Wilkins Santiago

want them to live life comfortably,” Santiago said.

Having the backing of Castro and Warner Promotions owner Ron Warner is an important step along the way of reaching his goals. The next step comes February 19th when Santiago faces his first professional opponent at the Wolstein Center, on the non-televised portion of an ESPN2 “Friday Night Fights” event.

Santiago brought a large Puerto Rican following from Lorain to his fights as an amateur. “When they come to my fights it’s an amazing feeling,” Santiago said. It is important to him that he continues to build support from Hispanics in northeast Ohio.

“I definitely believe in myself,” Santiago said. “I believe I got the tools and I prepare myself faithfully to accomplish my goals. Hopefully one day I’ll hold the world title and show the Hispanic community that there’s a Puerto Rican fighter here in Lorain that is trying to make something happen and that is going make something happen.”

Making something happen for Santiago is not just limited to world championships, but also the influence he can have on others. He wants people to learn from his example. “Even though you may feel like you got so many blocks on your back, you stand up and keep fighting for what you believe in,” Santiago said. “If I can just touch one kid that would make my whole career what I wanted it to be – a success.”

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