 (L-R) – BJ Flores & Shumenov Beibu  |
Flores is boxing’s all-purpose guy: pugile, television color commentator, and trainer.
Suo padre, Ralph Flores, was a military person who earned his “boxing coaching bones” attraverso Kenny Adams, head coach of the 1988 USA Boxing Olympic Team and assistant coach four years earlier. The ’88 USA Olympic Boxing Team included Roy Jones, Jr., Riddick Bowe, Ray Mercer, Andrew Maynard e Kennedy McKinney.
BJ started going to the gym with his father when he was four. His grandfather and older brother were also boxers. “My father wasn’t a boxer, but he learned how to coach boxing from assisting Kenny Adams,” BJ explained. “He fell in love with boxing while working with Kenny and learned his way to teach boxing. Kenny is still like a grandfather to me.”
Flores also loved football and he was offered a full scholarship to attend Brigham Young University. He took two years off from BYU to serve a mission for The Church of Latter-day Saints in Mexico, where he lived in one of the poorest sections of Mexico in Culiacan. He began training there in the same gym where legendary Julio Cesar Chavez trained as a kid. Goodbye, calcio.
Come un pugile dilettante, Flores had a superlative 110-11 record, highlighted by gold-medal performances at the 1997 National Golden Gloves and 2000 Western Trials, in aggiunta a 2001 & 2002 US Championships as a heavyweight. He was the only American to win gold in 2002 alla 4 Nations Tournament in Alabama versus Germany, France and Australia.
Flores targeted a berth on the 2004 USA Boxing Olympic Boxing Team, and he was a top contender, tuttavia, he received an offer from Main Events to turn pro that BJ described as too lucrative to pass up.
“BJ’s decorated career as an amateur boxer, professional boxer, and broadcaster place him in a top tier of well-rounded USA Boxing Alumni,” said Chris Cugliari, Direttore della USA Boxing Alumni Association. “His valuable experiences inside and outside the ring serve as great examples for the next generation of champions.”
Flores fought professionally from 2003 a 2018, compiling a solid 34-4-1 (21 KO) record, including three major World title challenges, both as a heavyweight and cruiserweight. He captured eight regional titles, as well as the IBA and WBF World super cruiserweight championships.
During his boxing career, network officials discovered that he was a gifted boxer, as well as well-spoken, handsome and knowledgeable with a smooth delivery. More than anything else, he could effectively break down fighters and fights and instead of only noting what had happened, he explained why and what was going to happen for fans watching.
Fiori’ break as an announcer came, according to BJ, after his 2008 fight against Darnell Wilson live on ESPN. “I was a 4-1 underdog against Wilson,” Flores ha detto. “He was coming off five straight knockout victories and we were fighting in his hometown (Dover, Delaware). He was ranked No. 2 and I was No. 15. He came into the ring carrying a pillow for me, but I beat him for 10 di 12 round.
“I was then brought into ESPN’s studios to be interviewed. Boxing was my life! I worked withBrian Kenny and we immediately had chemistry. By the end of that year, I was an ESPN in-studio commentator every three weeks.”
Flores ended up being hired as a ringside analyst in 2012 and he became part of the PBC (Premier Boxing Champions) broadcast team on NBC. He worked with giants in boxing and media industries such as Sugar Ray Leonard, Al Michaels e Marv Albert.
Although Flores didn’t represent his country at the Olympic Games, he was a CBS Sports color commentator in 2012 e 2016. He is looking forward to calling Olympic boxing once again next year on CBS.
“Anytime you can represent the USA is a tremendous honor and great opportunity,” Flores added. “I called the 2012 Olimpiadi (Regno Unito) e 2016 (Brasile). We called the action from a studio, but I’d love to call next year’s Olympics from ringside in Japan. Mi piace. Nothing else in life matters to me versus the Olympics.”
USA Boxing Alumni Association
Creato per il campione per tutta la vita, relazioni reciprocamente vantaggiose tra USA Boxing ed i suoi ex allievi, –pugili, funzionari, allenatori e appassionati di boxe — L'Alumni Association collega generazioni di campioni, ispirando e restituendo ai futuri campioni di boxe USA Boxing, in e fuori dal ring.
Gli Stati Uniti Boxing Alumni Association è aperta a chiunque abbia un amore per la boxe e vorrebbe rimanere in contatto con il pugilato dilettantistico. I membri hanno accesso a un'ampia varietà di eventi speciali ospitati dall'Associazione Alumni, compresa la sua annuale di USA Boxing Alumni Association Hall of Fame di ricezione.
Per aderire all'Associazione Alumni, semplicemente registrarsi al alumni@usaboxing.org per un $40.00 all'anno quota associativa. I nuovi membri riceveranno una T-shirt, key-chain and e-wallet.
Oggi, Flores is a retired prizefighter living in Arizona. He still attends amateur boxing tournaments in Las Vegas and California. For the past six months he’s been training “Internet boxer” Jake Paul e, naturalmente, BJ remains an accomplished color commentator/analyst.
When boxing fully returns on television, BJ will serve as a color commentator for The Impact Network, which plans to promote three shows a month.
Few active pro boxers have been television announcers at the same time they were fighting like Flores. Even though he’s now moved on from fighting to teaching as a trainer, he continues to be one of boxing’s most knowledgeable and popular commentators. Nessun dubbio, BJ Flores is boxing’s all-purpose guy.
INFORMAZIONI:
www.usaboxing.org
Cinguettio: @USABoxing, @USABoxingAlumni
Instagram: @USABoxing
Facebook: /USABoxing
| SU USA Boxing: The mission of USA Boxing shall be to enable United States’ athletes and coaches to achieve sustained competitive excellence, sviluppare il carattere, sostenere lo sport del pugilato, and promote and grow Olympic style boxing in the United States. The responsibility of USA Boxing is not only to produce Olympic gold, but also oversee and govern every aspect of amateur boxing in the United States. |