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When discussing the origins of the fighting spirit which has carried him to an unlikely world title shot against Tim Tszyu, Brian Mendoza takes you back to the night his father swam into the US-controlled Guantanamo Bay on the island of Cuba.<\/p>\n
Mariano Mendoza couldn\u2019t envision living the life he wanted for himself or his family-to-be in his homeland, so decided to risk it all in the hope of a better future in the United States.<\/p>\n
Which is why he waited until the dark of night to plunge into the water and leave everything, and everyone he knew, behind.<\/p>\n
\u201cMy dad in the \u201990s wanted his freedom, he couldn\u2019t see where the country was going,\u201d Brian Mendoza says. \u201cHe needed more opportunities to provide for his family. There were things he couldn\u2019t do when he was there.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe took that leap. He swam to the American base in Guantanamo, swam hours across the ocean. There\u2019s eels, traps that the government sets, everything. If the government sees you in the ocean, they actually just start shooting.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat\u2019s why a lot of people don\u2019t make it, there\u2019s a lot of dangerous stuff on the way. You\u2019re going against the current the whole time and they have a giant spotlight you have to avoid that\u2019s constantly scanning over the ocean for people trying to swim.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Brian Mendoza, pictured with his father, Mariano Mendoza, ahead of his fight with Tim Tszyu.<\/span>Credit: <\/span>No Limit Boxing <\/cite><\/p>\n \u201cYou have to be hiding from that, you have to time the current, there\u2019s a lot to get around. It\u2019s three hours in the ocean, that\u2019s why it takes so long.<\/p>\n \u201cYou hear all those stories about people trying to make it on makeshift boats, it\u2019s the same thing. Of course, many people have been caught and shot down in the water and they just leave you there. It\u2019s insane. My dad, thankfully, made that tough journey and I\u2019m here today because of it.\u201d<\/p>\n Mariano Mendoza still remembers pulling himself out of the water and striding towards a new life.<\/p>\n \u201cIt was a good feeling, I can\u2019t describe that moment,\u201d Mariano Mendoza says. \u201cThe best moment ever in my life.\u201d<\/p>\n Having survived the treacherous voyage, Mariano made his way to Florida in search of work before settling in New Mexico. That\u2019s where he met Mendoza\u2019s mother, Lissett, who survived her own ordeal in relocating to the United States.<\/p>\n Brian Mendoza plans to spring an upset on Sunday.<\/span>Credit: <\/span>No Limit Boxing<\/cite><\/p>\n \u201cMy mum, she had to take a dangerous route here too,\u201d Mendoza says. \u201cThey call it Mariel \u2013 like in the Scarface<\/em> movie when all those people were sent over [from Cuba by boat], it was during that era.<\/p>\n \u201cIt was the government shipping you off, they didn\u2019t promise you any safety. They just threw you on the boats and said, \u2018Good luck\u2019.<\/p>\n \u201cThere\u2019s no guidance, there\u2019s no promise of not ending up homeless. They don\u2019t give you much of a start. Even when they send them here, the people when they receive you here, they say \u2018Hey, if you want work, we have some in New Mexico.\u2019<\/p>\n \u201cThey come here with no connections, no help, no nothing. You get started from scratch. She was young, about nine years old when she came over.\u201d<\/p>\n The pair settled in New Mexico for about three decades, worked numerous jobs and had four children.<\/p>\n One of them, Mendoza, will on Sunday challenge Tszyu for the WBO super-welterweight world title. The 29-year-old\u2019s journey from obscurity to world champion contender on the Gold Coast is just as unlikely a tale.<\/p>\n There have been moments when Mendoza\u2019s career stalled. Despite his impressive record, the man known as \u201cLa Bala\u201d \u2013 which means bullet in Spanish \u2013 struggled to attract big-name opponents or the attention of the media.<\/p>\n Just as he was considering undertaking supplementary work to make ends meet, he experienced a lasting, existential moment.<\/p>\n \u201cMy career was very stagnant, it wasn\u2019t going anywhere,\u201d Mendoza recalls. \u201cI was having issues, thinking of where I had to go when I actually saw an owl in an area where they are not too common, it just flew up and started staring at me. I had a moment, just with the owl.<\/p>\n \u201cAfter a couple of minutes it just flew off. I kinda felt something. I\u2019m not too big on spirit animals and stuff like that, but that day I happened to feel something.<\/p>\n \u201cIt always stuck with me, this thing about perseverance. To just stick through it and that changes are coming, owls represent that along with wisdom. I felt a big change was coming and that\u2019s exactly what happened.\u201d<\/p>\n That big change occurred on a night that was also a poignant one for Tszyu. In March of last year, Tszyu became the first Australian to headline a non-title fight in the United States, rising from the canvas to defeat Terrell Gausha at the Armory in Minneapolis.<\/p>\n It was also a turning point for Mendoza. So anonymous was Mendoza at the time, that his fight against former unified WBA and IBF light middleweight champion Jeison Rosario – on the very same card – was held after<\/em> the main event.<\/p>\n As Mendoza landed a brutal uppercut to floor Rosario and turn around his fortunes, the cleaners were folding up the empty chairs. Having played second fiddle to Tszyu, he earned the right to challenge him for his WBO super-welterweight world title after another stunning knockout, of the previously unbeaten Sebastian Fundora in April.<\/p>\n It has culminated in a remarkable journey to the Gold Coast, one made with proud and apprehensive parents.<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019m actually not a fan of the sport,\u201d says Lissett. \u201cMany times I have told him \u2018Nothing would make me happier than you quitting.\u2019 But we support him. He has put in so much work and dedication into his training.\u201d<\/p>\n When Mendoza enters the ring, he will do so with an ornate tattoo representing the owl he encountered when at a crossroads.<\/p>\n \u201cI just believe I\u2019m in my prime, this is my moment,\u201d Mendoza says. \u201cI have all the experience I need, I feel like I want it more. I know he wants it very bad as well, but when things get really rough, I have that extra edge. I\u2019ve got a chip on my shoulder, I\u2019ve already tasted defeat and I don\u2019t want to go back to that.<\/p>\n \u201cI train in the gym accordingly. The discipline I have, the experience, I\u2019ve already pulled off big upsets so this is familiar territory for me.\u201d<\/p>\n Sports news, results and expert commentary. <\/i><\/b>Sign up for our Sport newsletter<\/i><\/b>.<\/i><\/b><\/p>\n<\/p>\n
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