Surging prospect, Gabriela Tellez (6-0, 2 KOs), will be looking to continue on her winning ways and further climb the ranks when she returns to action on Friday, February 20, in Orlando on BoxLab Promotions’ Night of Champions XIV card.
The 19-year-old, who will meet the Dominican Republic’s Crystal Garcia Nova (11-4, 10 KOs) over eight rounds, says that the pursuit of greatness inside the squared circle has not always been her ultimate goal, however. In boxing, as in most of her athletic pursuits, ‘Sosa’ as she is known, has found herself willingly following in the footsteps of her older sister, Reina.
“I definitely look up to my sister,” Tellez told FightsATW.com. “I started boxing because she was boxing. At the time, it was just me and her. Anywhere she was, I was. We both did Taekwondo together. I did softball, and she did softball. Wherever my sister was, I was.
“A lot of people ask, ‘Have you always loved the sport of boxing?’ In the beginning, I never loved the sport. My sister was always in the gym, so I just kind of picked up on it, just doing it for fun. But then, as my sister kept being in the gym, that’s how I kept being in the gym.”
Though seemingly inseparable, Gabriela maintains that the Tellez sisters are mutually exclusive, a fact that is particularly evident in the way they each approach fighting. While the elder Tellez is known for a high-octane, action-oriented style, ‘Sosa’ has a strong focus on fundamentals, favouring a “skills pay the bills” mantra similar to that of fighters like her in-ring hero Andre Ward.
In her most recent outing, Reina exhibited this exact dogged toughness when she battled gallantly to a 10-round decision loss against pound-for-pound great Amanda Serrano in January. Despite falling short on the cards that night, the 22-year-old lost no fans for her gameness as the unheralded challenger took on an icon of the sport.
Watching on, the junior of the two was one of the many onlookers beaming with pride and admiration. Even in light of their stylistic differences, Gabriela has still been able to draw inspiration from her sister’s performance.
“Me and my sister have two totally different styles. You can see that she has that ‘I’m going to fight,’ but I have more of the ‘I’m a boxer’ (mentality),” she said.
“I was so happy for her, just hearing that she got the opportunity. I was like, ‘My sister’s literally a superstar, I don’t care what anybody says.’ Even though she lost, everybody could see the fight.”
Fast forward a month, and Gabriela is primed to make her own statement to the boxing world. Originally set to face Colombia’s Calista Silgado, a 37-year-old who has proved to be a durable operator and perennial world championship challenger over the course of a 15-year, 46-fight career, for the WBA Continental Americas title, Tellez now sets her sights on Nova.
Although she admits that fighting at super featherweight, where she holds the WBA’s number six ranking, is her preference, Tellez remains confident. After fighting on the undercards of tentpole events, such as David Benavidez’ pay-per-view bout with David Morrell Jr in February of last year, she feels that she has what it takes to handle business, regardless of circumstance.
“I definitely feel like super featherweight’s more my weight,” she said. “My team always says, ‘Oh my god, 126 is your weight, 26 is you,’ and I’m like, ‘It definitely could be, but right now I feel like 130’s my weight,’ and I feel much better. I don’t feel too sluggish.
“When I fight at 135, it’s like, ‘okay, you’re a little sluggish, you could look better. You could just look better back down at 130.’ That’s why I kind of feel like in the middle, I kind of meet there, and I feel strong, I feel fast, I feel good. I think that’s where I’m at for the next few fights.
“We’re ready. We’ve fought on the bigger cards. We can’t let that get to us, we can’t let the fighter get to us.”
It’s clear that sisterly love has been a driving force in getting Gabriela Tellez to this point. How far she goes ultimately comes down to whether she alone will take advantage of the openings that come her way. In some respects, her journey begins this Friday, setting the tone for what she hopes is the kick-off to a big 2026.
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