Cabral has plenty of reasons to keep fighting

Friday

Boxing: Josh Torres vs. Alejandro Frias Rodriguez, Cristian Cabral vs. Martin Sollano, several other bouts.

When: Friday, 7 p.m.

Where: Embassy Suites

Tickets: call 505-877-5725

Cristian Cabral turns 33 on Sunday. He’s the father of four — ages 1, 4, 6 and 11 — with another child on the way. He works full time as a framer in home construction.

And he’s a boxer. Albuquerque’s Cabral (11-2-2, 5 knockouts) is scheduled to face Martin Sollano (5-0, two KOs) of Amarillo, Texas on Friday in an eight-round bout on a Legacy Promotions card at Embassy Suites.

Why, Cabral was asked during a recent phone interview, is he still training in the gym and fighting in the ring with so much else going on his life? He’s not a kid anymore, after all.

Let us count the reasons.

There is, of course, the money he’s made in the ring, helpful in any amount for a father of four (or five). But five bouts (including the upcoming Sollano fight) in the past three years on local, off-TV shows haven’t produced Tyson Fury-like paydays.

There is always, Cabral said, the almost addictive challenge of pitting one’s skills, heart and conditioning against an opponent on a given night — the challenge, the puzzle, the mystery, of figuring it out.

Cabral knows little of his opponent, other than a listing on boxrec.com that reveals less than a little. Sollano’s perfect record has been compiled against opponents with a combined record of 5-4 in bouts that lasted a total of fewer than 11 rounds.

“I think I’ll be his toughest opponent by far,” Cabral said.

In any case, it’s Cabral’s job to prepare as if Sollano’s a fighter of world championship caliber.

“That,” he said of Sollano’s resume, or that of any prospective opponent, “doesn’t really matter to me anymore.”

There are the associations, friendships, camaraderie, developed in the gym over time — coming to the office, being with the guys, working together toward a goal.

In preparation for Sollano, Cabral has been sparring with teammate Clinton Chavez under the tutelage of trainer Ruben Griego at United Fit on Vassar NE.

“He’s a great fighter and he’s tall (like Sollano),” Cabral said of Chavez. “I think he’s got everything we need for this camp.”

At the same time, Cabral has been helping Chavez (9-2, six KOs) prepare for his scheduled six-round bout against Wesley Vanderlinden (4-3-1, four KOs) of Simi Valley, California on Friday’s card.

And there’s the gratitude.

Yes, gratitude, what’s owed to a sport that’s been such a positive force in his life.

Cabral began boxing almost 20 years ago with Van Buren Warriors, a program established for at-risk kids by police officer Ray Zamora at an Albuquerque middle school.

“Boxing always kept me out of trouble, so that’s one thing, one reason why I do it,” Cabral said.

Cabral sees mostly good trouble these days, keeping his family fed and carving out time to be with his kids. But the discipline and focus he’s learned from boxing, and still practices, spill over into his everyday life.

And, somewhere in the mix, there’s ambition.

Crossroad fights earlier in his career against more experienced opponents, Joe Gomez and Josh Torres, resulted in the only two losses on Cabral’s record. But a victory against Sollano would give him a title, the UBO middleweight (160-pound) belt, that could lead to bigger things.

“I’d like to get out there with the top fighters,” he said. “But one step at a time.”

Finally, there’s lost time to make up for — though that’s not really how Cabral sees his five-year boxing hiatus (2018-’23).

“I did a lot of boxing for a long time and didn’t keep up with my kids,” he said. “Those five years actually helped, and we’re back at it.”

Before the hiatus, Cabral said, he’d go to the gym every day whether or not he was training for a fight. “Now, I’ll take a few days off, then back to training. Spending more time with my kids.”

Of his growing brood, he said, “It’s a lot. But it’s worth it.”

Boxing has been worth it as well.