Kid Gloves

Fausto Carrera would have little trouble coercing the entire student body of Birmingham High to fork over its lunch money.

Carrera, however, is no bully, even if the high school senior recently became a professional boxer.

“I’ve never been in a fight at school,” said Carrera, who speaks softly and appears diffident when discussing his profession. “I was in one once in junior high. But I don’t like to get into fights.”

At least, not without earning a paycheck.

Carrera, after only 17 amateur fights as a welterweight, turned 18 in January and turned pro a month later, losing a four-round majority decision to Billy Johnson at the Reseda Country Club. Last month, Carrera emerged with a draw against Vance Thomas at Caesars Palace in Las Vegas.

Tonight, Carrera will try again for his first professional victory when he meets Thomas again in a four-round bout at Caesars Palace.

“I was tired of amateur fighting. I wanted to turn pro,” said Carrera, whose record was 10-7. “I’ll box for, maybe, six years and see how I can do. So far, I think I’m doing all right.”

California law requires amateur fighters to be at least 16. Few turn pro while still in high school.

Junior lightweight Robert Garcia of Oxnard fought professionally while attending Channel Islands High and was North American Boxing Federation champion by age 20. But the student-boxer remains an anomaly. Most young professionals have had considerably more amateur experience than Carrera.

Still, Carrera, who stands 5 feet 5 and throws compact combinations, has been described as poised beyond his years.

Against Johnson, who was making his pro debut after 80 amateur bouts, Carrera won the second and fourth rounds on two of three judges’ cards.

“It wasn’t too soon for Fausto,” said Sammy Sanders, Carrera’s trainer and a longtime boxing instructor with the L.A. City Department of Parks and Recreation. “Fausto takes instruction as well as any fighter I’ve known and he’s an adaptable fighter. Most of his opponents are much taller than he is, but he handles them well.”

Carrera, who lives in South-Central Los Angeles, awakes at 5:30 a.m. to catch the bus to school. He returns late in the afternoon and immediately heads for the gym at Sanders’ home.

The Spartan life gives Carrera little time for anything other than school and sparring, both of which he holds paramount. His grades are good and his boxing is better.

“I like to be responsible and be on time,” he said. “It’s important to me.”

Sanders, who began training Carrera when he was 14, witnessed a transformation once his protege overcame an apprehension to enter the ring.

“I never expected Fausto to develop into a fighter,” Sanders said. “He was deathly afraid to put on the boxing gloves. I told him if he was able to do the things that he is instructed to do and do them well, he had no reason to be afraid. The fear soon left him.”

The same cannot be said for Carrera’s parents.

Fausto and Ernestina Carrera have yet to attend one of their son’s professional bouts and do not plan to travel to Las Vegas this weekend. The couple witnessed only a few of Fausto’s amateur bouts.

“I get very nervous during the fights,” Ernestina said. “He’s just starting out and they’re putting him up against some big brutes and I think they’re going to hurt him. I pray to the Guadalupe Virgin to look after him and I pray neither of the boxers gets hurt.”

Fausto Sr., employed as a security guard, said the family does not need nor benefit from the modest income his son earns from boxing. Nevertheless, he and his wife are supportive.

“I’m not crazy he’s boxing,” he said. “But at least he’s involved in sports and not doing drugs.”

Carrera likewise is uneasy about fighting in the presence of his family, considering it a distraction. However, he phones his parents immediately after each fight. He has not been knocked out, nor has he delivered a knockout blow.

“When I started, I was scared,” Carrera said. “I don’t know why, but I was afraid to be hit. But it started to come. Now, I like to hit people. I like to move and hit the body. I’m going to get closer to the body [against Thomas].”

Education remains a priority for Carrera, who said he will pursue a career in law enforcement should he fail as a prizefighter. He plans to attend Santa Monica College in the fall. The $600 he will earn from tonight’s fight is earmarked for a class ring.

“Not all of the people at school know that I fight,” he said. “Just my friends and a few teachers. They saw it on TV, the second fight.”

On June 19, Carrera will face a dilemma. He is scheduled to participate that afternoon in commencement ceremonies at Birmingham and to fight that evening at the Reseda Country Club.

“I’ll go to graduation, but I don’t know if I’m going to box,” he said. “I have to go to graduation.”