Amid boxer Gabriel Flores Jr.’s return to his hometown for what he calls the biggest fight of his career, he has been greeted by the all-too-familiar heartbreak of losing a relative to gun violence.
The Stockton native is taking on former International Boxing Federation world champion Joe Cordina on Saturday at Adventist Health Arena in a bout with title implications. This is a business trip for the 25-year-old Flores, but also the first time he’s returned to Stockton since a mass shooting over Thanksgiving weekend killed four young people — including his cousin Susano Archuleta.
Archuleta, 21, was among those gunned down at a child’s birthday party in north Stockton on Nov. 29. The others who were killed were Amari Peterson, 14, a student-athlete from Modesto; and Journey Rose Guerrero and Maya Lupian, 8-year-old cousins and Stockton schoolgirls.
The investigation is ongoing, and there have not been any arrests in connection with the attack, which authorities described as targeted.
Archuleta’s death by gunfire was one more the Flores family has endured. Gabe Flores was just 12 when his mother, Justina Machado, was shot and killed at a birthday party while he was visiting with his father. He said he also lost an uncle and another cousin to gun violence.
But Flores said Archuleta’s death has been “hard to accept.”
“My cousin Susano, I was very close with him,” Flores said. “Seeing him grow up as a kid … we were kids together. I wasn’t that much older than him.
“I celebrated his 21st birthday with him. He came out to Vegas to visit me,” he added.
Flores, who won the World Boxing Association’s Continental USA lightweight belt in 2024, said he was at his home in Las Vegas the night of Nov. 29 when he got the call about the Stockton shooting. At first, he and his family thought Archuleta would pull through. Then he received another call.
“My phone rang. I didn’t want to answer because I knew it was bad news,” Flores said. “It was about 4 in the morning when I got the call. I couldn’t sleep, so I called back, and I found out the bad news.”
According to reports from KCRA, Archuleta tried to move several children and his girlfriend into a closet to shield them when gunfire erupted at the birthday party.
Flores said he wasn’t surprised by the fateful actions of his cousin, whom he said “had a lot of good characteristics about him.”
“He was always a protector, somebody who looked after people,” said Flores, who graduated from Chavez High School. “He was younger than me. But the younger ones — younger than him — he looked out for them. So it doesn’t surprise me at all.”
After the initial shock and sadness, Flores thought about how he could help families of the victims.
Before coming to Stockton for final preparations for Saturday night’s fight, the boxer, along with his father and manager, Gabe Flores Sr., drew up a plan.
The senior Flores said 100% of proceeds from tickets sold last weekend and on Monday would be donated to the victims’ families. It was not immediately clear how much had been raised through ticket sales, or how the money would be distributed.
“My first thought was to help the families. It was hard for me to speak out right away because I lost my cousin,” Flores said. “It was hard to process and talk about.
“When I was ready, I talked about it. I wanted to have the families involved,” he added. “Just being there was so traumatic for those kids, seeing something so inhuman. I wanted to do my part.”
He’s also hoping for a hometown victory Saturday. Flores (27 wins, two losses) and the 34-year-old Cordina (18-1) are battling for the World Boxing Organization’s International Lightweight title, with the winner in line for a WBO world title opportunity. The Stockton boxer had a long and successful amateur career before turning professional in 2017. He has won six bouts in a row.
Flores has promised a “fantastic win” for Stockton, which he pledges to always support.
“The city is just tough,” he said. “I try to do the best I can to help the community. Every time somebody reaches out — the mayor or whoever it is — I always make sure I reply, respond and try to do my part.”