains their son.
Scoping the professional boxing scene, many of the great fighters didn’t last long training with fathers, from Floyd Mayweather, to Roy Jones Jr., and to Shane Mosley.
It’s a tough juggle. The Lunas handle it with ease.
“I have to check my emotions from time to time. Sometimes they get the better of me, but for the most part, they don't,” Luna Sr. said. “But this is the key. I have never lied to him, and never sugarcoated anything for him because I would never want my son to jump into a ring with a false sense of being prepared. I’m always fair with him. I tell him the bad, but I always make sure to tell him the good. The two go hand in hand in this sport.”
Tickets for Thursday’s card in Indio range from $25 to $45, plus fees. Tickets can be purchased at the box office or online at www.fantasyspringsresort.com.
Daily Press reporter Jose Quintero may be reached at 760-951-6274 or JQuintero@VVDailyPress.com. Follow him on Twitter at @DP_JoseQ.
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This article originally appeared on Victorville Daily Press: Victorville's Danny Luna will make professional boxing debut in Indio
