Sammy Contreras Jnr has a passion for Japanese culture which he incorporates into each fight camp.
Contreras faces Nelson Hampton on Saturday at the Soboba Casino in San Jacinto, California.
Contreras, 4-0 (2 KOs), fought four times in 2025 and expects to be even more active in 2026. He sparred with Manny Pacquiao last summer and has been spotted sparring Mario Barrios. The 21-year-old from Los Angeles has his name written in Japanese lettering on hats and shirts made for fight week. It all stems from a series of movies he watched as a child.
“I would watch movies with samurai fights, and they had unique logos, which is what inspired me,” Contreras said. “I would always see those logos, and they caught my attention.”
He did research and learned a bit about Japanese culture. That research turned into a passion. “When you enter the boxing ring, you are like a samurai,” Contreras said. “When you are in there, you are fighting another samurai; it is war.”
Contreras, who outpointed veteran Christian Avalos in November, had a deep amateur pedigree, but failed to qualify for the 2024 Olympic Games for both the U.S. and El Salvador (where his parents are from). He is now looking to become a notable up-and-comer and sees eight-round bouts on the horizon.
Meanwhile, Hampton, 11-11 (6 KOs), of Houston, has made a career out of being durable. The 32-year-old Hampton has been stopped twice in his career by former titleholder Jose “Rayo” Valenzuela and Erdison Garcia, who pulled off a big upset win in Japan last month.
“I want to sit down on my punches and get my style out there, so people can notice my style,” Contreras said. “I think I have a very good style, and it will catch a lot of people’s attention.”
Contreras is trained by his father, Sam Contreras Snr, who has worked with many fighters, including unbeaten Golden Boy Prospect Cesar Diaz, who tragically passed away in a car crash in 2017. The elder Contreras brings a lot of experience having served as a trainer and advisor to several fighters in the past. All of this experience has been passed on to his son. One of the big lessons he instilled in him was to stay as active as possible.
Contreras, his son, wants not only that, but also to travel. With the recent influx of great Japanese fighters, from Naoya Inoue to Los Angeles-based Junto Nakatani and Mizuki Hiruta, Contreras is eager to get even closer to the culture that has had such a big influence on him.
“I want to go to Japan this year,” Contreras said. “I also want to learn how to speak Japanese.”