SAN ANTONIO – In 2023, we were the first station to tell you about a Edison high school student named David Cardenas Jr.

His dream: to become a superstar boxer.

Fast forward to now and he is a pro, 8-0 in his career and 9-0 on Saturday.

If you ask him, he would not be here without an unlikely friendship with one of everyone’s favorite Spurs.

“I think August was the last time that I fought,” Cardenas Jr. said. “I have had scheduled fights, but they haven’t gone through. So, 9-0 would mean a lot.”

This fight for the young Cardenas is likely to be his toughest battle yet.

“He’s fighting a man,” David Cardenas Sr. said. “You know, a 30-year-old. So, it’s kind of hard on me but he knows what to do in the ring. It’s probably easier for him than it is for me.”

Winning this one will take hard work, discipline, and patience — virtues that most professional athletes have. And ones that Junior is still learning.

But he has a resource that most people don’t have: a best friend who’s a seasoned pro like Spurs forward Keldon Johnson.

“I met him [Keldon] at the boxing gym,” Junior said.

“We actually, the first day I met him, I sparred him, and he beat me up,” Johnson said. “Yeah, long story short he beat me up.”

And that one butt kicking has now led to a beautiful friendship.

“It was crazy at first when he started talking to Dave it was cool like ‘oh, we met him. We know him,’” Senior said. “So, that was exciting. But now, it’s like a whole other level.”

“He’s like a bigger brother to me,” The 5’5” boxer said of his 6’5” friend. “The big brother I never had. You know, he’s a big brother and he is always there for me and pushing me to be better.”

“He’s like a little brother,” Johnson said. “He wants to be great at boxing, and I try to do anything I can to support that and help him achieve his dreams.”

This camp even included Junior staying with KJ at his ranch in Boerne for five weeks.

“It was Keldon’s [idea]. He said you can come stay with me and we are going to work hard,” Junior said.

“Hard work beats talent when talent fails to work hard, and I take pride in working hard, you know, and I try to relay that to Dave as much as I can,” KJ said.

“He’s just working out and doing what he needs to do so sometimes I don’t see my son,” Senior said laughing. “It’s like Kel is taking my son when in reality he is helping my son.”

“I learned a lot,” Junior said. “The hard work and the discipline — nothing comes easy, you have to work for it. You must put the time in. That’s what you have to do in order to be great.”

So, for now, Johnson is helping his friend get ready for his next fight. Soon though, David Jr. is going to be returning the favor.

“When he gets out of camp, he going to be feeding the horses, feeding the cows, making sure the goats are good and things like that,” Johnson said. “We definitely treat him like a little brother. He doesn’t get no pass because he is a visitor.”

David Cardenas Jr. (8-0) will take on Josue Morales (32-18-4) on Saturday night at R&J Pavilion. The first fight is at 7 P.M. Cardenas and Morales are the Main Event.