Justin Figueroa, Josh Popper, Julio Sanchez III and Bruce Seldon, Jr. all earned acclaim as top-notch local high school athletes.
All are off to encouraging starts in their quest to duplicate that success as professional boxers.
The quartet, which sports a combined record of 26-1 with 21 knockouts, will be showcasing their talents on Margate promoter Larry Goldberg’s Boxing Insider Promotions card Friday at Tropicana Atlantic City.
Figueroa (13-0, 10 KOs), a former football player and wrestler for Holy Spirit High School, is the most accomplished fighter of the group to date. The 26 year old will be defending his Junior NABF super-welterweight title in an eight-round bout against Uruguay’s Jose Perdomo (9-7, 5 KOs).
The 2017 Holy Spirit graduate made his pro debut three years ago after a tremendous high school career. As a senior, Figueroa rushed for 785 yards and 10 touchdowns on 100 carries as a running back while registering 43 tackles and three interceptions for the Spartans. He was among the local standouts in a league that also featured current NFL players Markquese Bell of Bridgeton (Dallas Cowboys), Bo Melton of Cedar Creek (Green Bay Packers), and Isiah Pacheco of Vineland (Kansas City Chiefs). He also excelled as a wrestler, placing second in District 29 at 220 pounds.
“When I played football, I weighed about 215 pounds,” Figueroa said in an earlier interview. “I wanted to drop some weight and I lived right up the street from the (Atlantic City) PAL at the time. I started boxing again and realized that’s what I wanted to do.”
Popper (4-0, 4 KOs), a 2011 Holy Spirit grad who grew up in Egg Harbor Township, will be fighting in Atlantic City for the first time Friday in a four-round heavyweight bout against Trevor Kotara (4-4-1, 1 KO), of Gilbert, Arizona.
The 32 year old turned to boxing recently after an outstanding football career.
As a senior for the Spartans, he was a defensive end on one of the best teams in school history. Holy Spirit went 12-0 in 2010 and won the State Non-Public Group III championship behind future NFL quarterback Joe Callahan, USC linebacker Anthony Sarao, and Villanova defensive back Joe Sarnese.
Popper, who also played basketball for the Spartans, next played football for Rowan University. As a senior in 2015, he earned first-team All-NJAC honors with 56 tackles, nine tackles for loss, five sacks and an interception. That led to tryouts with the Arizona Cardinals and Indianapolis Colts.
He eventually moved to New York City, where he now owns and operates Bredwinners Boxing.
Sanchez (2-1, 1 KO) will take on Mike Randolph (2-6, 1 KO), of Fort Madison, Iowa, in a four-round, super-lightweight fight.
The 2020 Pleasantville High School grad is the rare fighter who took up boxing after playing a sport other than football. The 23 year old played point guard for Atlantic City and Pleasantville, and West Hills Community College in Coalinga, California.
Like Figueroa and Popper, he initially began hitting a heavy bag as a way to stay in shape. As he gradually improved, he began to view boxing as a potential career.
Before he could enter the ring, however, he needed permission from his father, Julio Sanchez, Jr., who is also his trainer.
“It was definitely his idea to pursue a boxing career,” Sanchez Jr. said in an earlier interview. “He’s always wanted to box and I was always against it. I told him if he really wanted to do this, he had to be totally committed to it and he’s done that. I’m very proud of him.”
Seldon (7-0, 6 KOs), a 2012 Absegami High School grad and Smithville resident, will take on Jose Medina (8-2-1, 3 KOs), of Lake Wales, Florida, in a scheduled six-round fight.
Seldon has gotten off to a spectacular start in his boxing career. Five of his six knockouts occurred in the first round. Two of his last three fights ended after less than a minute.
He has succeeded under significant pressure. The 31-year-old is the son of Bruce Seldon Sr., the former World Boxing Association heavyweight champion.
“I feel the presence of it, the expectations, but that’s something I’ve had to deal with my whole life,” Seldon Jr. said in an earlier interview. “I feel the pressure to succeed, for sure. But I don’t think that’s because of my dad. I’m doing this for myself.”
Six other bouts are scheduled, including an eight-round, co-main event pitting New York heavyweight contender Otto Wallin (27-3, 15 KOs) against Forked River’s Chris Thomas (15-2-2, 10 KOs).
Doors to the Tropicana Showroom open at 6 p.m., with the first bout scheduled for 6:30 p.m. Tickets start at $53 and are available through Ticketmaster.
Nine local teams still alive in state playoffs
Atlantic City, Cedar Creek, Mainland Regional and Pleasantville are among nine high school football teams from Atlantic, Cape May and Cumberland counties still in contention for state championships.
Atlantic City, the top seed in South Jersey Group 5, opened the playoffs with a 37-7 win over Cherokee in the first round and will next play host to fifth seed Toms River North Friday at 6 p.m.
Millville is the second seed in South Jersey Group 4 and will play host to No. 6 Northern Burlington Friday at 6 p.m. after dispatching Toms River East 49-7 in the first round.
Second-seeded Cedar Creek and third-seeded Pleasantville will square off against each other in a South Jersey Group 3 semifinal Saturday at 12 p.m. Mainland, the fourth seed in the group, will travel to top-seeded Burlington Township Friday.
In Group 2, Lower Cape May Regional is the fourth seed and will travel to take on top-seeded Haddonfield Friday at 7 p.m. The Caper Tigers earned the first playoff win in school history last week with a 34-13 victory over Gloucester.
St. Augustine Prep is the No. 7 seed in Non-Public Group A and will play No. 2 St. Peter’s Prep on November 14.
Holy Spirit and St. Joseph are both in Non-Public Group B. Holy Spirit is No. 5 and will play host to 12th seed St. Mary’s of Rutherford Friday. St. Joseph is 11th and will visit No. 6 Paul VI Friday.
David is a nationally recognized sports columnist who has covered Philadelphia and local sports for over 40 years. After 35 years with The Press, he has served as a columnist for 973ESPN.com and created his own Facebook page, Dave Weinberg Extra Points.
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