“I did learn that I need to take care of the details in my life,” the 29-year-old said. “As much as we want to say we’re focused on the goal, which is winning the fight and becoming a world champion, the details do affect you and will get in the way; if you don’t pay attention to it or address it, it’ll kind of just snowball out of control, and that’s what I kind of think happened to me.”
2021 brought the first two losses “Caramel Thunder” has had to face in his entire martial arts career. After going undefeated in his first 14 fights in both amateur and professional circuits, a unanimous decision loss to Santiago Ponzinibbio that earned him Fight of the Night honors initially set him off course. Then, a third-round knockout loss at the hands of Khaos Williams followed five months later.
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“I definitely learned a rough lesson,” Baeza said — and while he didn’t go in depth about the details that compounded over time into a bigger issue, it’s pretty clear that he’s spent the past five months reflecting and fine-tuning his attention to those details.
“When it comes to everything last year and now this year, I’m just really looking forward to proving that I’m one of the best welterweights in the world. I really think that. I need to come out this Saturday and put a stamp on it and put myself in the right direction again, to fight some of the best guys in the division. So I’m excited to do that.“
