Anyone who is anyone in boxing knows who Sugar Ray Robinson is. Robinson is believed by many to have been the best pound for pound fighter of all time. Now many people are learning there is a new Ray Robinson in boxing today. “The New” Ray Robinson, one of Joe DeGuardia’s Star Boxing’s brightest star’s, is an undefeated jr. welterweight prospect with a record of (8-0, 3KO’s)..
Robinson is next scheduled to fight on the undercard of the “Mighty” Mike Arnaoutis vs. Nasser Athumani main event on September 5th in Atlantic City, NJ. The entire show will be broadcast live on www.GoFightLive.tv The 22 year old Robinson earlier this year was chosen as one of the top five prospects to watch in 2008 and so far the flashy boxer, whose hand speed has already been compared to some of boxing’s greats, has not disappointed. Robinson recently took time out of his busy training regime to sit down and talk about his upcoming fight, what it means to be “The New” Ray Robinson, and how his dreams of becoming a world champion were almost ruined before he was even in high school.
ROBINSON DEFIES ALL ODDS TO FULFILL CHAMPIONSHIP DREAMS
Q: You have a fight coming up in a little more then a week, how has your preparation been leading up to the fight?
RR: I feel great. I am excited to be fighting so close to my hometown of Philadelphia and am really looking forward to the support I will get from my fans that come out on the 5th. I have been working really hard in the gym and I feel that I mature and get better from each fight to the next.
Q: Ray, for those fans that do not know you yet, can you give us a brief background on yourself?
RR: Well I started boxing when I was really young. I was only eight when I first started going to the gym. I started working with my trainer Howard Mosley and I have been with him ever since. He has always pushed me really hard in the gym and always been there for me. I consider him like a father to me. We have a great relationship and we have always, since day one, just seemed to click with one another. He has been a huge influence on my life.
I had over 50 wins as an amateur, and I boxed on the U.S. National team. I really enjoyed boxing on the team I got to travel all over the country and even outside, including Russia, Italy and Turkey and I made a lot of friends along the way including Demetrius Andrade and Rau’shee Warren who just fought on the Olympic team.
I signed with Joe DeGuardia’s Star Boxing in October of 2006 and I made my pro-debut two months later in December. I love working with Joe and Star Boxing. Right from the beginning, I knew they were a perfect fit for me. I couldn’t be happier with the team I have around me right now, everything is moving along nicely and we are just taking each fight at a time. My philosophy is that as long as I train hard and work hard in my preparation then everything else will fall into place.
When I am not training I spend most of my time with my fiancée Angie and our beautiful baby daughter Mya. She is just about 4 months old now and she is a handful. She inspires me though. She makes me hungrier. I want to be the best dad I can be to her and just her being there makes me train harder, and even fight harder.
Q: So the story has it growing up you had a medical problem that almost prevented you from pursuing your dream of becoming a professional boxer. What happened?
RR: Well it started when I was very young. My neck was always stiff and felt like it needed to be cracked and I was constantly cracking it. I went to see a doctor at one point on the suggestion of my trainer, and the doctor said it was most likely growing pains. Then one day when I was about 14, I was sparring and all of a sudden, my neck locked up. So I went to the hospital and that’s when they told me one of the bones in my neck was pretty much just floating around, it wasn’t attached to the rest of the vertebrate. They said it had probably been that way since I was a baby. They had to take a bone from my hip and put it in my neck. It was a major operation and the doctor told me afterwards that I would never be able to fight again. I was devastated at first but then I told myself that I had to try to get better, and just take it step by step. I also read that Vinny Pazienza broke his neck and he had been in a very similar situation as I was, being told he could never fight again and what not, and he went on to not only fight again but become a world champion. I had to have a halo drilled into my head to hold my neck in place, and I went through intense therapy for about a year and a half. I had to learn everything over again, walking, moving my arms, everything. It was hard, but I never gave up, and I think that it has helped me become the person, and fighter I am today. If I could come back from something like that, then in my eyes I can do anything.
Q: What do you know about your opponent Eberto Medina who you are fighting on September 5th?
RR: I don’t really know much about him. To be honest, and I don’t want to come off sounding cocky, but I don’t feel I need to know much about him either. I have been fighting for such a long time now, I know whatever my opponent brings to the table come fight night I have seen before. That’s what of my biggest strengths is being able to adjust. I am a multi dimensional fighter and whatever my opponent brings, I know I will be able to overcome it. Like I said before my philosophy is that as long as I put the work in the gym, I will always come out on top. I am taking each fight at a time, just like when I had my neck injury, I took each step at a time and ultimately I came out where I wanted to be. Ultimately, now I want to become a world champion and as long as I stay focused, I don’t see anything stopping me.
Q: Now Ray, your name, Ray Robinson, I am sure the day you put on boxing gloves people have been making comments about the great Sugar Ray Robinson, what does it mean to you to have the same name as him? Do you look up to him?
RR: Sugar Ray Robinson was the greatest of all time. Anyone who is in boxing should look up to that man. If I could do half the things that he did and accomplished, I would be more than happy. I love watching footage of him and Ali and Tommy Hearns. People have said I have a similar body frame as Hearns, being long and lean. One thing though, out of respect for him, I said that I never wanted to be called Sugar Ray Robinson, he is on a different level then anyone else, and I wouldn’t feel right taking his name.
Q: Ray anything you would like to say in closing?
RR: I just want to thank my family and friends for all their support. I want to thank my Promoter Joe DeGuardia and Star Boxing for putting the fight together on the 5th. I am really looking forward to fighting in Atlantic City and hope that all my fans can come out and show their support. I have had a great training camp and am ready to go out there and impress everyone.
Minto to Face McGee Nov. 1st!
WBO#11,WBA#15 heavyweight, Brian ‘The Beast’ Minto (31-2 20kos) will face Marcus McGee (21-16 10kos) Saturday November 1st at Morrow Arena on the campus of Slippery Rock University, Pennsylvania. Minto, the WBA Fedecentro champ, collides with McGee in the 10 round main event of a six bout card presented by Beatdown Promotions. “He is a durable fighter who has been the distance with a former champion, Danny Williams (40-6), and title challengers Jameel McCline (38-9) and Michael Grant (44-3). He should provide a good test,” Minto stated.
Beginning at 8PM, the undercard is highlighted by local heavy Jim Emrick (6-1-1 2kos) facing William Shahan (6-0 5kos) in a six rounder. Also, welterweight Tom Joseph (3-1-1) rematches Khristian Geraci (3-3-1 2kos) in a four, while super middle, Dave Cook (3-2 2kos) meets an opponent to be determined in another 4 rounder. Tickets can be purchased by contacting the Slippery Rock Athletic Department at (724) 738-2767.
Olympian Shawn Estrada Inks Professional Boxing Management Deal
LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA (September 3, 2008) – Shawn Estrada, the 2008 U. S. middleweight boxing representative in the just-concluded Olympic Games in Beijing, has agreed to a professional boxing management contract, with Bravo Boxing Management of Los Angeles.
Estrada, 23, of East Los Angeles, has decided to pursue his boxing career as a professional. “It’s time to take it to the next level,” said Estrada.
Bravo Boxing is a newly-formed boxing management partnership headed by Arnulfo Bravo, a former U. S. National amateur flyweight champion, and Los Angeles attorney Eric Scholnick.
Estrada received nationwide media attention during the Olympics, as his father, Juan Estrada, battled liver and kidney disease, which had been expected to take his life six months prior to the start of the Olympics. Juan Estrada was able
to see his son win his opening Olympic bout on television, then passed away the day after Shawn Estrada lost his second-round match to eventual gold medalist James Degale of Great Britain. Shawn used his father’s battle to live to see his son fight in the Olympics as an inspiration, maintaining a small shrine to his father in his Olympic Village dormitory room.
Shawn Estrada fought as an amateur in the 165-lb. (75 kg) weight class, and plans to fight in the middleweight (160 lb.) division as a professional.