Alex Saucedo: Why I left Abel Sanchez after Maurice Hooker defeat

A disappointing defeat, albeit a brave one, can put issues, previously relegated to the back of a fighter’s mind, into stark contrast. When it was confirmed that exciting Oklahoma City super-lightweight Alex Saucedo would challenge then-WBO champion Maurice Hooker, in front of the challenger’s passionate hometown fans in November 2018, everything seemed set up for a joyous coronation. This belief was further enhanced by Saucedo dropping Hooker heavily in round two. But after the champion had regrouped and ultimately hammered Saucedo to a seventh-round setback, devastating both the fighter and his supporters, Alex realised the changes he had been postponing now urgently needed to be made.

Out went respected trainer Abel Sanchez and in came Pedro Neme Jr and Eddie Autry, who guided Saucedo to his comeback win after a year out of the ring, a one-punch, single-round body-shot KO of Rod Salka. Saucedo, eager to get back to action and for a rematch with Hooker (full video below), told us why he made the changes in the corner.

"There were many, many, many things that I had been wanting to change in the last fights," Saucedo explained. "After that loss, I said, ’No more. It’s time to freakin, get things the way they’re supposed to be done and let’s go.
"[My new training team have brought] a lot of head movement, and just having a teacher there, someone actually there 24/7 throughout a training camp. Making sure my hands were up, making sure I was moving, doing a lot of one-to-one work.
"That’s why I took that year off, it wasn’t a year off of boxing, it was a year off of learning and making sure I was okay with the new corner, because what’s coming, it’s real. We’re getting back to the world championship level and I wana come back the best I can."