From Bogota to Boxer: JD Cuervo
Born in Colombia before moving to South Wales at the age of 13, Juan David Cuervo, commonly known as JD, picked up boxing in the face of adversity and hasn't looked back since. Now a professional boxer with an undefeated record of 3-0, I sat down with JD at Llanrumney Phoenix boxing gym in Cardiff to pick apart the story so far.
Before sitting down for the interview, I was fortunate enough to have front-row seats to the final portion of a training session at the gym, under the watchful eye of Welsh boxing trainer Gary Lockett.
It was 12 rounds of three minutes, each round entailing a different but equally gruelling fitness test, with at least a dozen of the gym's professional talent taking part, from former and current European Champions to relative novices.
One of those relative novices was the man I was there to speak to, JD Cuervo, a young professional boxer, 20, who had made his debut just five months prior at the age of 19. Coming over from Colombia at just 13, in search of a better life for himself and his older sister Natalia.
Image: Sam Hill
Early Life
"It was hard (at first). My mum managed to get us out of Colombia and we came here, I didn't even speak English.
"Initially, I wanted to be a football player, I always wanted to be a pro football player. I had just got here, I didn't speak the language, I got bullied, people didn't include me, and I had no friends. Sometimes I would get kicked in the face, with people saying, you're an immigrant, go back to your country and things like that.
"I realised there was no place for me in a team sport, so I said, s**t, I need to learn how to defend myself, I need to find some purpose here."
Starting off with kickboxing and then moving on to boxing, JD realised that the gym environment was one without bullies and discrimination. That was where the seed was sewn.
Image: Sam Hill
Amateur Career
JD described his amateur career as "not bad", speaking on how fortunate he feels to be able to train where he does, with the lack of experience and titles to offer. Now, into his professional career, JD reflected on how his formative years have benefitted his young career.
"(On growing up in Colombia) It does help mentally. It's not that I'm not scared. Many things do scare me, but just knowing that I've gone through worse things and I've always gone through them, I just let things go.”
Sin Miedo, is a Spanish phrase translating to 'without fear', that JD now carries with himself as his boxing nickname, not only as a reminder of his late grandfather, but a homage to all that he has been through.
"Why would I be scared of anyone sitting across the ring with a pair of gloves when I've been at gunpoint? There's nothing to be afraid of. Nothing gets worse than that."
Image: Sam Hill
Professional Career To Date
As mentioned, JD's professional debut came in August 2024, on the undercard of a historic first-ever female Welsh title fight held in the Selwyn Samuel Centre, Llanelli. The hall is used predominantly as a bowls venue, and vaguely resembles a large school sports hall, but for this one night it was packed full of boxing fans eagerly awaiting history.
JD was on early on in the night, one of his management team present in former IBF World Super-Featherweight Champion Joe Cordina, as well as his close family and best friend from back home. JD put on a solid performance against a well-versed journeyman in Karl Sampson, picking up all four rounds on the night.
Reflecting on the night JD said:
"It was weird. It was weird because I've never seen a hall like that. It was very small, but I wouldn't change anything about it.
"My family were there. My best friend from Columbia was there, it was good. It's weird making that big leap."
Image: Sam Hill
When asked post-fight by myself, on the night, about one thing he would have wanted to change about his performance he quite pragmatically assured me all he would alter would be how much he was able to enjoy himself in the ring.
"One of my amateur coaches, Carl, he always told me to enjoy it. There's no point in doing it if you're not enjoying it.
"And I feel like that's the biggest advice that's helped me along with my career. If you're enjoying it then you're not thinking about the pain, or the sacrifices, you're just enjoying it. So my second fight, I enjoyed it. I loved every second of it.
"Personally, for me, that was my favourite performance, I just enjoyed it. But sometimes I forget and put too much pressure on myself and don't perform as well."
Image: Sam Hill
In November, JD had his third fight, and third victory once again on a local show in Wales, this time for legendary promoter Chris Sanigar's, Sanigar Events. Matched up against a 36-year-old South African in Garth Noot who had, one fight prior, pushed Welsh Champion Jake Tinklin to a narrow one-point decision, dropping Tinklin in the 3rd round with a heavy shot.
JD once again came out on top in this fight but not without some difficulty, Noot picked up the final round, really testing the 20-year-old's durability and defence. Reflecting on the fight JD said:
"I am so happy it happened because out of my three fights, it was a tough test. He came to give me a good fight and I'm so grateful to him for that.
Image: Sam Hill
"I've learned to take a good shot. I've learned to stay more relaxed.
"I was surprised how hard he hit. He has man strength. It was a great experience. Just like Gary said, he's a boxer, a strong man. I just had to be smart and outbox him, and I'm glad I did it."
Currently, without a fight lined up for this year, JD hopes only to stay active and keep learning throughout 2025, putting no pressure on himself for titles or accolades. Denoting this attitude to having a great amount of time on his side.
With an exciting end to 2024, JD certainly remains one of the fighters to keep your eyes on over the next 12-18 months. Under the tutelage of Gary Locket and the management of Joe Cordina and Lee Eaton, Cuervo has all the pieces in place to guide him through his journey in the squared circle.