Gabriel Flores Jr. hunting for a title after Lopez fight

Gabriel Flores Jr. is a young, talented, super featherweight who’s searching for a shot at a title. An impressive win over Luis Alberto Lopez could be key.

On Friday, Sept. 10, WBC super featherweight champion Oscar Valdez headlines the boxing card in Tuscon, AZ. However, there’s another fighter in the division on the card that deserves your attention. Gabriel Flores Jr. could be a future champion.

Flores (20-0, 7 KOs) is swiftly moving up the super featherweight rankings. Boxrec.com has him listed as the 22nd best boxer in the division in the world. At 21 years old, Flores is still physically maturing and is far from hitting his prime.

He fought the most decorated boxer on his résumé in February. Flores stopped Jayson Velez in round 6 via TKO. Looking back at the tape, Flores was able to learn and grow even from a dominant victory.

“The Lord is on my side,” Flores told FanSided. “I just improved a lot. The long training camp and I jumped a couple of levels. This Friday night is going to be my best performance. And it gets better and better. Every time it gets better and better.”

Flores turned professional at the age of 17. Every fight during his professional career has served as a learning experience, and Flores internalizes the lessons. The transformation of Flores from then to now has been monumental.

Gabriel Flores Jr. is looking for a statement win against Luis Alberto Lopez

“It’s got a lot to do with me getting comfortable,” said Flores about his continual improvement. “I was learning on the job. I was young. I was 17. So I was really young. I’m now getting comfortable, and I know what to do in certain situations, as I always did. But I lived in it more. So that made me very comfortable.”

Flores doesn’t have the highest knockout percentage, but his last fight against Velez shows that his power may be increasing as he’s growing older. Luis Alberto Lopez (22-2, 12 KOs) has a strong chin and is experienced, but Flores feels like his strong collective record gives him the edge and has helped him get to where he is today.

“I didn’t fight anyone with an upside-down record,” said Flores.

“I was learning through it all, and now, I found myself more than anything,” continued Flores. “So that right there made me grow a whole lot.”

Flores is confident that he’s going to take care of Lopez. He wants a title shot next but feels that some of the champions may be avoiding him.

“Yeah, I think so,” said Flores on if he’s being avoided. “I think it’s a high risk for them. They don’t get too much out of it. You know, that’s the way they look at it.”

A big win against Lopez will make it hard to deny him a title shot much longer. You can catch Flores in action on ESPN+ starting at 10 p.m. ET.