He’s Trying to Be a Meal Ticket

Dreams of devastating knockouts, world titles and prosperity for his young family drove Eddie Contreras to seek the tutelage of trainer Eduardo Garcia.

But Contreras is still driving.

Often three times a day the 23-year-old junior-lightweight motors from his home in Santa Paula to La Colonia Youth Boxing Club in Oxnard to labor under the watchful eye of Garcia, who has guided two aspiring amateurs to professional prominence.

Garcia’s son, Robert, is 28-0 as a junior-lightweight and is closing in on a world-title fight.

Welterweight Fernando Vargas, a former Olympian, signed a lucrative promotional contract last year and is 4-0 since turning pro in March.

Contreras, 9-1-3 with two knockouts, will fight his first 10-round main event tonight at the Oxnard Police Activities League Center against veteran Jorge Ramirez.

Unlike Garcia and Vargas, Contreras is struggling to make ends meet as a prizefighter.

Vargas, who will fight tonight on the undercard of a world-title fight at Caesars Tahoe, already has splurged on a Lexus. Contreras, virtually unknown outside Ventura County, commutes in a 12-year-old, often unreliable Mazda.

“Right now, it’s broken down,” Contreras said. “Sometimes I ask my friends for a ride. Sometimes my wife picks me up. If it’s that bad, I don’t go to Oxnard and I work out at home. I have a bag hanging in my backyard.”

Boxing has been Contreras’ sole occupation for the past two years. But he has yet to earn more than $1,000 for a fight and lives modestly in a rented house with his wife, Sonia, and 3-year-old son, Eduardo Jr. The couple is expecting their second child in January, and monthly expenses are met through a dual-income effort.

“We’re just barely making it,” Contreras said. “A lot of people who don’t really know about the sport say, ‘He’s a pro boxer. He’s got money.’ But it’s a struggle to get the money.

“Robert and Fernando are making good money and I’m happy for them. I hope I get there one day. But right now I’m in the wings. They say this [fight] is my big chance.”

Sonia Contreras, employed as a bookkeeper for a clothing retailer, still squirms when her husband enters the ring, even though she has watched Eddie fight since he was an amateur when they were schoolmates at Santa Paula High.

“At first, I was like, ‘Don’t hit him,’ ” she said. “But I’ve been to all his fights and I’m getting used to it. Right now, things are kind of slow, but we always have food on our table. He’s a very responsible parent and provider.”

Contreras is considered by many to be Eduardo Garcia’s latest protege, the next up-and-coming contender from La Colonia. While Vargas claimed the spotlight in his pro debut at the Oxnard Performing Arts Center, Contreras quietly won a six-round decision over Jose Manjarrez on the undercard.

A more accurate profile of Contreras is one of a mature fighter sobered by a one-year retirement. The time off was necessitated by the need to take a job in a warehouse in order to pay the bills. He is older than Garcia and Vargas, and, as a devoted family man, keenly aware he cannot keep fighting for $100 a round for long.

“I’ve always tried to be realistic,” Contreras said. “When I first started in Santa Paula, I said, ‘Am I gonna fight for just a few hundred dollars and just get beat up? Or am I gonna fight and get somewhere, knowing there are a lot of fighters out there?’ I said, ‘I know I can do this, but I need help.’ ”

Contreras returned to the gym in early 1995 and parted ways with his original trainer after three pro fights.

“He used to come to the gym with his trainer and spar with us,” Robert Garcia recalled. “I guess he liked the way my dad trained us because one day he came with just his father. He knew he wasn’t getting anywhere with [his previous trainer].”

Eduardo Garcia, who trains five pros and several amateurs, initially told Contreras he wouldn’t have time. Garcia expected him to skip workouts and fade away. But Contreras dispelled such notions by making multiple visits to the gym.

“One of the best things I like about Eddie, he trains real hard,” Eduardo Garcia said. “He has a really good chance. He has a good reach advantage for his weight and that’s what I’m working on right now. It’s good to go in there and fight, but it’s not the smart way to box. A person with those advantages needs to use them.”

Sparring with Robert, ranked No. 1 by the International Boxing Federation, has sharpened Contreras’ skills.

“He’s really good with his uppercuts,” Robert Garcia said. “He’s the type of fighter who goes to war and just won’t back up. Once the fight gets a little exciting and the crowd starts to cheer, he goes harder.”

Contreras should receive a good test tonight. Ramirez, 31, of Mexico, has had 81 professional bouts and 54 of his 67 victories have come by knockout. Contreras has won eight of his last nine fights since losing a four-round decision to Martin Franco in September of 1995.

Sonia Contreras might cover her eyes and cringe tonight when her husband absorbs a blow. But he still has her blessings.

A lot of people ask me, ‘Don’t you hate it?’ ” Sonia said. “But I go along with it because it’s what he wants. You know, fighters are supposed to be big and bad. But to me, a fighter is someone who has heart. And Eddie has a lot of heart.”

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Fight Night

Tonight’s card at Oxnard Police Activities League Center, first bell 7:30 p.m.

* Eddie Contreras (9-1-3, two knockouts) vs. Jorge Ramirez (67-11-3, 54 KOs), 10-round junior-lightweight bout.

* Nick Martinez (5-0, four KOs) vs. Monroe Brooks (2-3, one KO), six-round junior-middleweight bout.

* Carlos Madrigal (5-1, one KO) vs. Dario Lopez (0-3), four-round super-flyweight bout.

* Tony Garcia (0-1) vs. Jeff Crawford (1-1), four-round junior-middleweight bout.

* Luis Gordillo (0-3) vs. Gustavo Tapia (1-2-1), four-round lightweight bout.

* Michael Torres (0-0) vs. Andrey Frias (1-0), four-round junior-middleweight bout.

Information: (805) 486-8568.