Nelson to make HBO debut tonight

June 29, 2013 at 12:08a.m.

On the eve of his HBO debut, Willie Nelson was a hungry fighter, although that’s partly because it’s not easy for someone 6-foot-31/2 to make a 154-pound limit.

“I’m going to eat me a juicy steak,” Nelson said by phone Friday evening from Mashantucket, Conn., after weighing in at 153 pounds. “The biggest steak I can find.”

The Southside Boxing Club fighter will meet Argentina’s Luciano Cuello in a 10-round junior middleweight bout in the first bout of HBO’s Boxing After Dark tripleheader at Foxwoods Resort.

It’s a significant moment for Nelson (20-1-1, 12 KOs), whose career has begun to blossom since switching to trainer Jack Loew less than two years ago. He’s coming off a dynamic first-round knockout of Michael Medina on ESPN2 and his story (poor Cleveland kid fights his way out of poverty) is ready-made for HBO’s marketing team.

“Today was his first time meeting [HBO broadcasters] Jim Lampley and Max Kellerman and he was in awe, but I think they were in awe of him,” Loew said. “He’s got a great story behind him and they really took to him.”

Added Nelson: “It was great sitting down with the HBO people, telling them my background and the story of my life. We talked a lot about what will happen if I win the fight.”

That’s no easy feat. While Cuello (32-2, 16 KOs) is fighting in America for the first time — his other bouts have been in Argentina, Mexico and Spain — he’s no stranger to the big stage. His two losses were against two of boxing’s biggest names in Saul Alvarez (who will meet Floyd Mayweather in September) and Julio Cesar Chavez Jr.

At 6-foot, Cuello is a nice-sized junior middleweight, but Nelson (who has freakish size for the weight class) still towered over him at Friday’s weigh-in.

“I don’t judge a book by its cover, though,” Loew said. “I’ve been in this business too long.”

Loew’s most famous stint in the business, of course, came when he was training Kelly Pavlik, whose biggest fights were on HBO, including both bouts against Jermain Taylor.

“I’ve been here before,” Loew said of fighting on HBO. “This is not my first rodeo.”

Loew is hoping to guide Nelson to similar heights, and a win could give Nelson the same sort of jolt Pavlik got from beating Jose Luis Zertuche on his HBO debut in 2007.

Nelson knows a lackluster win is only slightly better than a loss, so he plans to fight aggressively.

“I feel strong,” Nelson said. “I’m looking forward to looking good.”

Added Loew: “We’re ready to go. Everything has been perfect up to this point. If Willie does his job and wins [tonight], he’ll be a star.”