Abel "El Zorro" Mendoza is 44-0 with 32 knockouts — six wins from matching Floyd Mayweather’s 50-0 — and most fight fans still haven’t heard his name. That’s about to change.

A West Texas fighter who came up between Pecos and El Paso, he built boxing’s quietest perfect record the hard way: a 15-year-old who lied to his mom to get to a Vegas tournament, then years of pro bouts in small venues across Mexico with no promoter behind him — until Premier Boxing Champions came calling.

Hiram and Domingo sit down with him ahead of what he says is next — a fight night in Albuquerque on October 3 — to talk about staying calm when the perfect record was on the line, the math on Mayweather’s 50-0, and why, when the gloves come off for good, he plans to follow the Manny Pacquiao playbook: home to West Texas, and onto the ballot.

🎙️ More Texas politics:
• The full conversation with Abel, in Spanish:

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IN THIS EPISODE

— Why one of the best records in boxing belongs to a name most fans don’t know
— The lie he told his mom at 15 — and what he was willing to sleep on to fight
— The night his perfect record almost ended, and what it taught him about staying calm
— "A perfect record doesn’t mean a perfect journey"
— The math on Mayweather’s 50-0, in his own words
— Why he plans to trade the ring for a ballot in 2028

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CHAPTERS

0:00 Welcome: Abel Mendoza, 44-0, 32 knockouts
0:51 October 3 in Albuquerque: the next fight
1:23 From Pecos to the pros: how it started
2:43 The lie that got a 15-year-old to Vegas
3:53 The hardest fight: an Argentine Olympian
4:35 Getting knocked down — in the ring and in life
5:24 A perfect record is not a perfect journey
6:14 The goal: Mayweather’s 50-0
6:39 Ad: Domingo Garcia Law Firm
6:53 The fighter he looks up to: Manny Pacquiao
7:28 After boxing: a run for office in 2028
8:12 Why politics — looking out for his community
8:44 Tickets, October 3, and the next GOAT
9:21 Signing with PBC: from bars in Mexico to the big stage
9:36 Closing: the fighting spirit

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ABOUT THE GUEST

Abel "El Zorro" Mendoza is an undefeated professional boxer — 44-0 with 32 knockouts. A West Texas fighter who came up between Pecos and El Paso, he turned pro in 2016 with almost no amateur pedigree and built his record the hard way, including early bouts fought in small venues across Mexico without a promoter behind him. He signed with Premier Boxing Champions in late 2025. In May 2026 he won the NABA lightweight title in Dallas. He says his goal is to match — and pass — Floyd Mayweather’s 50-0, and that in 2028 he plans to run for county commissioner back home in West Texas.

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HOSTS

DOMINGO GARCIA is a trial lawyer and one of the most important Latino political figures in Texas. He served on the Dallas City Council and, in 1993, became the first Latino ever elected Mayor Pro Tem of the city. In the Texas Legislature, he co-authored HB 1403 — the Texas DREAM Act. In 2006, he organized the largest march in Texas history, when more than 500,000 people filled downtown Dallas to demand immigration reform. He is a former national president of LULAC and has practiced law for more than 40 years.

HIRAM GILBERTO GARCIA is a journalist, producer, and public affairs strategist based in Austin. His frontline coverage of the 2020 protests drew wide local and national attention.

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ABOUT TEJANO TALKS

Tejano Talks is a podcast that empowers Tejanos with the knowledge, mindset, and voice to build wealth, lead with purpose, and shape their future.


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