MARIO HERRERA
Born September 23, 1997 I was raised in Chicago, Illinois. I am a professional athlete and business owner. Since the age of 4 I was competing in sports, which has carried to this present day of time. I went from playing soccer, football, basketball, running track and field, to boxing. Although I would always fight in and out of school, boxing was the last sport that came to me. Being in a Mexican household we would always watch boxing; Oscar De La Hoya, Manny Pacqiuao, Mayweather, etc. , but it wasn’t until former high school strength and conditioning coach Fernando Perez, asked me to check out the boxing gym he was going to. After a couple of days going to the gym, I tagged my friend Jacob Kandu along and we became members of the gym for about 2/3 months. It wasn’t until I felt the disbelief from one of the trainers at Rumi Maki, Palatine, IL that I decided to stop training there. That led me from hopping from gym to gym, until I was introduced to Samy “187” Merza. Merza has a gym in the north Chicagoland area, where I was doing my training during the amateurs and some for the pros. After switching trainer Giovanni Caravello, I started training with Fernando Perez, who always believed in me, from my work ethic to my decisions. Fernando and I have a bond that many wish they could have. Not only is there a bond, but the knowledge he has is unbeatable.
Who am I in life
My name is Mario Orlando Herrera. I come from a family of 6 (4 brothers and 1 sister with the same father. 1 brother with the same mother including my sister). I started my education in the city of Chicago, as we were moving from place to place, my mother always found a way to give us the best she could. In 2008, she made the decision to move to Skokie, IL, just North of Chicago, to give my siblings and I better education and more opportunities as I kept getting in trouble in public schools of Chicago. Although this did not stop me from fighting or being a troublemaker, I was able to walk down to neighbors and ask them to cut their grass for some cash. One thing I learned from my mother is to always work hard. Working hard led me to become the best I can be at whatever I was doing; playing soccer, football or basketball. All the hard work I had put in had then transferred to my young adult life; from working to playing sports and becoming a team captain, to winning the 2019 Chicago Golden Gloves. Few years later, here I am with an undefeated professional boxing record.
What life means to me
Life to me means friends and family you can trust and who trusts you. Boxing is like life. One must trust themselves to be trusted by others and have discipline to make progress and make good relationships. This will lead to success, in whatever I decide to take on.
What the future holds
I couldn’t tell you exactly what the future will hold, but I do trust and believe in everything I am doing to succeed. Becoming Chicago's next boxing superstar started back in 2015, when I started my amateur career. Many say I have started late or doubt me, but I say otherwise. Just like life, I have to make the calls with trust and believe and have the discipline to see progress. That being said, being the 2019 Chicago Golden Gloves Champion, winning 27 fights, losing 3 with a total of 18 knockouts in my amateur career. This has carried on to my professional career. I am in the making to become a world champion and make some positive noise for the Latinos and city of Chicago.