For many years, you saw him
in the corner of one Oscar De la Hoya. A
good part of his adult life was spent not only working De la Hoya’s fights but
coordinating his training camps. Aiding the career of the “Golden Boy” was a
vital part of his responsibilities. Many figures - from trainers, advisers,
managers and promoters - came through Oscar’s career but this guy was the one
constant. He probably knew De la Hoya better than any person on the
planet. This individual shared not only the same surname but the same blood.
This would be Joel De la Hoya, who, when his brother decided to retire in 2009,
also walked away from the sport of boxing.
But as you see undefeated junior
middleweight Hugo Centeno Jr. enter the ring this
Friday night as the
headline performer on “ShoBox” versus KeAndrae Leatherwood, you'll see a
familiar face with him. That would be Joel, who has reemerged on the scene as a
manager.
The question is where was he
the previous few years in the wake of his brother's retirement? It's well known
that Oscar had Golden Boy Promotions to occupy his time. As for Joel?
“I just lost so much time
with the family. After he retired, I took a hiatus. My son's 17 years old. I
was with Oscar since '92, the Olympics. So we were always on the road, always
traveling. So I figured it would give me some time to catch up with the family,
do a little traveling and do a little soul-searching, see what I really wanted
to do,” he said last summer, while at the Maywood Boxing Club.
Oscar retired abruptly after
his disappointing 2008 loss to Manny Pacquiao.
“I figured it would be
coming soon,” said Joel, who's several years older than Oscar, at age 42. “I
was thinking more along the lines of a couple fights but he did the right
thing. He did the right thing; obviously, I supported him 100 percent and there
was a point where he was thinking of coming back and we talked. He made the
right decision. It was the right decision for all of us.”
Being an integral part of a
boxing entourage is very similar to being part of a traveling road show or
circus. The good times and memories are seemingly never-ending but they will
eventually come to a halt. After that, everybody has to figure out what to do
with the rest of their lives once it all ends. Bundini Brown probably never had
much purpose in his life once Muhammad Ali called it quits. Angelo Dundee kept
training and Dr. Ferdie Pacheco became a television personality.
For Joel, after a few years
away from the sport, he decided to go back to helping boxers.
“I was completely out of the
picture once Oscar retired but I always had the passion for the sport. I've
been in boxing since the age of seven,” explained De la Hoya, who kept tabs on
boxing and Golden Boy Promotions during this stretch. “They'd call me for some
advice on certain fighters, certain fights and that's kinda how I made my
transition. I figured, ‘Why not get involved?’ It's something I know and do it
in another capacity. But the bug has always been there, absolutely.”
Going back in time, the son thought
to be the fighter in the family wasn't Oscar but Joel. The often-told narrative
had it that Oscar was the mama's boy, more likely to go skateboarding than
spending any time at the gym. So what happened?
“I was lazy, brotha!” he
says laughing. “I'll be honest; I hated roadwork but once I got into the gym,
oh, I loved it, putting on the gloves, headgear, just the smell of being in
there. But yeah, it was the discipline...no discipline. That's what I'm looking
for in these kids, the discipline, the desire, the dedication - something I
didn't have.”
So do as I say, not as I
did?
“Exactly,” said De la Hoya,”
and that's the kind of kids I'm working with. And they're young; they're coming
up and I think what I didn't show as a kid growing up, I think this translates
over and this is what I'm working with right now with the kids I have.”
His association with “The
Boss” - who has a record of 17-0 with nine knockouts - began about a
year-and-a-half ago as a trainer at the Maywood Boxing Club, Ignacio De la
Hoya, started the process of putting these two together. Centeno recalled, “My
dad was having heart surgery; I was getting ready for a fight and my dad called
‘Nacho’ and asked if he could help me out in the corner for one of my fights.
So somehow he got into contact with Joel and Joel told him he wanted to start
managing fighters and he told him to come scout me, kind of, at a sparring
session. So he went to watch me at the Maywood boxing gym and he kinda liked
what he saw, saw something in me and the rest is history.”
He says of his manager, “Just
being in those big fights, he's been around. You can just tell; he's taken a
little bit of the best of everybody. He'll tell me little techniques, little
tricks he picked up from like Nacho Beristain or Floyd Mayweather Sr. and just
different coaches from along the way that he's picked up that he likes a lot.”
Beyond that, in a harsh and often unforgiving racket, Centeno has a piece of
mind from having De la Hoya mind his business. “Oh, definitely; this business
is tough. This is my third manager going on four years now and my first two
managers, it was a little tough. They were like used car salesmen. They just
promise you the world and they're just trying to get over.
“You can tell that Joel just
takes his time; he knows what he's doing and he's always looking for the best
in us.”
Along with Centeno, De la
Hoya also handles the careers of Julian Ramirez and Francisco Vargas.
“I look at it this way,” he
explained, “There's a lot of talent out there that needs a lot of help, that
can use some great advice and coming from the inside, from someone looking at
things from the inside-out, I think my expertise, my knowledge within the sport
that I've seen with my brother - through the bad, through the good - I believe
I've seen it all and I can relate with these kids. I think that's why I made
that transition so easily. That's why I know can help these guys because a lot
of guys need the help. There's a lot of great talent. These young kids, that
little extra push I can give them I think will be great.”
One thing that's evident
about De la Hoya is that he is a manager who is very involved with his clients.
He is a regular visitor to the local gyms, such as the Maywood Boxing Club and
the Wild Card Boxing Club, to see his young boxers spar. But his involvement
goes beyond his concern for their training. “In and out of the ring,” says
Centeno, “at least for me, he's always calling me, making sure I'm OK. If I
need anything, he's there.”
In Centeno, De la Hoya has
an interesting project in which to work with. The 22-year-old from Oxnard is
unusually tall for a 154-pounder but has yet to fully fill out physically. There
are times when he still looks as gangly and unsteady as a baby giraffe trying
to find his bearings on his feet but De la Hoya sees this as untapped
potential. “Physically, he's filling out, which I like; I've said that all
along. It's gonna happen; it's just a matter of time. He's a tall, lanky kid.
That's what he is and he looks so awkward because he's tall and lanky and he's
young. A lot of people don't realize that this guy’s a baby. He hasn't grown
into that man-body yet, that man-strength. But as far as boxing, I think he's
growing so much confidence from sparring with these guys at the Wild Card and
he's been coming along every single fight since I've had him.”
Centeno has gotten to work
with the likes of world champions such as Peter Quillin, as he cuts his teeth
in this game.
“I like his boxing style,
got a great boxing style, uses the ring really nice,” continued De la Hoya. “He
uses the jab really nice and he's a thinker. He's a thinker up in the ring. I'd
like to see him let his hands go a little bit more, maybe sit down with his
punches a little bit more. But he's coming along; it's gonna happen for him.”
De la Hoya, who lives in
West Covina with his wife, knows the chances of ever being so intimately
involved with a fighter as good as his brother and in fights of those magnitude
are slim. Hey, “Golden Boys” only come along once in a generation but
regardless, he's glad to be back in the mix.
“Just being around the game, being involved and working with these kids in a way, filling that void. Taking me back to what I used to do - being around the game. I missed that while I was gone.”
MARCH FLURRIES
The co-main on this week’s “ShoBox,”
replacing the injured Antonio Orozco, is a scrap between Braulio Santos and
Ramon Valadez...The February 23rd telecast featuring Ishe Smith's IBF
junior middleweight title-winning effort against Cornelius Bundrage on Showtime
averaged 484,000 viewers...EPIX will broadcast the March 23rd bout
between WBO super middleweight titlist Arthur Abraham and Robert Stieglitz...The
April 12th edition of “ShoBox” has Angelo Santana facing Ismael
Barroso in the main event...In addition to a “Countdown” show for Brandon Rios
vs. Mike Alvarado II, HBO is also doing one for Nonito Donaire vs. Guillermo
Rigondeaux...So the Ricky Burns vs. Miguel Vazquez lightweight title
unification bout has been rescheduled for April 20th? Uh, OK. Seeing
is believing...Does anyone care about the World Baseball Classic?...So Serge
Ibaka didn't get suspended for what he did to Blake Griffin? As a guy, I find
that unfathomable…
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