The Road To Hopkins-Murat, Part 1

Published

11 years ago

October 28, 2013

I’m not all that much of a traveling man, for a few reasons. Mostly, their names are Annabelle and Juliette. Bella is 6 1/2 and Jules is 3, and I decided early on that I would try and see them a lot, and not be slave to a grind, and give so much of myself to The Man, and miss seeing those precious moments as they grew up, as my father and so many other fathers and parents did, and do. Not to be judgmental at all; with how hard it is to make ends meet, let alone get ahead, I full well understand that many if not most caregivers don’t have the luxury of crafting their work-life balance as I have. And to be sure, there has been a sacrifice, financially and, arguably, in career advancement, as a result of my choice. But I do not often regret the choice. I can hustle to make more money and I have enough belief in self to know that I will get to where I want to be on the so-called ladder…

That said, with the girls getting older, I’ve decided I will make myself more available for travel, and will hop in a car or plane more often to see events in farther flung locations than Manhattan and Brooklyn. Though I do still maintain–sorry George Kimball—that by and large I can communicate to readers more completely what happens in a fight when I cover it off TV, with my DVR as trusty sidekick, than I can on site.

I did the best I could to communicate what went down at Atlantic City, at Boardwalk Hall, on Saturday night, and, off a suggestion from Kelsey McCarson, decided I’d do a travelogue-type piece to give a sense of the journey to and from the Golden Boy/Showtime promotion and the scraps themselves.

Sunday 2 PM ET I’m about to hop into my ride. I booked a Zipcar for the 2 1/2 hour drive from Park Slope, Brooklyn to AC. Know what a Zipcar is? It’s a car that you rent, by the hour or day, which you pick up and drop off a various locations. It’s like renting a car, but different, in that you are afforded more flexibility of usage. You can book one for as little as two hours, for example. And when you’re done with it at 2 AM, or whatever, you can drop it off where you picked it up. They give you a card, which you swipe on a transponder on the car, to lock it or unlock it. Wait, we don’t get any sponsor money from Zipcar, why am I digressing in that direction? Anyway, I got into the Honda something-or-other, and head to AC, solo.

I should be fine on time, as the first event scheduled is a presser, featuring Golden Boy boss Richard Schaefer and Showtime boxing boss Stephen Espinoza, promising an announcement of some sort. Will they trot out Adrien Broner and Dec. 14 foe Marcos Maidana? We shall have to see.

3:15 PM The ride is pretty uneventful. I drink a Pepsi enroute, and ponder what will go down. I expect Karo Murat to be underwhelming and think Bernard Hopkins will show more aggression in this bout than we’ve seen from him of late, because Murat isn’t in the same ballpark as recent foes like Tavoris Cloud and Chad Dawson. I’ve debated on social media if he will indeed gun for a KO as he’s promised. Some maintain he won’t, but I’m a guy who. for better or worse, pretty much takes people at face value, unless it is otherwise proven to me. Hopkins says he will gun, I believe him.

5:35 PM On the AC Expressway and it smells good! I’ve been put off by previous occasions in AC, when industrial stench seeps into the cars’ ducts, and usually find myself shaking my head at that. How can you expect to lure patrons to your attractions when industrial-strength stench assaults their noses as they get close to the destination? Couldn’t the AC powers that be contract with Febreze to figure out a massive-scale de-stenching method?

5:40 PM I am 20 miles under the speed limit as I look at signs to point to which direction Boardwalk Hall is. I forgot the GPS and am using the phone for that purpose, which I don’t like to do, as it means taking ones’ eyes off the rode. But I make it without incident. Arghh…pet peeves are piling up though. I don’t see a sign to direct me to Boardwalk Hall. When I am President, elected in Neveruary, I will mandate SIGNS EVERYWHERE. Assume everyone is a clueless tourist, and put signs everywhere to aid them. End rant. 5:47 I steer the Honda into a parking garage, and am ready to pay a $20 fee. A worker is about to take the bill, when a co-worker, a sharp sort, hears me say I’m media, and tells me there is comp parking for media. I tip my cap to her and thank her for her professionalism. None of my outlets see fit to compensate me for travel expenses so I try to be extra mindful of outlays. (Thus, I saved myself a good $100 by booking a room seven miles from the Boardwalk, at a Best Western. And I’m so happy to report that I donated that $100 to the family of fallen fighter Frankie Leal, so that worked out real well.)

6:05 PM The media room is buzzing a bit, and I say hi to some pals, like Jayson Colon of Fight Images, and his cousin Carlos. We three often hit a diner together after shows at Barclays Center. Carlos cracks me up by answering “the left side of the menu” when I ask him what he’s having. Never fails to get me. (He will be uploading videos til 4:30 AM tonight though, and Jayson is heading off to cavort postfight at a Halloween party so we’ll reconvene at Barclays, Dec. 7, I guess.)

6:11 PM Top dog Dan Rafael enters, walks by, pats me on the back and says, “All in good fun.” He’s referencing a little Twitter back and forth we had the week before, about a prospective Mayweather-Hopkins fight. It’s all good. Each to his own, I like to say, though I do admit I will, if I haven’t had my coffee, or it’s late, I will get salty defending my turf, or methods or principles. I confess, the level of certainty in some circles of people saying that Mayweather-Hopkins could NEVER happen leaves me bewildered. This is the boxing business, the unexpected always occurs. Could that fight make money? Damn right. And that is why I’d never be so bold as to summarily dismiss it occurring. Of course, Dan is dialed in, and maybe he knows something I don’t, maybe Floyd has told him to his face that it could never happen. If so, hopefully he will share that with all his faithful readers, including me!

6:21 PM I bag a plate and a chicken breast and some salad, and sit next to Harold Lederman of HBO and Tom Casino, the Showtime photog. “I’m with you veterans because, no offense to those younger dudes, but you guys have the best stories!” I tell the sages. Harold regales me with a couple anecdotes, and we three chuckle copiously and then I head to my computer, because Schaefer and Espinoza are about to begin.

6:45 PM Good stuff; Golden Boy scrapped their Nov. 30 show and boiled down the product from three cards, into two super cards. They will run in Brooklyn on Dec. 7, and San Antonio Dec. 14. Espinoza presents the move as a thank you to fans, and social media response is good. Like to see suits responding to the market, as these guys did by taking the Broner-Maidana fight off pay-per-view, and putting it on “regular” Showtime. (I’m jazzed, I admit, for the Dec. 7 card, and am going to snag some tickets, and lure the wife, and some of her pals, to attend the fights. She hasn’t yet been to Barclays Center, and that’s criminal, as we live a couple minutes from the building.)With word that Beibut Shumenov is on the Dec. 14 card, you have to wonder if Schaefer is holding the Shumie card for Hopkins, if a mega-fight doesn’t pan out for B-Hop…or he looks so-so against Murat, and it is determined that it is smarter for him to do his things against B-level fighters, not ‘A’ guys.

7:30 PM Keith Idec, the NJ writer who is a rock-solid reporter, old school style, shoot the breeze as an undercard fight plays out. Our train of thought is interrupted as the emcee Tattoo, a recent staple of Golden Boy events, sits to Keith’s left, and does his thing. He hypes this card, and upcoming events, loudly. He’s into it, and is actually dripping sweat from the intensity of effort. It’s not my thing, I don’t care for the patter, but at least there is effort, at getting current. I always lobby for jugglers and fire eaters performing in ring during down time, but have never had any receptivity on the part of promoters when I bring it up. Come to think of it I may have perked Cedric Kushner’s interest a few years back, but nothing came of it.

7:41 PM This hasn’t been much reported, but some folks recall that Atlantic City has been an…eventful place for Gabriel Rosado, set to meet Peter Quillin (pictured doing postfight flip, in Tom Casino-Showtime photo), WBO middleweight champ. Rosado was charged with punching a uniformed cop in the face a few hours after notching a TKO5 win on July 15, 2011. A source I won’t name tells me that the locals haven’t forgotten the incident. Rosado is on a list, and one casino won’t let him stay in one of their rooms, allegedly. Is it possible the cop he was accused of striking will be on site, working during his fight? That is the scuttle butt. Boxing, theater of the unexpected…

7:51 PM Argh. I’m annoyed. The internet doesn’t work here, for me or anyone, and I hear a press person say that happens here a lot. This is 2013, I grumble on Twitter, no excuse for this. Grumbling on Twitter works; I’ve grumbled of late about Aetna and Hootsuite and Time Warner, and reps for each reached out to me. No one reaches out to soothe me from Boardwalk Hall, alas. The issue gets resolved before Deontay Wilder’s fight, so the story has a happy ending. Props to Lisa Milner and Kelly Swanson, of Swanson Communications, for hustling, staying on it, and making sure the issue was resolved.

9:20 PM We’re cracking up. A rooter for Nicolai Firtha, Wilders’ foe, keeps yelling, “Big miss!” when Wilder is errant. Hey, you got to find silver lining where and when you can. Firtha proves game but succumbs to the Alabaman, who most people I chat with seem to think looks greener than you’d like to see when contemplating step-up fights. A Twitter follower mentioned Sherman Williams as a good next step. I think that is more appropriate than a Klitschko, Stiverne or Arreola, but I’m not a promoter or manager.

10:32 PM Hmm, not close enough to assess the cut which had the doc stop the Peter Quillin-Gabriel Rosado fight after round nine ended. After, Rosado complained that he wanted to go on, that the fans were robbed as the fight was going into the championship rounds and that Arturo Gatti had been given the benefit of the doubt when much more compromised than Rosado. Good points, all. I try not to second guess docs or refs, but we do have to allow for the understanding that these athletes are a different breed than us, willing to leave pieces of themselves, literal pieces, indeed, in the ring, in the quest for victory, and that must be respected. I’m all for a rematch, as the fighters seemed to be. This makes even more sense since 160 pounds features Sergio Martinez and Gennady Golovkin, who fight under the HBO umbrella, leaving Quillin a lack of potential foes.

11:15 PM Hey, this Murat doesn’t stink. He’s combative, sturdy, energized, and is using some tactics that Hopkins gets accused of bringing to the table. Guy knows this is a “fight,” and is acting accordingly. Hopkins, about five times, does indeed ramp up the pressure, usually after tagging the Iraqi with a solid launch, but he can’t end his KO drought. He tries though, and he engages in round nine the zestiest trading he’s done in years. Murat actually gets the better of it, arguably, and that sticks in my mind as I ponder a Hopkins-Mayweather fight during the postfight presser. Bernard’s quick hands surprised Murat all night, as leads that shouldn’t have landed did. But his reaction time looked like that of a “normal” 35 year old, perhaps. Did Floyd see that and did that lead him to increase his open-mindedness to going to 160?

11:55 PM Steve Smoger is getting flak from press for being too chummy with Hopkins, and for shoving Murat back. People wonder if he’s too far past his prime. Not sure about that…But I think he might be a victim of social media. He’s done the shove-the-underdog thing before, I read one of my clips which noted how he did it inappropriately to Miguel Espino against Kelly Pavlik. But today, actions such as this get velocitized on Twitter, and are more so made a big deal of, because people love to harp on bad stuff. Smoger might want to dial back on the overt displays of chumminess moving forward, I think, it doesn’t play well. He has always been a guy to show love, hug guys, kiss them post-fight, on their sweaty skulls, but you have to spread the love, your honor.

12:18 AM They talked heated trash before, but respect was forged in the ring. Quillin and Rosado chat, and hug, and pose for photos together. I whispered to Quillin that I felt for him when hearing that his wife miscarried during his camp. “That’s bigger than any of this,” I said. We hugged. Got to be human beings…

12:32 AM Hopkins tells us at post-fight presser THIS is why he never takes any fight lightly. Everyone steps up their game to face him. I dare say Murat did. Bernard says he’s love to collect all the belts at 175 but politics makes that hard…so he’s more than game to carve down to 160, and fight Floyd. Naysayers, stop it. I know “it’s absurd.”

I was in AC for Hopkins’ win over Kelly Pavlik, in 2008, and was struck then by how tight Hopkins seemed to be with Schaefer. They are even closer now! The Swiss banker and the ex penitentiary dude from Philly, go figure. There’s a reality show there…

1:06 AM I am going back and forth, foolishly, with some idiot on Twitter. Fern_FNCA tweeted, “Someone please put a stop to @Woodsy1069 and his ridiculous and continued speculation of a BHop vs Floyd fight. It’s simply pathetic.” I’m @Woodsy1069, for the record. Never heard of this kid, who says he’s a “video correspondent.” To me, he’s a cocky kid who is welcome to tell me this to my face, if he wants to, but instead acts the ultra-confident bigshot on Twitter. Which is OK, usually, but it’s been a long day, and the little one got up at 2 AM, and kept me and her mom up, so I’m XL salty. So I get testy…which is a waste of time. I do submit, though, that people, in an effort to make waves, do stir it up these days, just for attention. He got it…But I do take slight offense, as 1) Hopkins brought it up 2) promoter Schaefer said he’s consider the fight 3) my readers, judging by the hits, enjoy the topic and 4) I’d point out that I have been doing this awhile and think I have decent judgment of what is “news” and what should be not treated as newsworthy. So for this Twitter tough guy to tell me it’s “pathetic”….Shake my head. Whatev. Free country. Free to be a schmuck on Twitter.

1:39 AM I have that annoyance behind me, and now I’m headed off with my pal Mitch Abramson, from the NY Daily News. We’re going to meet our pal, Zach Levin, who is chilling with some pals at a local landmark, The Irish Pub. So I’m told, anyway, I don’t get out much, and put a cork in the jug back in 1995.

Check back here for Part 2, which will include my chat with boxing super fan Steve Ferrone, who more of you might know as a Heartbreaker, and the drummer in Tom Petty’s band.

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Mizuki Hiruta Dominates in her U.S. Debut and Omar Trinidad Wins Too at Commerce

Published

11 hours ago

January 18, 2025

David A. Avila

Mizuki-Hiruta-Dominates-in-her-U.S.-Debut-and-Trinidad-Wins-Too-at-Commerce

Japan’s Mizuki Hiruta smashed through Mexico’s Maribel Ramirez with ease in winning by technical decision and local hero Omar Trinidad continued his assault on the featherweight division on Friday.

Hiruta (7-0, 2 KOs), who prefers to be called “Mimi,” made her American debut with an impressive performance against Mexican veteran Maribel Ramirez (15-11-4) and retained the WBO super flyweight world title by unanimous decision at Commerce Casino in Commerce, Calif.

The pink-haired Japanese southpaw champion quickly proved to be quicker, stronger and even better than advertised. In the opening round Ramirez landed on the floor twice after throwing errant blows. On one instance, it could have been ruled a knockdown but it was not a convincing blow.

In the second round, Ramirez again attacked and again was met with a Hiruta check right hook and down went the Mexican. This time referee Ray Corona gave the eight-count and the fight resumed.

It was Hiruta’s third title defense but this time it was on American soil. She seemed nervous by the prospect of getting a favorable review from the more than 700 fans inside the casino tent.

For more than a year Hiruta has been training off and on with Manny Robles in the L.A. area. Now that she has a visa, she has spent considerable time this year learning the tricks of the trade. They proved explosively effective.

Though Mexico City’s Ramirez has considerable experience against world champions, she discovered that Hiruta was not easy to hit. Often, the Japanese champion would slip and counter with precision.

It was an impressive American debut, though the fight was stopped in the eighth round after a collision of heads. The scores were tallied and all three saw Hiruta the winner by scores of 80-71 twice and 79-72.

“I’m so happy. I could have done much more,” said Hiruta through interpreter Yuriko Miyata. “I wanted to do more things that Manny Robles taught me.”

Trinidad Wins Too

Omar Trinidad (18-0-1, 13 KOs) discovered that challenger Mike Plania (31-5, 18 KOs) has a very good chin and staying power. But over 10 rounds Trinidad proved to be too fast and too busy for the Filipino challenger.

Immediately it was evident that the East L.A. featherweight was too quick and too busy for Plania who preferred a counter-puncher attack that never worked.

“He was strong,” said Trinidad. “He took everything.”

After 10 redundant rounds all three judges scored for Trinidad 100-90 twice and 99-91. He retains the WBC Continental Americas title.

Other Bouts

Ali Akhmedov (23-1, 17 KOs) blasted out Malcolm Jones (17-5-1) in less than two rounds. A dozen punches by Akhmedov forced referee Thomas Taylor to stop the super middleweight fight.

Iyana “Roxy” Verduzco (3-0) bloodied Lindsey Ellis in the first round and continued the speedy assault in the next two rounds. Referee Ray Corona saw enough and stopped the fight in favor of Verduzco at 1:34 of the third round.

Gloria Munguilla (7-1) and Brook Sibrian (5-2) lit up the boxing ring with a nonstop clash for eight rounds in their light flyweight fight. Munguilla proved effective with a slip-and-counter attack. Sibrian adjusted and made the fight closer in the last four rounds but all three judges favored Munguilla.

More Winners

Joshua Anton, Tayden Beltran, Adan Palma, and Alexander Gueche all won their bouts.

Photos credit: Al Applerose

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Avila Perspective, Chap. 309: 360 Promotions Opens with Trinidad, Mizuki and More

Published

2 days ago

January 16, 2025

David A. Avila

Avila Perspective, Chap. 309: 360 Promotions Opens with Trinidad, Mizuki and More

Best wishes to the survivors of the Los Angeles wildfires that took place last week and are still ongoing in small locales.

Most of the heavy damage took place in the western part of L.A. near the ocean due to Santa Ana winds. Another very hot spot was in Altadena just north of the Rose Bowl. It was a horrific tragedy.

Hopefully the worst is over.

Pro boxing returns with 360 Boxing Promotions spotlighting East L.A.’s Omar Trinidad (17-0-1, 13 KOs) defending a regional featherweight title against Mike Plania (31-4, 18 KOs) on Friday, Jan. 17, at the Commerce Casino in Commerce, Calif.

“I’m the king of L.A. boxing and I’ll be ready to put on a show headlining again in the main event. This is my year, I’m ready to challenge and defeat any of the featherweight world champions,” said Trinidad.

UFC Fight Pass will stream the Hollywood Night fight card that includes a female world championship fight and other intriguing match-ups.

Tom Loeffler heads 360 Promotions and once again comes full force with a hot prospect in Trinidad. If you’re not familiar with Loeffler’s history of success, he introduced America to Oleksandr Usyk, Gennady “GGG” Golovkin and the brothers Wladimir and Vitaly Kltischko.

“We’ve got a wealth of international talent and local favorites to kick off our 2025 in grand style,” said Loeffler.

He knows talent.

Trinidad hails from the Boyle Heights area of East L.A. near the Los Angeles riverbed. Several fighters from the past came from that exact area including the first Golden Boy, Art Aragon.

Aragon was a huge gate attraction during the late 1940s until 1960. He was known as a lady’s man and dated several Hollywood starlets in his time. Though he never won a world title he did fight world champions Carmen Basilio, Jimmy Carter and Lauro Salas. He was more or less the king of the Olympic Auditorium and Los Angeles boxing during his career.

Other famous boxers from the Boyle Heights area were notorious gangster Mickey Cohen and former world champion Joey Olivo.

Can Trinidad reach world title status?

Facing Trinidad will be Filipino fighter Plania who’s knocked off a couple of prospects during his career including Joshua “Don’t Blink” Greer and Giovanni Gutierrez. The fighter from General Santos in the Philippines can crack and hold his own in the boxing ring.

It’s a very strong fight card and includes WBO world titlist Mizuki Hiruta of Japan who defends the super flyweight title against Mexican veteran Maribel Ramirez. It’s a tough matchup for Hiruta who makes her American debut. You can’t miss her with that pink hair and she has all the physical tools to make a splash in this country.

Mizukii Hiruta

Two other female bouts are also planned, including light flyweight banger L.A.’s Gloria Munguilla (6-1) against Coachella’s Brook Sibrian (5-1) in a match set for six rounds. Both are talented fighters. Another female fight includes super featherweights Iyana “Right Hook Roxy” Verduzco (2-0) versus Lindsey Ellis (2-1) in another six-rounder. Ellis can crack with all her wins coming via knockout. Verduzco is a multi-national titlist as an amateur.

Others scheduled to perform are Ali Akhmedov, Joshua Anton, Adan Palma and more.

Doors open at 4:30 p.m.

Boxing and the Media

The sport of professional boxing is currently in flux. It’s always in flux but no matter what people may say or write, boxing will survive.

Whether you like Jake Paul or not, he proved boxing has worldwide appeal with monstrous success in his last show. He has media companies looking at the numbers and imagining what they can do with the sport.

Sure, UFC is negotiating a massive billion dollar deal with media companies, as is WWE, both are very similar in that they provide combat entertainment. You don’t need to know the champions because they really don’t matter. Its about the attractions.

Boxing is different. The good champions last and build a following that endures even beyond their careers a la Mike Tyson.

MMA can’t provide that longevity, but it does provide entertainment.

Currently, there is talk of establishing a boxing league again. It’s been done over and over but we shall see if it sticks this time.

Pro boxing is the true warrior’s path and that means a solo adventure. It’s a one-on-one sport and that appeals to people everywhere. It’s the oldest sport that can be traced to prehistoric times. You don’t need classes in Brazilian Jiujitsu, judo, kick boxing or wrestling. Just show up in a boxing gym and they can put you to work.

It’s a poor person’s path that can lead to better things and most importantly discipline.

Photos credit: Lina Baker

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Boxing Trainer Bob Santos Paid his Dues and is Reaping the Rewards

Published

3 days ago

January 15, 2025

Arne K. Lang

Boxing-Trainer-Bob-Santos-Paid-his-Dues-and-is-Reaping the Rewards

Bob Santos, the 2022 Sports Illustrated and The Ring magazine Trainer of the Year, is a busy fellow. On Feb. 1, fighters under his tutelage will open and close the show on the four-bout main portion of the Prime Video PPV event at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas. Jeison Rosario continues his comeback in the lid-lifter, opposing Jesus Ramos. In the finale, former Cuban amateur standout David Morrell will attempt to saddle David Benavidez with his first defeat. Both combatants in the main event have been chasing 168-pound kingpin Canelo Alvarez, but this bout will be contested for a piece of the light heavyweight title.

When the show is over, Santos will barely have time to exhale. Before the month is over, one will likely find him working the corner of Dainier Pero, Brian Mendoza, Elijah Garcia, and perhaps others.

Benavidez (29-0, 24 KOs) turned 28 last month. He is in the prime of his career. However, a lot of folk rate Morrell (11-0, 9 KOs) a very live dog. At last look, Benavidez was a consensus 7/4 (minus-175) favorite, a price that betokens a very competitive fight.

Bob Santos, needless to say, is confident that his guy can upset the odds. “I have worked with both,” he says. “It’s a tough fight for David Morrell, but he has more ways to victory because he’s less one-dimensional. He can go forward or fight going back and his foot speed is superior.”

Benavidez’s big edge, in the eyes of many, is his greater experience. He captured the vacant WBC 168-pound title at age 20, becoming the youngest super middleweight champion in history. As a pro, Benavidez has answered the bell for 148 rounds compared with only 54 for Morrell, but Bob Santos thinks this angle is largely irrelevant.

“Sure, I’d rather have pro experience than amateur experience,” he says, “but if you look at Benavidez’s record, he fought a lot of soft opponents when he was climbing the ladder.”

True. Benavidez, who turned pro at age 16, had his first seven fights in Mexico against a motley assortment of opponents. His first bout on U.S. soil occurred in his native Pheonix against an opponent with a 1-6-2 record.

While it’s certainly true that Morrell, 26, has yet to fight an opponent the caliber of Caleb Plant, he took up boxing at roughly the same tender age as Benavidez and earned his spurs in the vaunted Cuban amateur system, eventually defeating elite amateurs in international tournaments.

“If you look at his [pro] record, you will notice that [Morrell] has hardly lost a round,” says Santos of the fighter who captured an interim title in only his third professional bout with a 12-round decision over Guyanese veteran Lennox Allen.

Bob Santos is something of a late bloomer. He was around boxing for a long time, assisting such notables as Joe Goossen, Emanuel Steward, and Ronnie Shields before becoming recognized as one of the sport’s top trainers.

A native of San Jose, he grew up in a Hispanic neighborhood but not in a household where Spanish was spoken. “I know enough now to get by,” he says modestly. He attended James Lick High School whose most famous alumnus is Heisman winning and Super Bowl winning quarterback Jim Plunkett. “We worked in the same apricot orchard when we were kids,” says Santos. “Not at the same time, but in the same field.”

After graduation, he followed his father’s footsteps into construction work, but boxing was always beckoning. A cousin, the late Luis Molina, represented the U.S. as a lightweight in the 1956 Melbourne Summer Olympics, and was good enough as a pro to appear in a main event at Madison Square Garden where he lost a narrow decision to the notorious Puerto Rican hothead Frankie Narvaez, a future world title challenger.

Santos’ cousin was a big draw in San Jose in an era when the San Jose / Sacramento territory was the bailiwick of Don Chargin. “Don was a beautiful man and his wife Lorraine was even nicer,” says Santos of the husband/wife promotion team who are enshrined in the International Boxing Hall of Fame. Don Chargin was inducted in 2001 and Lorraine posthumously in 2018.

Chargin promoted Fresno-based featherweight Hector Lizarraga who captured the IBF title in 1997. Lizarraga turned his career around after a 5-7-3 start when he hooked up with San Jose gym operator Miguel Jara. It was one of the most successful reclamation projects in boxing history and Bob Santos played a part in it.

Bob hopes to accomplish the same turnaround with Jeison Rosario whose career was on the skids when Santos got involved. In his most recent start, Rosario held heavily favored Jarrett Hurd to a draw in a battle between former IBF 154-pound champions on a ProBox card in Florida.

“I consider that one of my greatest achievements,” says Santos, noting that Rosario was stopped four times and effectively out of action for two years before resuming his career and is now on the cusp of earning another title shot.

The boxer with whom Santos is most closely identified is former four-division world title-holder Robert “The Ghost” Guerrero. The slick southpaw, the pride of Gilroy, California, the self-proclaimed “Garlic Capital of the World,” retired following a bad loss to Omar Figueroa Jr, but had second thoughts and is currently riding a six-fight winning streak. “I’ve known him since he was 15 years old,” notes Santos.

Years from now, Santos may be more closely identified with the Pero brothers, Dainier and Lenier, who aspire to be the Cuban-American version of the Klitschko brothers.

Santos describes Dainier, one of the youngest members of Cuba’s Olympic Team in Tokyo, as a bigger version of Oleksandr Usyk. That may be stretching it, but Dainier (10-0, 8 KOs as a pro), certainly hits harder.

Dainier Pero

This reporter was a fly on the wall as Santos put Dainier Pero through his paces on Tuesday (Jan. 14) at Bones Adams gym in Las Vegas. Santos held tight to a punch shield, in the boxing vernacular a donut, as the Cuban practiced his punches. On several occasions the trainer was knocked off-balance and the expression on his face as his body absorbed some of the after-shocks, plainly said, “My goodness, what the hell am I doing here? There has to be an easier way to make a living.” It was an assignment that Santos would have undoubtedly preferred handing off to his young assistant, his son Joe Santos, but Joe was preoccupied coordinating David Morrell’s camp.

Dainer’s brother Lenier is also an ex-Olympian, and like Dainier was a super heavyweight by trade as an amateur. With an 11-0 (8 KOs) record, Lenier Pero’s pro career was on a parallel path until stalled by a managerial dispute. Lenier last fought in March of last year and Santos says he will soon join his brother in Las Vegas.

There’s little to choose between the Pero brothers, but Dainier is considered to have the bigger upside because at age 25 he is the younger sibling by seven years.

Bob Santos was in the running again this year for The Ring magazine’s Trainer of the Year, one of six nominees for the honor that was bestowed upon his good friend Robert Garcia. Considering the way that Santos’ career is going, it’s a safe bet that he will be showered with many more accolades in the years to come.

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