Michel Rivera: I’ll have speed, skills, and intelligence over Jon Fernandez

Lightweight prospect Michel Rivera will return to the ring this Saturday on Showtime, taking on Jon Fernandez in the co-feature to the Colbert-Nyambayar main event from Carson, Calif.

The 23-year-old Rivera (20-0, 13 KO) fights out of Miami, born in the Dominican Republic, and believes he has the natural advantages against Spain’s Fernandez (21-1, 18 KO).

“My skills, speed, and intelligence are all advantages in my favor,” Rivera said from training camp. “I am an aggressive fighter when it is most advantageous for me, but I can also be crafty and turn that into an advantage. My skills and talent will be the difference on fight night.”

He also believes that he’ll be the better-prepared fighter, saying, “I am the type of boxer who adapts to what is going on in the moment. So we’ve made sure to work on all areas in order to prevail Saturday night. We’ve had a very organized yet intense preparation for Fernandez.”

At 5’11”, Fernandez will have a height advantage on Rivera, who is listed at 5’8”, but Rivera is rightly not just looking at height, though also not counting it out as a factor.

“His height may be an issue, but I don’t really know much he uses his reach,” he said. “I haven’t seen many of his previous fights, but I’m 100 percent confident I will overcome anything that he thinks he could do to make me uncomfortable.

“I’ve never fought a European opponent before, but I have fought opponents that were taller than me. I may be smaller, but I have good reach and will look for openings when I get into close range. If it bodes better for me to dominate him with my quickness, I can do that as well.”