It had been two weeks since winning his big fight against Rafael Marquez, but Efrain Esquivias was still smiling and enjoying the popularity that came with that victory. Esquivias stopped Marquez in the opening seconds of the ninth round, and by his own admission, fought one of his best fights ever. “I haven’t had a good fight like that in a very long time. I think I’ve still got improvements to do, but I think it was one of my best fights.” The win was made even better, since almost everyone thought that Efrain would lose. Handicappers like the William Hill Boxing Betting Page had Esquivias listed as a huge underdog because like everyone else, they just did not believe in him. “Nobody believed in me,” Esquivias said. “Out of my last three fights I had two losses and a draw, so I guess people just assumed that I was going downhill. They don’t realize the changes that I made affected me in those fights. Now I’m back to the old me.”

Previously, Efrain fought to a draw against Victor Sanchez, and suffered back-to-back losses against Jhonatan Romero and Rico Ramos before that.

“I never doubted myself, not ever. I already knew what was wrong. I knew I could have won those fights. I blame myself, I screwed up just trying new things, you know, I was open to trying new things. But you learn from your mistakes.

“I had a lot to prove to a lot of people, and that motivated me in that last fight. And I also had to prove something to myself.”

Now, after his outstanding performance against Marquez, there is one fighter that Esquivias would love to face.

“I would love to fight Leo Santa Cruz,” he said. “The fight he was supposed to have fell through, (one with Anselmo Moreno, who chose to instead take a fight with Koki Kameda), so we are hoping that could happen. It’s a better possibility now, so hopefully we’ll have a shot. A lot of people like my style, since I’m a come-forward type of fighter and throw a lot of punches. So does Leo, so it makes sense. For television it would make for a good fight.”

The opportunity for a big fight is what all boxers work so hard for. It is not an easy thing to get – all things have to align perfectly. But the timing would be right for this fight, as both men could easily be ready for a bout the end of the year, and would probably not want to wait much longer than that. But if that fight doesn’t happen there are other names that interest Esquivias.

“I was actually looking forward to fighting a rematch with Jhonatan Romero, because I know if I was 100% I’d have been able to beat him. But now Kiko (Martinez) beat him, so I get redemption if I beat Kiko,” he laughed. “I think that would be a good fight too. If I get his belt we could unify the belt with Santa Cruz, and then maybe Guillermo Rigondeaux.

“I’m at the age right now where I’m ready for the big fights, and I’m healthy. I take care of my body, eat right, and I work hard. I want nothing but the big fights right now.”

While Esquivias was hard-pressed to say what he would be doing if he was not a fighter, he did say that one of the things he likes to do is artwork. He enjoys doing that in free time. He used to play soccer, but had to give that up.

“I couldn’t risk getting injured,” he said. “I have to play it smart and invest my money for when I retire. Hopefully I have some property, have my own gym, and start training kids. I’d like that. I love the sport. It’s like a family, and I’ve made a lot of friends in boxing.

“I just want to thank everybody who believed in me and who never stopped believing in me. We’re going for bigger and better things from here on out, with God’s will.”