They were born in the Kapiolani Medical Center for Women and Children 13 minutes apart and for most of their 18 years the Barrientes twins, Chavez and Angel, have stayed in stride.
Especially in the boxing ring where they have matched each other knockout for knockout and victory for victory in identical 3-0 (3 KO) starts to their professional careers as super bantamweights.
Saturday they make their TV debuts on Fox’s FS1 and streaming platforms from the Microsoft Theater in Los Angeles. The card is scheduled to start at 2 p.m.
After having had all their previous pro bouts in Mexico, “It is going to be fun being on TV, knowing that (people) back home can watch us now,” said Chavez who, like his younger twin, moved with the family to Las Vegas after attending Kaleiopuu Elementary School in Waipahu.
Both will wear Hawaiian Islands motifs on their trunks.
Chavez, who is named after former world multi-weight class champion Julio Cesar Chavez, fights Ivan Varela of Mexico in a six-round bout while Angel meets Fernando Ibarra of Mexico in a companion six-rounder on the undercard of the Mark Magsayo-Rigoberto Hermosillo featherweight main event.
Both twins are trained by their father, Richard, but except for gym sessions, don’t expect to meet each other in the ring. “Our dad said we’d take each other’s heads off,” Chavez said. “Beside, there are a lot of (championship) belts to fight for.”
In preparation for their fights the brothers got to work against three-time, multi-division world champion Gervonta “Tank” Davis and under the eye of Floyd Mayweather. “No one that we are fighting soon is going to be on his level, so that experience is great. We couldn’t ask for better work,” Angel said.