FanHouse AlfredoAngulo

It appeared that the setting could not have been better on that final day of May, when 26-year-old Alfredo Angulo seemed to be on the verge of a transitional moment in his young professional boxing career.

For not only did the 154-pounder boast a spotless record at 15-0 with 12 knockouts, but the Mexicali, Mexico, native had steamrolled his way through 11 consecutive knockouts entering that junior middleweight bout at the Hard Rock Hotel and Casino in Hollywood, Fla.

Angulo's opponent was Kermit Cintron, an ex-welterweight (147 pounds) champion who was just two bouts removed from a sixth-round knockout loss to former titlist Antonio Margarito.

If Alfredo Angulo looks like a serious fellow, it's because he is.

Ask him about boxing and he'll talk about things that might bore your accountant and put your trainer to sleep. There's maintaining weight, the importance of discipline, and, in training, living a life that Mother Teresa might find just a tad puritanical.

In the ring, he's no different. He has the guts to fight a bull while wearing red boxing trunks and a rebar-enforced punch that might leave that snorting sap seeing stars.