San Franciscan-born lightweight Charlie Sheehy takes on Abdel Sauceda in Las Vegas on the same week his beloved San Francisco 49ers come to town for the Super Bowl.
Sheehy (8-0, 5 KOs) joins the Teofimo Lopez-Jamaine Ortiz undercard tonight at the Michelob Arena in Vegas. Just three days later Christian McCaffery’s San Francisco 49ers take on the Kansas City Chiefs at the Allegiant Stadium in Super Bowl LVIII.
“I was born and raised in Brisbane which is a town a two-minute drive outside San Francisco,” Sheehy told ProBox TV, while getting his hands wrapped for his final workout at the Top Rank Gym. “This is going to be a big week for San Francisco, really the whole Bay Area.
“It means a lot to me that I get to kick-off this week for us. Start the week off with a big win and then McCaffery and the 49ers can bring home the Super Bowl. It is a big week for us. I’ve brought a small army with me, a lot are staying on for the game. I wish I could go, but the tickets are way too expensive. I wouldn’t expect to get any free tickets, but that would be cool.”
Sauceda comes in as Sheehy’s toughest test on paper. The 25-year-old Mexican scored an upset sixth-round knockout win over Tyler Tomlin in July in Nashville.
“I think record-wise we are stepping it up every fight,” Sheehy said of Saucedo. “I’m expecting him to be a tough fighter. He’s gonna come forward all the time, try to disrupt my rhythm and probably try to bully me in there. We watched tape on him, he’s got that Mexican style. He’ll be coming forward looking to throw a lot of hard shots, but we are ready for him, ready for anything he brings.
“If I have him hurt, I will absolutely look to try to get him out of there, but I’m not necessarily looking for the knockout. I did have that big highlight reel knockout, but I’m not looking to build myself as a knockout artist or anything. I’m not going to predict a knockout, but I am going to predict an eight-round beatdown. It is really up to him if he can take it.”
Sheehy turned over in October 2021 and is now working with Top Rank and he pulls a crowd, especially this Super Bowl fight-week in Las Vegas.
“I think I will go very far in this sport,” Sheehy added. “I feel like, looking at my story and where I have come from, I’ve already made it by coming this far. I don’t think anyone was expecting it besides me and my first coach Miguel Rios. As time goes by we just keep surpassing it, we keep building on that and just talking one fight at a time. I got big goals and dreams in this sport and I’m not stopping until I accomplish them.”
