It’s a 110 degrees in Indio, California, but Andrew Cancio doesn’t mind.
“It’s a little hot out here,” he says without hesitation.
Actually, Cancio does mind. Everyone minds once it gets past triple digits during the summer.
“I don’t think you ever get used to it being this hot,” he laughs, and that honesty has been a hallmark of the 31-year-old’s boxing career. Sure, it’s nice to wax poetic about the warrior working a full-time job with the gas company in Southern California to support his family while taking fights to chase glory in the ring. But sometimes, reality is more compelling, even if honesty can hurt you sometimes.
Cancio has walked away from the sport before, tired of the politics and games associated with it. He also wasn’t keeping his mouth shut when he felt he wasn’t being promoted to the level of a world champion when he was with Golden Boy Promotions. That may have cost him his contract when he lost the WBA 130-pound title to Rene Alvarado last November. So while he’s gone from A-side to B-side to champion to ex-champion, he still keeps his head high, and there’s something to be said for that.
And it hasn’t gone unnoticed. Just look at the uproar online after Golden Boy released him from his deal after the Alvarado fight. That support was appreciated by Cancio.
“I was happy with that and I think they realized that they (Golden Boy) messed up, too,” he said. “It wasn’t the first time they let me go, but it was definitely the last time they let me go.”
That’s quite the mic drop from “El Chango.”
He was scheduled to return to the ring on September 12 against Saul Rodriguez in Las Vegas for his first bout with his new promoter, Top Rank.
But, the fight fell apart after Top Rank was unable to reach a financial agreement with Rodriguez.
Regardless, Cancio is in a good position considering that some of the top 130-pound boxers in the world, including champions Jamel Herring and Miguel Berchelt, fight under the Top Rank banner.
“That played a big role in it, and they have the two belts over there as well, so it definitely played a big role in me signing with them,” he said. “And they’ve been around the business for a long time, they know how to do this. That’s why I ended up going this route.”
At this point in a pro career that began in 2006, Cancio isn’t interested in fighting his way back up the ladder. Scoring the two KO victories over Alberto Machado that put a world championship belt around his waist and then saw him successfully defend it should have put the muscle behind his name that a nice comeback win over a tough foe in Rodriguez should earn him a crack at a belt or at the very least, a title eliminator, but he’s not talking names or prospective fights just yet.
“I just want to get this fight out of the way and come away with the victory and then we’ll go from there,” he said. “The only path that I want right now is to get back in the win column. That way I can give myself the opportunity to fight for another world title.”
That’s been the plan since he first laced on the gloves, and as long as he’s been all-in on the fight game, his vision hasn’t changed. As for life, well, that will throw some curveballs at you, but he’s managed to hit them for extra base hits, most recently using a promotion from his day job to buy a home in La Quinta. Of course that forced a training move from Joe Goossen to Joel Diaz and Marcos Caballero, but Cancio just keeps on trucking, happy to have had a break from the ring during the COVID-19 pandemic while still working his day job and getting time with the family.
He’s still happy to start fresh.
“Hopefully we can get back to where we were at, and I’m looking forward to my new chapter in life. I got a new promoter, a new team, a whole new gym, a whole new everything. I’m looking forward to it,” Cancio said.