David Cuellar could be on the cusp of a big fight in the next year or two.

Cuellar, who is rated at No. 9 by The Ring at 115 pounds, returns to action tonight against Luis Concepcion at the Poliforum Benito Juarez in Cancun, Mexico. The card will headline a Promociones del Pueblo card that will air live on Televisa and TUDN (12 a.m. ET/ 9 p.m. PT) throughout Mexico.

At Thursday’s weigh-in, Cuellar stopped the scales at 119 pounds. Concepcion came in at 117 pounds. Concepcion stated the contract weight for the fight was 53.5 kilograms, or 117.95 pounds.

The 21-year-old Cuellar (25-0, 17 knockouts) last fought on August 18, stopping Marlon Rios Sarinana in the third round. The win over Rios occurred about three months after Cuellar defeated Francisco Mendivil by unanimous decision.

Cuellar has stopped nine of his last 10 opponents. He is now being trained by Jose ‘Chepo’ Reynoso.

In June 2021, Cuellar notched his most impressive win to date, knocking out Karim Arce in the ninth round in a clash of unbeaten fighters.

Promoter Oswaldo Kuchle believes the addition of Reynoso will make Cuellar a better overall fighter. He is confident Cuellar can take that next step forward toward becoming a legitimate contender and becoming a solid fighter.

“David Cuellar began his career with us at the age of 17,” Kuchle told The Ring Thursday afternoon. “We have seen him mature and develop into that fighter who is mature, disciplined and complete as he is today. He is unbeaten in 25 fights and amongst the top 10 of the major sanctioning bodies. He does his job in the ring and knows that with the support of a promotional company with 40 years of producing stars, he will become a top fighter, as he is ready for the opportunity when it presents itself.

“With the respect to the Concepcion fight, it is a fight that (Cuellar) must go at it with everything. This is the moment to face a difficult test, and demonstrate that he has that maturity to go for the title, as he has overcome other challenges in his career. He has surprised many with his knockout power, and it wouldn’t surprise me that, (tonight), he will add another knockout to his resume.

“Now that he has ‘Chepo’ Reynoso in his corner, we have seen changes in his skill-set and his personality. David has always been a fighter who is very sure of himself, thanks to his discipline in the gym. But now, even though he’s still young at 21, he’s more mature. On this LatinKO card, we are proud to see David and other young fighters realize their dreams.”

Concepcion (40-10, 29 KOs), who resides in Panama City, Panama, lost by split decision in his last bout to Hernan ‘Tyson’ Marquez on October 7 of last year.

The 38-year-old challenged Artem Dalakian for the WBA world flyweight title in November 2021, losing by knockout in the ninth round. Concepcion has also lost to Khalid Yafai, Carlos Cuadras, Andrew Moloney, and Alexandru Marin.

In the co-feature of the card, which is also on conjunction with Boxing Time Promotions and Cancun Boxing, Celex Castro (14-0, 10 KOs) of Cancun will face Kevin Villanueva (21-4-3, 15 KOs) of Guasave, Mexico in an eight-round bout.

Former WBC world Female junior flyweight titleholder Yesenia Gomez (19-6-4, 6 KOs), also resides in Cancun, will square off against Mexico City’s Lorena Cruz Aispuro (4-4) in an eight-round bout.

Francisco A. Salazar has written for The Ring since October 2013 and has covered boxing in Southern California and abroad since 2000. Francisco also covers boxing for the Ventura County (California) Star newspaper. He can be reached at [email protected]

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