Wilkins Santiago had everything going his way. He has been boxing since he was nine years old, and was a successful amateur fighter on the way up. It took him only seven or eight months after he came home to be right back where he started, getting a fight with the 2009 National Champion at 165 pounds, Terrell Gausha. He lost that fight but went right back to the gym and worked harder.

You might have noticed that I said ‘after he came home.’ Santiago was away for awhile, and not under good circumstances.

“From about 19 years old to about 22 was when I began slacking off. I got impatient and started drifting off into the streets, and got involved with drugs. That’s where it all went downhill.”

One could say that. He served five years in a penitentiary for drug trafficking. “I was in my mid-twenties, which most will say are the most important as far as boxing years. But I take it for what it was worth, I made the best of it. I got my education and ended up going to college for two years. I definitely took advantage of the situation.”

Wilkins was doing some training while incarcerated, until the boxing programs were stopped. “There was a riot that happened at one of the prisons here in Ohio, Lucasville, so they threw the boxing program out the door. The prisoners were getting really big and the C.O.’s were getting whipped. But I was still doing my running, calisthenics, and my conditioning.

“I threw my hands here and there, and after a while people got the idea that I don’t do it to start any trouble, that was my career on the street. They started seeing newspaper clippings. Actually, I had a newspaper come to the prison when I first went in and they did a big article on me, basically for the youths; how someone can have such a great career going and follow temptation to the street life. It told them how I just threw it out the window in a second without even thinking about it.”

He might not have thought much about things then, but that is different now. He doesn’t dwell on it, but it is an important part of who he is. “I definitely learned something from it. It made me a better man, both mentally and spiritually. I believe in not giving up. When you have goals, there might be obstacles and hurdles in front of you, but I’m the type of person that doesn’t believe in giving up until I reach my goals. I evaluated myself in prison – I had nothing but time to think – and I knew that I wanted to become a better man. That wasn’t the lifestyle that I really was trying to live. I had a lot of fans out here and kids that looked up to me, and I wanted to be able to show other kids that may be going in the same path, that you can bounce back from adversity and become what you want to become.”

His amateur career, which he finished off with a record of 72-9, lasted only two fights after his return home. He felt it was time to turn professional. “Mentally, I felt really confident about myself,” he told me. “I felt that I had the proper tools and the training, and I worked hard. I had a lot of people behind me supporting me and keeping me positive. So I just decided to kick it up on the training level.

“Now I’m actually with a strength training coach, former linebacker for the Ohio State Buckeyes, Mike D’Andrea. I’m in the best shape of my life now and I’m ready to make a move, take each fight day by day, and face anyone in my weight class (Junior Middleweight).” Of course, going for a World title isn’t out of the game plan, either.

The first fight was way overdue for Santiago, as twice before he was to have his pro debut, circumstances beyond his control delayed the fights. But finally he was able to go up against Torrence King, a fighter who all but once had gone the distance, but had only one win. After meeting up with Wilkins, King had another loss on his record, as he dropped to 1-7.

Santiago’s second fight was against Matt Keglovic, who came into his fight with an even record of 1-1. The contest was stopped in the second round however, when Wilkins was doing a lot of damage with his body shots, and Keglovic’s corner threw in the towel. Santiago was able to start a little win streak of 2-0, and hopes to keep that going against tougher opponents.

“I take each fight seriously,” he said. “They’re like title bouts to me, each bout means the world to me.”

While both of Wilkins’ fights have been four rounds, I joked with him about now his fights have to get a little longer. “Yep,” he laughed, “each fight a little longer, make better money, and hopefully live comfortably one day.”

That is obviously a great goal for Santiago, but he has others to think about as well. “I have two children, and one that I’ve raised since he was about six months old. They are all boys – I’ve got to get a fighter out of the batch,” he quipped.

He is Dad to a three-year-old, little Wilkins Jr. who is 17 months, and who was born prematurely at 24 weeks, weighing in at only a pound and a half. “That’s my miracle boy there, then D’Angelo Armani, who is four months old.”

“Being a father is a blessing. Seeing these kids coming up, and hopefully guiding them in the right direction to become men, it’s just a feeling that’s, well, I can’t explain it really. Just to see their smile each morning just bangs my day and makes me fight harder for what I’m trying to accomplish.”

We already know that Wilkins is a fighter. Whether in the ring or out of it, this man is on a mission to make up for lost time, and show everyone just how much can be accomplished with hard work and dedication. Throw three young sons into the mix along with training and of course, a job, and his days are more than full. And he wouldn’t have it any other way.

I wish him all the best in his upcoming fights, and thank him for his time.

Be safe and God Bless,
Viva La Raza,
Barb.