Brisbane, California’s lightweight Charlie Sheehy (3-0, 3 KOs) returns next Saturday at the Resorts World Events Center in Las Vegas, Nevada, on the undercard of Teofimo Lopez vs. Pedro Campa, with Sheehy’s stablemate, Xander Zayas serving as the co-feature of the ESPN telecast. Sheehy for those watching at home will be a part of the ESPN+ undercard.

For those interested in going to the event you can purchase tickets here.

Sheehy’s journey is an interesting one, with over a hundred amateur fights and the selected fighter to represent USA Boxing in the 2020 Olympics as the nominee chosen by USA Boxing once Keyshawn Davis had been disqualified from the process only for Keyshawn Davis to be reinstated due to the 2019 world rankings being the process in which fighters could compete in the Olympics, as the candittes were unable to qualify due to COVID-19 restrictions. Sheehy has evolved from one of the best pure boxers in the sport of boxing at the amateur level fighting like a young Erislandy Lara, to a fearsome finisher, working with his longtime coach Miguel Rios, and assisted by Javiel Centeno, a/k/a JC, best known for being the coach Xander Zayas, and leading George Kambosos Jnr to victory over Teofimo Lopez.

Yet, the most significant aspect of Sheehy’s story that has yet to be told is – sacrifice. While many in his peer group are leaving college and balancing work-life with adulthood, Sheehy is in isolation. It isn’t new he has done this for roughly three years now, but it is impressive to see a 23-year-old man, making such choices for the young term benefit of his career.

Sheehy is training for hours in Florida away from home, and going back to modest apartment just to do it again, and again. His phone is his escape to the world he knows best in the Bay Area, but he is grinding away in solitude with his teammates for boxing immortality. Most Bay Area fighters never give themselves a chance to make it, since they never leave the region to train, Sheehy has been training consistently outside of the Bay Area since the COVID-19 pandemic, and now is surrounded by world-class trainers, and athletes, along with none of the comforts at home.

As Sheehy goes to sleep by 9 PM EST, or 6 PM PST back home, it is a glaring reminder every single day that each day is a mission to get better, and improve. Sheehy isn’t giving up a bunch of his young adulthood for nothing, or even a vacation – it is nothing short of a Marine going to Bootcamp. It is a necessary step, if even if it is uncomfortable, it simply comes with the profession. For me, it is impressive to see how professional Sheehy is at a young age, as he behave like he is 30, and not close to 20.

Boxing is a sport in which they love you until you lose, and then tell the world how despite 20 years of being a solid fighter, they knew you would never make it. It is a hatin’ ass sport, and Northern California is one of the most unhelpful in this regard. Seemingly in my ten years of following boxing here, more people cheer upon someone’s downfall than celebrate their success. That is probably why a lot of our great fighters are only connected to those who they came up with only or even move away.

Sheehy is the rare exception, in which everyone wants to see him do well, because he doesn’t talk a lot, but demands respect. He has beaten nearly everyone, he has sparred with everyone, and no one, ever views him as a pushover. As a pro, he jumped into the deep end facing two undefeated fighters early in his career.

The hardest part is despite having fought Keyshawn Davis at the Olympic Trials in 2019, that fight isn’t a given as a pro, neither is another star on the rise Abdullah Mason. Despite me, or anyone who cares about Sheehy wishing to odrain him with the propchey of being a world champion or fighting in massive fights, becoming a world champion in boxing is really hard – and involves a lot of political capital, along with skill. In terms of talent, Sheehy is checking all the boxes, he has gotten rounds in fights and gotten stoppages, both of which people want to see from a promoters standpoint of development, but also from a fan’s point of view of being entertaining. That being said, each stage of one’s career is a new chapter from four-rounds to six-rounds, those are different tiers of opponents, same with eight-rounders and honestly, ten-round opponent are quality even if you make them look bad – you have to have done stuff to make it ten, or even twelve rounds and get sanctioned.

This bout should be much the same, as his opponent has not been announced to the general public, but this should serve as Sheehy he getting to fight on a high-profile card with two of the centerpieces of Top Rank Inc.’s future on the card, Teofimo Lopez, and Xander Zayas. A strong showing here is massive no matter what spot you are on the card.

For Sheehy, who has been constantly overlooked as an amateur until late in his amateur career, and seemingly has gotten some buzz, but not the national recognition of his peers, yet – that is added motivation. He might not say it, but he certainly shows it, as Johnny Bernal was undefeated fighter coming to win, and Sheehy stopped him. Luciano Ramos trains with the Diaz Brothers in Stockton, California, and Sheehy stopped him. His last fight, a swing bout, that closed the evening saw his peers stay for his fight after television, as he fought Bernell Jenkins and stopped him in the last round, not unlike what he did to Ramos.

Anything worth having takes awhile to get, and Sheehy will always be a part of my story as I went from my Aunt Mary’s funeral to Charlie’s pro debut only to see him stop his opponent as I got in the door. Something that was truly unforgettable. Sheehy feels special, but it is up to him to be special, and I truly believe he will be.

With a legendary manager in Peter Kahn behind him, he will have the political and business side of boxing cover, and with great coaches is Miguel Rios and Javiel Centeno, now it just comes down to how he performs at each every level, as boxing is a sport that is unlike any other. It is hard to predict, maybe that is why we watch, week-in, and week-out.

One thing is for sure, Sheehy gives it his all, stays humble is going to make the most out of this opportunity. His story continues, Saturday, August 13th in Las Vegas, Nevada.