Lightweight Andres Cortes is prepared to perform under the big lights as he headlines Zuffa Boxing 05 fight card on Easter Sunday, April 5, against Eridson Garcia (23-1, 14 KOs), streaming live on Paramount+. After a career with starts and stops, Garcia hopes that this opportunity with Zuffa Boxing is the path he was always meant to take.
The undefeated 28-year-old Cortes (24-0, 13 KOs) from Las Vegas, NV, has always been around boxing, given that he was born and raised in a true fight town. Throughout his amateur and professional careers, Cortes has had the rare chance to train alongside Hall of Famer Floyd Mayweather Jr. and has witnessed many fights under the bright lights of the Vegas Strip.
Although things tend to get lost in the glamour and glitz of the strip, Cortes, who is from there, is well aware of what could happen if you allow yourself to get caught up in it. “Vegas will eat you alive,” Cortes told FightsATW. “You don’t get handed anything here. It is a very tough city if you let it be.” That’s why Cortes, a pro for ten years, believes the most important lessons he’s learned so far are “staying disciplined” and “never stop learning.”
The discipline aspect cost him in June 2024 when he stepped on the scale the day before his fight with Abraham “Super” Nova. Cortes missed weight by 0.8 pounds, making him ineligible to win the WBO-NABO junior lightweight title that was at stake. The fight took place the next night, and he scored a unanimous decision over Nova. Missing weight but then winning a unanimous decision—was there a mental struggle to process it all?
“A win is a win at the end of the day,” said Cortes. “Obviously, there is always room to improve, but I didn’t take it in a bad way. He was coming off a split decision loss to O’Shaquie Foster, and I beat Nova much more convincingly than Foster. I didn’t take anything negative from the experience. I felt good.”
Fast forward to the past 6-8 months, Cortes signed with Top Rank, but since the promotional company still lacked a media rights deal at the time, he ended up signing with Zuffa Boxing in Las Vegas once his contract ran out, which felt like the right fit for him.
“I’ve known about Zuffa Boxing since middle school. It was nothing new to me. I’ve been a big UFC fan since I was a kid. Zuffa Boxing was something that was always bound to happen if you knew, you knew.
“My contract was ending, and I thought it would be a good move for me. It’s a new chapter, something different in boxing, and I definitely wanted to be part of it.
Now, Cortes is headlining a major fight on Paramount+ against a tough opponent who will also try to make the most of this opportunity. Some fighters may try to avoid the mental pressure that comes with headlining a big card, but Cortes welcomes it and even adds to it. “I feel like I’ve been in this position before,” said a confident Cortes. “It doesn’t feel any different. I just know this is a great opportunity for me, so I’m definitely adding that extra pressure on myself so that I can perform better.”
On April 5, Cortes faces Garcia, and although he was initially seen as the slight betting favorite, he is now regarded as a slight underdog. But Garcia promises that the fans will get their pound of flesh and that he won’t quit until he delivers it. “You’re gonna hear some thudding shots. I’m not leaving until I knock his ass out. I do think this fight ends in a knockout, so expect one.”
Zuffa Boxing 05 streams live on Paramount+ this Sunday night, so will Cortes live up to his promise of a knockout, or will Garcia prove to be the fighter the oddsmakers believe he is? This fight should make for an exciting main event as Zuffa aims to capture boxing fans’ attention with its fight cards.
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