Ex-'Contender' Bravo still has lofty goals
He sees Thursday fight as start of a comeback
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What: 6-fight card
When: 8 p.m. Thursday
Where: AVA Amphitheater at Casino del Sol, 5655 W. Valencia Road
Main event: Sven Paris (Frosinone, Italy) vs. Arturo Brambilla (Phoenix), welterweights
Co-main event: Norberto "Nito" Bravo (Tucson) vs. Francisco Maldonado (El Cajon, Calif.), welterweights
Tickets: Call 344-9435
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At age 36, boxer Norberto "Nito'' Bravo still has plenty to prove to his fans, his detractors and, yes, himself.
That's why he continues his life in the ring. The next challenge for the Tucsonan is Thursday night, when he fights welterweight Francisco Maldonado at Casino del Sol's AVA Amphitheater as part of the casino's six-fight card.
"I want to get back to fighting top fighters,'' said Bravo, who last year gained national fame as one of the semifinalists on ESPN's "The Contender 2'' boxing show.
But first he must get by Maldonado, a Mexican national who fights out of El Cajon, Calif.
Maldonado is 11-27-4.
If Bravo wins, there is a chance he will face highly regarded Francisco Bojado this summer.
"I'm hoping that will go through,'' Bravo said.
But Bravo must improve on his most recent performances. He's lost three of four fights. He's coming off a disappointing effort in a first-round loss to Andre Berto in February in New York.
He took the fight on two weeks' notice after Ben Tackie was reported to have immigration issues.
"It was just one of those days,'' Bravo said. "I'm not tying to make excuses or take way from Andre Berto's performance. He did what he needed to do. I couldn't get things started.''
He acknowledged he wasn't ready to fight, but decided to anyway.
"I'm not blaming anybody,'' Bravo said. "I blame myself. I had to go out there and show the world. I think some people think my career is over, but it's not.''
But he has his fans, many gained from his heart-warming personal story about his family and his struggles that came to the forefront on "The Contender 2."
There were times when the tough-on-the-outside boxer would choke back tears when he spoke on the show about his life.
Bravo lost to Cornelius Bundrage in the third-place match on "The Contender 2." And following the loss to Berto, critics have come out, particularly on the Internet.
"I get a lot of bad remarks from people,'' he said. "They talk trash and it's just about that one fight (with Berto). That's all they have to say. It's ridiculous to me. How can you judge one fighter off of one fight? People have bad days."
What gets Bravo even more is that when people post their comments, it's either an anonymous post or a fake name.
"If they had any heart, why don't they just come up to me and tell me to my face,'' he said. "They do it over a computer.''
That said, he vows to be ready this summer, including on Thursday. He has even decided to change his style of wearing down his opponents - a style that's hurt him in his most recent fights - and will instead get after them early.
"I want to get that quick start, coming in a little more loose,'' he said. "I'm trying to have more head movement, and trying to get more done at the first bell.''
He knows the strategy is important to prolonging his career.
"I'm trying to pick up the pieces and get back to where I was,'' Bravo said.
VIVA BRAVO!