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Hilario Prepared for Ring Return
Photos and Story By Ray Kilgore
January 20th, 2009

Hilario Returns to action this Saturday, January 24th, 2009 at the Grand Casino, Hinckley~
Everything a fighter does when they're preparing for a match has symbolic meaning. Wilton "Pretty Warrior" Hilario enters Uppercut gym in his oversize brown winter coat, but his size and polite mannerism doesn't give any sign that he loves to fight. The 25-year old boxer greets gym owner Lisa Bauch briefly, then makes his way to a small corner that has oversize mirrors.

From a distance you wonder if he feels like Tom Hanks' character in the movie Cast Away as he wraps his hands in a confined area with no one in remote closeness.
But as you move within a few feet, the Tom Hanks comparison is silly. The Dominican Republican born fighter loves the solitude at least for now, and as he throws jabs, it looks like he's pushing things away that try to disrupt his concentration.

The longer you watch him shadowbox you must ask: What human enjoys pushing his body this way; getting hit in the face regularly; risking career setbacks; and taking lumps here and there?

As soon as he and head trainer Jacque Davis start working the pads, it becomes obvious the 5' feet 10" fighter is one of the few people who enjoys pushing himself. "I wanna be recognized as a real fighter. I know they are going to take me seriously as a real fighter."

His entrée into the sport was governed by early street fights as a kid and teen. Hilario's constant brawling got so bad, his father, who was a soft caring man from the fighter's memory, thought he was going out of his mind trying to connect why his son fought so often.

Moving his family to Puerto Rico ten years later didn't help. The fighter wasn't convinced his father would approve of his boxing. "I thought my dad wasn't going to let me box so I never asked. I was scared." However, fear wasn't strong enough to force him out of the game and boxing win over many aspects of his life.
"I started training behind his back. Then I find out he loved boxing," laughing at how he put himself though worry and stress.

Hilario stuck with the sport, and turned professional in 2005. As part of becoming a professional, he made an agreement with himself to not be apart of a protected class of boxers who take on guys with three wins and 30 defeats.

"I just come to fight. I want to show people I can fight. This is weird sometimes when I look at the tape I say I don't want to do that then I do it again. That's just who I am." Hilario' opponents' combined wins and defeats are 122-96.

In fact, his goals are so high, he and Davis report having no real interest in challenging hometown foes. "It would be a great fight against [Yuriorkis] Gamboa [the exciting featherweight prospect, 13-0, 11 KOs] that would be a dream fight with a guy with so much power."

His trainer agrees, "I would love to see him fight Gamboa. Jason and Allan [Litzau] are nothing. I don't care about that. I want outside things."

Leaving the national level alone for now, does he and his trainer expect us to think a fight against either Litzau brothers, namely Jason, wouldn't be something they want for hometown bragging rights?
If the unplanned Abbot and Costello interaction between them is real, then we must believe them:
Davis: "If the fight happens [Litzau] we'll take it. We want the the older brother, the one who keeps talking."
Hilario: Laughing, "You mean the younger brother Jason."
Davis: "No I mean the older brother who's had his chance."
Hilario: Almost holding back belly laughter, "That's Jason"
Davis: "Oh! No wonder why he's [Allen] running his mouth, he's done anyways. But if they bring it to us, we'll take it no problems. Win, lose or draw I want the little brother; no disrespect to the older one, I just don't think much of him."

Both Davis and Hilario have a good trainer/ fighter relationship,
"Working with these young kids for the last 17 years, he's one of the stronger cats out there really working and not wanting anything handed to him," says Davis.

Overall the two have been pleased with how Hilario's career is moving along, however; in recent
years injuries have been of a concern for both men. In 2007 he only boxed three times and once in 2008 only.

The lack of inactivity was a result of surgery on his elbow. Then while out of action he took up
his second hobby: baseball and ended up injuring his knee badly.

Going into the fight Saturday, Hilario argues that he feels great and is ready for war; oddly, being ready for battle means just that--physical contact-by passing the between stuff that most fighters die to know. "I don't know anything about the guy I am fighting. I just know his name. I like it better. Keeps me from watching out for things then the guy does something different."

The fighter whose day job is a barber looks to be obsessed with boxing, "This 24/7 boxing is what I do. We watched fights. I am at the barbershop watching tapes and even at the gym."

He admits to recently reading comments by fans and feeling bothered by them. "I don't like to read stuff. It gets me mad because I heard some stuff that [was said] two years ago and I am just now reading it." He adds, "I know a lot of people in MN expect me to knock out a guy. But guys come into fights with other stuff on [their] mind. If it comes, it comes."


As training winds down for the day, he chats briefly with other fighters as they make their way out the door. Just as he came into the gym, he exits in the same fashion with his oversize brown coat; but for some reason, he looks more like a fighter this time around. When it comes to boxing, life for Hilario is simple, "I want to show people that I am not a joke and I am a real fighter and if they are in my weight class then I want them."



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