First off, can you let us know how you got involved in boxing/training?
I’ve been around boxing my whole life. My grandfather was a boxer – a military champion. My dad’s brother – the same thing. Both were military boxing champs. My dad always loved the sport too. Since I was five they’d show me the old boxers on tv – we’d all watch fights together and go to fights. It was infectious for me – I fell in love with it.
Did they encourage you to box?
They never encouraged me to do it – they almost discouraged me. I played basketball – my dad was a basketball coach. But I always loved boxing and my dad knew that. He built a gym for me in our basement with a striking bag, speed bag and big heavy bag. I practiced on my own for years – since I was seven. Then I started going to the gym in New Castle when I was around 12. I went to Beaver High School but there was no gym around there so I went to the one on New Castle. Jim Hambrick there trained me at first.
My amateur career was off and on after that – I suffered injuries and had to have four surgeries in four years. That was when I was between 16 and 20 years old. I went through all of that.
Then I went to the gym in Ambridge – Mark Pazzaneti there was a big name. I ended up helping the kids train there.. Then I opened up a gym on my own in Aliquippa from ’93 to ’95. But when the Ambridge gym closed I went there and took that over instead as it had more space. I’ve been there now for almost 30 years.
How would you describe your training style?
I feel like I adjust to my boxers and what the best style is for them. They all have the same foundations and core as boxers – footwork, stance…. Then you can adjust from that. My style stems from me as a kid – I loved the fighters I watched. Hagler, Duran, Leonard, Hearns….I had an imagination for it. I’d pretend I was a different fighter every night in my gym – I had my fantasy boxing matches. I think that helped propel me as a teacher. Plus, my dad was a school teacher and coach. He was a better teacher for me as a non-boxer than my uncle was, who was a boxer. He would say that telling isn’t reaching. My dad was a great teacher – he taught special-ed kids, and that’s difficult to do.
If I was training a tall boxer, I’d work with them as if they were Ivan Klitchko. If they were smaller, I’d work with them like they were Mike Tyson. I didn’t teach them all the same styles – just the same fundamentals. You can always deviate off of the fundamentals.
Who were some of the boxers you worked with that stand out most to you so far?
Paul Spadafora of course – I trained him through his first title win and before then. He was an under-rated champion – he would have been a true great if not for his problems outside of the ring.
Roy Jones Jr. – I worked with him near the end of his career. And Calvin Brock – he was the 2000 number one contender for the US Olympic team. Verquan Kimbrough – he was a nine-time champion from Aliquippa and had the most title wins of any Western PA boxer.
I also worked with Monty Meza-Clay from Butler who was number one in World Ranking before coming up short in Mexico vs. World Champion Jorge Solis. And Kiante Irving who was the national champion in 2018.
Any memories stand out most to you over your career so far?
Brian Minto and Calvin Brock were two of my top fighters. I remember when Brock fought Wladmir Klitschko and just came up short – that was an awesome experience.
Two weeks later Minto fought Axel Schultz who was making a comeback in Germany. Brian was an underdog but knocked out Schultz in five rounds. Klitchko was there at ringside – he was looking to fight Schultz next. It was in front of a crowd of 16,000 and you could hear a pin drop when Minto won. They were stunned.
And of course Spadafora winning the title in ’99 was huge. And all of my kids’ success – we’ve had 17 now that have won national titles.
I know you do a lot of work with kids – training them. What’s behind that, from your perspective?
I work with kids and young adults – it’s an under-rated and misunderstood thing. A lot of people have no concept of it and think it promotes violence, but it does the opposite. A bully is someone who is insecure – that’s who picks on other kids – they want to pick on someone who they see as lesser than them to prove how tough they are. Boxing helps that in a couple of ways. It gives kids confidence – they don’t need to pick on other kids when they have that self-esteem.
Boxing also humbles you. There’s always someone out there who can kick your butt. It becomes a healthy balance. You get the self-esteem that helps you handle bullies and not feel like you have to be a bully, but you also get humility as well.
There are always exceptions, of course. But for the most part you see it change kids for the better with a better work ethic and greater self-esteem.
Do you see boxing making a comeback locally and nationally?
I think it’s declined locally but it can come back. I have a handful of great prospects including Ivan Dychko who is from Kazakhstan but lives here and trains here. I think people need local stars to follow. Ivan won bronze medals in the 2012 and 2016 Olympics. I think he has the potential to be the next heavyweight champion.
Atif Oberlton is another prospect – he’s 9-0 as a light heavyweight. Ivan – he’s 13-0. You get those local stars and people start to follow the sport.
Nationally, sports are dominated by football, baseball and basketball. But one man to pay attention to is Turki Alalshikh, from Audi Arabia. He’s putting a lot of money into boxing in the states and Saudi Arabia. He wants to out boxing back on the map with quarterly shows in the states. The thing is , that’s great nationally but you still need those local shows to build up the grassroots of the sport. You start off boxing four-round matches and build up from there as a boxer, and you need those shows to show off those local talents. Hopefully he’ll help at that local level as well.
But boxing has always had its ups and downs, ebbs and flows. I’ve been doing this for over 30 years. We’re in a pivotal situation now and we’ll see where it goes next.