Interview Dated December 2005 Lightweight Pablo Pena Pablo Pena is one of the many young boxers pounding out a name on the Houston Boxing Scene. I caught up with the 21-year-old after a recent workout at the Savannah Boxing Club. HBS - You're from the Rio Grande Valley? PP - Edinburg, Texas. HBS - How'd you get into boxing? PP - We actually started in a kickboxing class when I was about 12 years old and they asked if we wanted to try out for an amateur boxing team. We said "Sure" and we went from there. HBS - Tell us about your amateur career. PP - I didn't have many fights in the amateurs. It was hard for us to get fights and stuff. I had about 24 fights and four losses. They were all in state Golden Gloves and one in Nationals, JO's (Junior Olympics). HBS - How'd you end up at the Savannah Boxing Club? PP - Fighting, I guess. I turned professional when I was 18 and some people asked me if I wanted to come up here and train and stuff and I said "Yeah, sure" and I heard Juan Diaz was there and I said "Sure, I'll be there" and I just came up here. HBS - You've been up here for almost a year. Tell us what it's been like, sparring with a world champion. PP - It'll be a year in February. Sparring with Juan, I haven't had any better sparring. He shows me a lot. He makes me work on my defense and my offense at the same time. It's a lot of experience. HBS - What is it you enjoy about the sport? PP - I love it. I love getting hit and I love hitting people back...(laughs) HBS - Tell us a little about your pro career. PP - I'm 6-4. I think my last two fights I lost on decision and I think I got robbed. Everybody says I got robbed my last two fights. The first fight I lost it was HBO Latino and everybody knows. Everybody that seen it on TV they said that they robbed me. My last fight it was in my hometown and it went decision. I beat the guy by points and stuff and they still took the fight from me. HBS - Did you suffer an injury recently? PP - Cuts to my right eyebrow. It happened in the fourth round of my last fight. It was a head butt and he followed up with a punch afterwards and split me open. HBS - Are you working on any particular techniques or skills right now? PP - Just my defense and keeping my hands up and offense too. Offense is a boxer's defense and so I'm trying to work on both offense and defense and keeping my hands up. HBS - What's coming up for you? PP - January back in the Valley in the Dodge Arena I'll be fighting there. I think they said it was going to be against a guy from Laredo, Natalio Ponce. HBS - What's your long-term outlook for your career? PP - Step it up a notch, get some wins on my record and be up there somewhere with Juan, at his level. At this gym, I know I can get there.