On May 30, he held his first fight abroad, and suffered his first professional defeat, at the hands of former world champion Ernesto España, who outpointed Frias over ten rounds in Caracas, Venezuela.

On his first defense, held on January 30, 1982, in Los Angeles, he avenged his defeat to former world champion España, beating the Venezuelan by a nine round technical decision.

An unclarified incident happened weeks before the fight, when some armed men came looking for Mancini at his hotel room as he trained for his challenge of Frias in the city of Tucson, Arizona.

On July 18 of that year, Frias bid for the USBA Lightweight title, losing by a fifth round knockout to Ruben Muñoz Jr., in Atlantic City, New Jersey.

His next fight was also highly anticipated, as he faced former two division world champion and fellow Chicano Bobby Chacon, on August 15, 1985, in Sacramento.