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Legendary Trainers Vital to Fighters'
Preparation and Success for "The Challenge" on September 13th
Los Angeles, August 21, 2008 - ". . .Punches in bunches, stay off the ropes,
move your head, hands up. . ." These are the words four of boxing's best
trainers-Roger Bloodworth, Ignacio Beristain, Dean Campos and Buddy McGirt-are
saying these days as they prepare their respective pugilists-Joel Casamayor,
Juan Manuel Marquez, Sergio Mora and Vernon Forrest-fortheir upcoming bouts.
Casamayor vs. Marquez - "The Challenge," a 12-round bout for Casamayor's
Ring Magazine World Lightweight Championship, is presented by Golden Boy
Promotions in association with Romanza Boxing Productions and sponsored by
Cerveza Tecate, Cazadores Tequila and Southwest Airlines. Mora-Forrest II is
the 12-round co-featured bout presented by Golden Boy Promotions in
association with Tournament of Contenders, Gary Shaw Productions and Fight
Knight, LLC. The double header will take place at the MGM Grand Garden Arena
in Las Vegas and will be distributed live by HBO Pay-Per-View, beginning at
9 p.m. ET/6 p.m. PT.
Here's a look at these four great trainers and what they have to say about
their stars while bunkered down in daily training camp life.
ROGER BLOODWORTH (Head Trainer and Camp Chef - Joel Casamayor)
Trainer Roger Bloodworth followed his fighter Joel "El Cepillo" Casamayor
(36-3-1, 22 KOs) to Phoenix, AZ for training camp almost seven weeks ago
where they set up shop at the MD Systems Boxing Gym, the same gym they used
for Casamayor's past four fights. Deep into camp, Bloodworth has Casamayor
spending hours in the gym and sparring three to four times a week with
several different sparring partners. Casamayor and Bloodworth are back
together for Joel's second consecutive fight since they reunited for
Casamayor's impressive performance on March 22, 2008 - a knock out of
previously undefeated and then World Champion Michael Katsidis. Bloodworth,
who trained Casamayor when he defeated Lamont Pearson and Diego Corrales in
2006, not only serves as Casaymayor's trainer, but as his personal chef as
well.
Bloodworth is one of the most experienced trainers in the boxing today,
training some of the best fighters out there including Casamayor, Jeff Lacy
and David Tua. Previous clients have included former world champions Eddie
Hopson, John John Molina, Raul Marquez, Fernando Vargas, Robbie Peden,
Evander Holyfield and Pernell Whitaker. Bloodworth has been a professional
trainer since 1989 having started 10 years earlier in the amateur ranks
before moving up to the pros.
"This camp has been a little bit different for Joel. He is a little more
intense and focused than past camps. He's been a pro for a long time, so he
trains the same way every time, but this camp he is more dedicated, more
intense and training really hard for Marquez."
Bloodworth spends most of his time going from training camp to training
camp, hardly ever making it home to Illinois, but he enjoys the challenge of
participating in big fights with experienced fighters like Casamayor's test
against Marquez. He works with Joel to keep him calm and focused at the task
at hand.
"Joel has fought guys that were as good and well-proven as Marquez in the
past. Marquez is a great fighter, but so is Joel. He is preparing like he
normally does against a great fighter. He doesn't get nervous or over
excited or anxious, it's just a fight for him. This is his job and he is
doing what he has to do to be prepared for September 13th."
Although training in the gym, running and watching films is the normal key
to success, Bloodworth has taken his job a step further, by not only acting
as Casamayor's head trainer, but also as the camp chef.
"The trick is to eat, but not over eat, so you have to control portions.
Joel eats very well, three maybe four times a day (and if I'm not looking
maybe five the trainer said with a wink). I don't believe in starving
fighters. I started cooking at training camp because it was cheaper for me
to cook than to hire a chef. I don't cook really fancy. . .I just cook
simple meals that are healthy. Joel really likes chicken, salmon, steamed
vegetables and once in a while I make pasta, but I only use whole wheat or
brown rice pasta. We don't eat any junk food, just a clean diet because he
has to burn more calories than he takes in."
While Bloodworth is busy with the time spent training in the gym and
maintaining Joel's weight with a healthy diet in the kitchen, he also spends
time watching films of Marquez's past fights in order to develop a strategy
for a victory on September 13th.
"We've been watching films and Marquez is an excellent fighter. I think its
going to be a great fight. Joel's weight is good, training is good, but we
don't want to be on weight too soon, because I like to have my fighters be
able to eat right up until the time of the weigh in and bring them down
slowly."
IGNACIO "NACHO" BERISTAIN (Head Trainer - Juan Manuel Marquez)
Ignacio "Nacho" Beristain, has been training Juan Manuel "Dinamita" Marquez
(48-4-1, 35 KOs) for nearly 25 years, well before Marquez began his
impressive professional career at the age of 19. The duo is once again
training in Mexico City at the Romanza Gym. On Friday afternoon, Marquez
travels to Nevado de Toluca where he is tucked away in a no-frills cabin,
free from interruption from the outside world (as well as plumbing).
Beristain watches over Marquez every day with a careful eye. Here is how the
long-standing duo handles the rigors of camp and preparing for another
battle.
When one looks at Beristain's 47-year professional career it is easy to see
why he is considered one of the best trainers to ever emerge from Mexico. He
has trained current and former World Champions Rafael Marquez, Ricardo "Finito"
Lopez, Daniel "Chato" Zaragoza, Humberto "Chiquita" Gonzalez, Gilberto
Roman, Jose Luis Bueno, Melchor Cob Castro, Gustavo "Guty" Espadas,
Guadalupe Pintor, Eric Ortiz, Víctor Manuel Rabanales, Enrique Sanchez,
Vicente Saldivar, and many more.
The 69-year-old trainer has described this camp as a change of pace for the
experienced Marquez because he is going up a weight class and has had to
alter some of Marquez's routine to accommodate the weight difference.
"We have been working really hard in the gym. Juan has been lifting more
weights to focus on gaining strength and muscle. We have changed his diet as
well. He has been eating more carbohydrates to gain the extra weight. Moving
up in weight is a very difficult process for Juan because he is a natural
126 pound fighter and normally fights at 130 pounds, so he is going up even
more. The weight is definitely an advantage for Casamayor because after the
weigh-in, Juan will not gain that much weight. He will probably fight around
142 pounds at the most and Casamayor will definitely go up more than that."
Nacho and Juan have a different relationship than most trainer/fighter duos.
They have been working together for over 25 years and have developed a
special bond that extends outside of the gym.
"We have a different relationship than I have with my other fighters. . .it
is more than just fighter and trainer. He is more than just my fighter; Juan
is one of my best friends. My job is to prevent mistakes for Juan, so I am
being very careful with his diet and his training to make sure he is 100
percent ready so that nothing will go wrong on September 13th."
DEAN CAMPOS (Head Trainer - Sergio Mora)
Sergio "The Latin Snake" Mora (21-0-1, 5 KOs) is deep into training camp in
his hometown of East Los Angeles. As the champion of the first season of
NBC's "The Contender," Mora moved on to bigger and better professional
fights, finally reaching his world title dream by defeating Forrest for the
WBC World Super Welterweight crown in June 2008. Training Mora for the
rematch are Dean Campos and John Montelongo, who have been with him since
the age of 15. Mora's training regimen includes sparring three times a week,
focusing on strength and conditioning and eating a balanced diet of certain
fats, carbohydrates and proteins that his nutritionist Robert Ferguson has
created for him in order to keep him performing his best during the training
process.
Dean Campos, who has been training Mora since hewas an amateur fighter, is
preparing for Mora for his upcoming September 13th rematch against Vernon
Forrest from the comforts of their Los Angeles-based training camp just as
they have done throughout their 15-year relationship. The team prefers to
stay close to home to alleviate pressures of being away from family and
friends which gives them the ability to focus on training camp.
"Camp is going well and he is working hard as usual. We're always confident
that we will be successful in a fight because we put so much into our
preparation and know it will pay off in the end. We like to cover the bases
so that there's nothing left for us to be surprised with when we get into
the ring with our opponent."
Due to their long standing relationship and their shared journey throughout
Mora's career, Campos has opted to focus on training only Mora at this
stage. Being that Mora has reached his life-long dream of winning a world
title, Campos has left his other athletes in order to give his full support
and dedication to Mora. With the extra time to prepare and the first bout
behind them, Campos has a clear game plan of what he needs to do to prepare
Mora in this rematch.
"Basically, we are doing some of the things we worked on in preparation for
the first fight, only this time around, with a lot of practice we're able to
do them better. I think Vernon will bring more pressure so we're definitely
going to be pulling out some new moves."
Campos discussed the importance of their entire camps' participation in
Mora's success, stating that assistant trainer John Montelongo is a crucial
piece to the puzzle.
"Our relationship is like a triangle, we all have our own strengths, so each
one of us takes care of our own corner and it just works...we're like a
pyramid."
BUDDY MCGIRT (Head Trainer - Vernon Forrest)
James Buddy McGirt, arguably one of the best trainers in the world, is
training former two-division World Champion Vernon "The Viper" Forrest
(40-3, 29 KOs) for a fifth consecutive fight. The duo started working
together when Forrest beat former World Champion Ike Quartey in August 2006
and have continued to do so since, including Forrest's wins against Carlos
Baldomir and Michele Piccirillo. Forrest chose to remain in his hometown of
Atlanta, Georgia, to train for this fight and asked McGirt if he would mind
travelling away from his usual training locale in Vero Beach, Florida, for
camp. McGirt is making a sacrifice for Forrest, as he is not a big fan of
travelling to train fighters, but he believes it is what the pugilist needs
to be victorious September 13.
"I don't mind coming to Atlanta because that is what Vernon wanted and it
fit my schedule. I think psychologically it's good for Vernon too as he was
away from home too long for his last camp and probably suffered from some
emotional burnout. Besides, it's not too far from Florida and I go home on
the weekends. It sure beats going to California which I absolutely will
never do again (McGirt travelled to Big Bear, California to train Fernando
Vargas for his fight against Fitz Vanderpool in 2003 and returned to another
California camp in 2006 to train Joel Casamayor for his second fight with
Diego Corrales). My comfort zone is the East Coast."
Since his official retirement as a fighter in 1997, James "Buddy" McGirt,
who is joined in Forrest's camp by longtime Forrest coach Al Mitchell and
conditioning specialist Charles Watson, has successfully trained countless
fighters and 10 world champions.
"I turned pro on January 17, 1976 and on January 18, I knew I wanted to be a
trainer," McGirt said. "Even when I was fighting I was always in the gym
helping amateurs. When people ask me if I think I was a better fighter or
trainer, I lean towards trainer (although most say fighter because I was a
World Champion) because I love teaching and helping people. Working with
fighters is my passion. It gives me great satisfaction watching them
succeed."
Team Forrest has set up accommodations in one of Forrest's homes-secluded in
the woods away from much of anything. While this is peaceful for Forrest, it
is much less so for McGirt.
"Listen. The fighters say there is nothing to do in Vero, but Vernon's got
me out here in the middle of nowhere," said McGirt. "It is so dark at night
that I am afraid of being outside by myself-I have to ride around in my car
if I want to smoke a cigar."
Forrest's upset loss to Mora last June has helped to keep both McGirt and
Forrest focused mentally on the fight. McGirt sees his primary role at
Forrest's camp to help keep him calm and stress-free during their six week
training period, not to teach the veteran fighter new moves.
"The most devastating thing for a fighter is to lose to a guy you know you
should never have lost to in the first place," said McGirt. "That alone
lights a fire inside of you. My job is to maintain that fire inside of
Vernon and make sure that it doesn't ignite to a five-alarm disaster or on
the flip side, burn out entirely. We don't talk much about the first
fight-if he brings it up cool, but it is not necessary to dwell on what
happened. I just have to get him ready to not let it happen again. And for
Vernon, whose boxing skills and experience have proven themselves to be
superior to Mora's skills, it is keeping him mentally relaxed up until fight
time that counts the most."
"For his first fight against Mora, Vernon was in camp too long, almost three
months. He over-trained and peaked early. There were days when he should
have taken off and he did something anyway, whether running an extra mile or
shadow-boxing a few rounds. When Vernon beat Picirillo and Baldomir, he had
six week camps for both fights and he looked great. We have a set plan and
schedule now and he is sticking to it which makes my job that much easier."
McGirt is the father of eight kids (seven of which are girls) ranging in age
from six to twenty-five years old. He already has three grandchildren and is
steadily watching the progress of his only son, 20-year old James Jr., as he
continues his professional career.
"I get a different kind of nervous feeling when my son fights than when the
other fighters I work with get in the ring. With my son it's as if I am
getting in the ring with him and I almost get the same feeling as when I was
fighting. But whether it is fighting, training or training my son, the same
thing happens every time. Once the bell rings, the nervousness is gone and
it is time to fight."
The Casamayor vs. Marquez and Mora-Forrest II pay-per-view telecast,
beginning at 9 p.m. ET / 6 p.m. PT, has a suggested retail price of $44.95,
will be distributed by HBO Pay-Per-View and will be available to 71 million
pay-per-view homes. |
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