I want to tell you guys about someone who’s meant a lot to me. This might sound funny, but he’s basically a mixture between the Godfather and a superhero. I say Godfather because he’s got this presence: always serious, all business … when he walks into a room, everybody goes quiet.

And I say superhero because many years ago he did something incredible. Something that sticks with me to this day.

He didn’t quite lift a car above his head, but man, it was close.

Back in the 1960s, he was living with his girlfriend on a ranch in Mexico. There were no jobs where he lived, so one day, when he’s 17, he decides to go to the States as part of a migrant worker program. When the program ends after a year, he starts paying someone to smuggle him across the border. He regularly returns to Mexico with what he’s earned, but it’s not much – sometimes barely enough to pay off the smuggler. Then when he’s 20, he marries, and gets the paperwork to move his young family to California. So now he’s got to make even more money, doprava?

Trouble is, he hasn’t got a cent. He’s got no proper income. No proper education. He can barely even speak English.

So he begins working in a fish cannery. Then he and his wife move to a beat-up trailer park and begin picking strawberries in a nearby field, toiling away in the sun and the mud. It’s awful work. But they’re still broke.

And now they have seven kids.

One day this guy just loses it – or so it seems. He’s out window-shopping with his wife when they see all these lovely beds and tables and wardrobes. He turns to her and says, “You like that furniture? Dobře, one day I’m gonna get it for you.”

She looks at him like he’s lost his mind. Then she gets pissed off.

“What are you telling me that for?” ona říká. “Just to tease me? You know you can’t afford any of that stuff.”

She’s right of course. This guy has nothing. Dobře, except for one thing: box. He was an amateur boxer back in Mexico, and now he’s hanging out in a local gym trying to find work as a trainer. Sometimes he doesn’t even bother coming home – he just goes straight from the strawberry fields to the gym. And somehow … somehow he begins working with some fighters. He seems to know his stuff, because a few of them become good. Really good. A few of them even become famous.

Eventually he is able to move his family out of the trailer park and into a decent house. But he never mentions the promise he made. Podle 2000, two of his boxers have become world champions. Now he’s got enough cash to buy a brand new five-bedroom house. He and his wife watch it get built on the old strawberry fields where they used to work. Then they pick the furniture – all new, all luxurious. When it arrives, his wife opens the door and sees it… and then he brings up the story.

“Remember what I told you all those years ago?” říká. “The beds? The tables? I made you a promise. Here you have it. Je to pro vás.”

She starts to cry.

That was such a wonderful moment. I remember … because I was there.

That guy was my father.

Musel jsem být 13 nebo 14 let. I was born in that trailer park, in Oxnard, the youngest of seven kids. We moved out when I was one. We had been dirt poor, but my father never told us how bad it was. Only a few years later did I understand how hard he had had to work for us. So when he bought my mother that furniture, I felt so proud. Byl jsem jako, Damn. My dad’s a badass.

chápu … I get emotional just thinking about it.

Mně, můj otec, Eduardo, is living proof of the American dream. People know him today as the guy who trained Fernando Vargas to IBF and WBA world titles and my brother Robert to an IBF world title. People also know him, samozřejmě, as my trainer. But beyond all the boxing stuff, what my father has shown is that you can achieve anything – no matter who you are, no matter where you come from. When I began to dream about what I wanted to do in life, I knew there were no limits.

Nyní, the natural thing for me was clearly to become a boxer, like my father and my brother. But I didn’t want that. It didn’t interest me at all.

Vlastně, if you had asked me what I would do for a living, I would have told you that I’d become a lawyer or a police officer. I guess I was just attracted to the idea of authority. I tried to avoid boxing altogether – I was almost defiant about it. But then one day, the sport found me.

Byl jsem 13. We were going to see my nephew, Javier, fight in Reseda. I was just going to support him, but one of the kids in the gym didn’t have an opponent. So Robert signed me up.

Řekl, “Bro, you’re going in the ring.” And I was like, “All right.”

Samozřejmě, I had grown up watching my father train Fernando and Robert, so I knew the basics. I borrowed some equipment, boty, cup, headgear – vše – but since I wasn’t licensed to compete, we just fought a three-round exhibition. And I liked it. I liked that one-on-one. I held my own too. Afterwards, I wanted another taste of it.

Six months later I had my first official amateur bout. Vyhrál jsem. I won my first 10 boje. V 2003 I reached the final of the National Junior Olympics in the 125-pound class. I lost on a 3-2 rozdělení rozhodnutí, but still, silver was not bad. Soon managers and promoters started to show interest in me. I won a few tournaments, and then one day, na 18, I decided to go pro.

But I also wanted something to fall back on. You remember the stuff about law enforcement? Dobře, I wasn’t joking. Po vysoké škole, I went to the Ventura County Police and Sheriff’s Reserve Academy.

I learned a lot about policing, about reading people, paying attention to details. And a lot of it relates directly to boxing. Stand in the right position. Keep your guard up. Approach from the right angle. Have an exit strategy. Stuff like that.

When I graduated in 2010, I applied to the Ventura County Sheriff’s Office. But then my boxing career took off. I was getting bigger fights – and better pay than I would as a rookie policeman. And that was when I realized, Vy víte, co? Boxing could be my job. Not a dream. Not a hobby. A job.

I want to make that distinction – that boxing was my job – because the truth is, I didn’t care about titles. Not even when I won the WBO world featherweight title in January 2013. It was all about money. I had just had my second child, and I wanted to provide for my family. That was what my father had taught me: Work hard and do everything you possibly can so that your kids can have a better life. I’m still doing that. Maybe one day, my kids will also be able to say the same thing I can: “Jo, můj táta, he’s a badass.”

My father is 73 now and has a head full of white hair. He doesn’t look like he did when he was training world champions, but he still has that aura. V tělocvičně, people call him ‘Big G’. You can tell when he’s not there because everybody becomes more relaxed. When he’s there, ačkoli, people sharpen up. They work harder. There’s no messing around. That’s why I say he’s like the Godfather.

My father was my trainer. He and I were doing well in 2013, but then in early, 2014 we had to put everything aside. My contract with my promoter, Top Rank, was running out, but Top Rank was saying that the agreement was still in place. We disagreed. We took it to our attorneys, and they all told us that we were right. The litigation process was so tedious that it took us two years in court to reach a settlement.

During that period, I got no fights. Other promoters were scared because they didn’t want to get involved in my dispute. The television networks were afraid of the same thing. I was stuck. But at least I was able to work, or at least come close to working, as an attorney.

Because I wasn’t on vacation. I was dealing with attorneys four days a week. I was helping them draft letters, editing the boxing language, takové věci. They would say to me, “You need to go to school, jeden. You’re good.”

In a way, all the time off turned out to be a blessing. Because if I had kept on boxing – O.K., maybe I would’ve achieved more by now. I would’ve had more titles, I’d have more money. Cokoliv. But I’m more in control of my career now. I understand the complications around it, I know what I’m doing. And look, I might have gotten bored with boxing anyway. I might have said, “Eh, that’s enough. It’s over.”

But instead, when I came back in summer 2016, I was so hungry. Chtěl jsem bojovat. I wanted titles. It wasn’t even about the money anymore. I just wanted to prove to everybody that I’m the best fighter out here. And there was one thing in particular that I wanted to do. Vidíte, my father had already won three world championships with three fighters in three divisions. But he had never won a WBC world championship. So I set out to get it for him.

V Lednu 2017, in only the second bout after my layoff, I fought Dejan Zlatičanin for the WBC world lightweight title. Můj otec, as he usually does, tried to find small mistakes that he could correct while I was training for the fight. He’s always concerned that I’m not doing enough. Můžu jít 12 brutal rounds, but if I’m not dead afterwards, he thinks I’m not working hard enough. The truth is the opposite: I’m just in great shape. But he’ll always push me for more.

And here’s another thing: As a fight comes closer, my father changes. I can sense it, my brothers too. Můj otec, the Godfather, the superhero … he gets nervous.

Můj otec, the Godfather, the superhero … he gets nervous.

And he particularly did so for my fight with Dejan. There were so many insecurities. Would I be the same boxer when the bell rang as I had been in 2013? Would I be rusty? Dejan was an undefeated champion. Could I beat him? I was fighting in a heavier weight class. Could I handle it?

Cítil jsem se dobře. Byl jsem jako, “Dad, come on, it’s gonna be fine.” I don’t really know where that comes from, that confidence, that calm. Maybe it’s because I grew up with boxing. The ring, světla, the heat, lidé, the music … they’ve been part of my life since childhood. Nothing surprises me. Nothing scares me. Nothing overwhelms me. I’m never angry in the ring, never stressed. And that’s important, because that emotional control helps me to pay attention to the details. If you’re stressed, you can’t do that. But I can.

I’ll be reading my opponent’s body language: his shoulders, zbraně, legs, feet, oči … especially the eyes. The eyes tell you a lot. And the breathing. How heavy is he breathing? Is he pushing off me, or just resting? What punch am I gonna land, when am I gonna land it? How am I gonna land it? At what distance should I keep him? It’s all happening so fast.

But I’m always in control. And against Dejan, dobře … I knocked him out in the third round. They brought me the WBC belt. I was happy to finally get my hands on it. But what made it so special was that I had won it for my father. I remember hugging him. A big hug.

Řekl jsem mu, “Here you have it. Je to pro vás.”

V březnu, I became world champion in a fourth weight class by winning the IBF world super lightweight title. As you know, I’ll soon be fighting Robert Easter Jr. to defend my lightweight title. But there’s another fight at the end of the year that I’m looking forward to even more. If everything goes well against Robert, I want to challenge for the IBF world welterweight crown. The undefeated champion is Errol Spence Jr. – velký, silný, dangerous fighter. Everybody is telling me not to take the fight. Všichni. Even my father and my brother. “Don’t take it right now,” they say. “Let’s go after the other guys first. You don’t even need to go to welter. You can take on the guys at 135 nebo 140, where you’re a little more comfortable.”

But that doesn’t excite me. I want the toughest guy, and that happens to be a welterweight. I’m better than ever. Já jsem v mém prime. And because everybody says no, that gives me more motivation to do it.

Mimo, this is the kind of fight that is going to cement my name in boxing history. Other fighters win titles, and then just defend them. What’s the point in that? The champions we remember are the ones who take risks, who take on the biggest challenges, the biggest fights. There are lots of world champions, but the average person can probably name five or six: Jsou, Tyson, De La Hoya, Mayweather, Pacquiao … so what good is it to have a title hanging up on the wall if the world doesn’t acknowledge you as a world champion? To me that’s not a world champion. A world champion is when the world admires you and tells you that you’re a world champion.

That’s why I want to take the fight. And when I win it, I think the whole world’s gonna be like, “Wow, to není vtip. This kid really is the best on the planet.”

As for my father, he’s going to be so much prouder. He always said that he wanted a three-division champion in his family. I gave him that third title. Then I gave him a fourth. Now I’m gonna give him a fifth, in a division where he says I shouldn’t even be competing. And when I give it to him, I’m gonna be thinking about what he did for us all those years ago. And then I’m gonna say those words again: “Here you have it. Je to pro vás.”

LOS ANGELES (Červenec 25, 2018) – Mistr světa IBF v lehké váze Robert Velikonoce Jr. se zúčastnil mediálního tréninku na zahájení bojového týdne v Los Angeles ve středu, když se blíží k souboji o sjednocení o 135 liber proti šampionovi WBC Mikey Garcia tuto sobotu, Červenec 28 živě na SHOWTIME ze STAPLES Center v Los Angeles na akci pořádané Premier Boxing Champions.

Připojte se k Velikonoční středě a soutěžíte v televizním vysílání ve třech zápasech SHOWTIME CHAMPIONSHIP BOXING (10 p.m. ET / 7 p.m. PT) byli kubánští slimáci těžké váhy Luis “Real King Kong” Ortiz a bývalý challenger názvu Razvan Cojanu, kteří se střetnou v 10kolovém souboji a navíc neporaženého uchazeče v super lehké váze Mario “Aztékové” Sousedství a hard-bít Jose Roman, kteří soutěží v 10kolovém zúčtování.

Doplnění účastníků tréninku byla nepřekonatelná vyhlídka a 2016 U.S.. Olympian Karlos Balderas, kdo soutěží na SHOWTIME CHAMPIONSHIP BOXING COUNTDOWN, který bude streamovat na SHOWTIME Sportovní kanál YouTube a SHOWTIME Boxing Facebook page začínající na 8 p.m. ET / 5 p.m. PT.

Vstupenky na koncertě, která je podporována Ringstar sportu a TGB Promotions, začít v $50, plus případné poplatky, a jsou již v prodeji. Chcete-li zakoupit vstupenky, navštivte AXS.com.

Zde je to, co borci řekli ve středu z City of Angels Boxing Gym:

ROBERT VELIKONOČNÍ JR.

“Trénink dole na Floridě mi umožnil uniknout rušivým vlivům a soustředit se jen na sebe. Kevin Cunningham na mě zůstával každý den. Soustředili jsme se na mé dovednosti, využívat mé výhody a vše uvidíte v červenci 28.

“Máme herní plán, ale jsme tam profesionálové a oba víme, že v průběhu boje budeme muset provést úpravy. Budu bojovat svůj boj a nechám to všechno v ringu. Moje zaměření je 100 procent na Mikey Garcia v sobotu večer.

“Na začátku své kariéry jsem hodně bojoval na západním pobřeží a můj první profesionální zápas byl ve skutečnosti ve STAPLES Center. Takže jsem velmi nadšený, že se vrátím před velký vzrušující dav.

“Trenér Cunningham mě nechal skutečně pracovat na dovednostech, které jsem v minulých zápasech tolik nepoužíval. Pomohl mi sestavit skvělý herní plán, který se zaměřuje na výhody, které mám. Ví, jaké věci způsobí ostatním bojovníkům potíže.

“Takové velké zápasy jsou pro mě důležité. Šampion versus šampion mluví nahlas o tom, kdo jsme jako muži. Jsou to dva nejlepší kluci, kteří bojují o to, kdo je nejlepší ve váhové kategorii.

“O takových bojích jsem snil už jako malý kluk. Konečně je to tady a já ukážu světu, co Robert Easter Jr. je opravdu vyrobena z.”

LUIS ORTIZ

“Cítím se skvěle a jsem rád, že se v sobotu večer vrátím do ringu. Po dni nebo dvou jsem se přes ztrátu dostal a vrátil jsem se zpět do posilovny. Vždycky jsem věděl, že letos budu bojovat znovu, protože to je to, co rád dělám.

“Jsem nadšený, že budu bojovat ve STAPLES Center, a jsem vděčný svému soupeři, že výzvu přijal. Chci jen předvést své schopnosti a znovu dokázat, proč jsem jednou z nejlepších těžkých vah na světě.

“V sobotu tam půjdu a udělám svou práci. Jsem připravený postarat se o soupeře přede mnou, ať už v prvním nebo dvanáctém kole. Bude to stejná mise, jakou jdu do každého boje.”

Razvan Cojanu

“Pracovali jsme během tréninkového kempu a zápasili se spoustou jihů, abychom se na to připravili. Mám dobrý pocit z naší strategie a formy, ve které jsem.

“Můj boj proti (bývalý šampion těžké váhy) Joseph Parker byl zajímavý zápas. To, že jsem mu stál tváří v tvář, jsem zjistil teprve před dvěma týdny, takže jsem na to nebyl tak připravený, jak jsem chtěl. Ale byla to příležitost, kterou jsem si nemohl nechat ujít a věřil jsem si a bojoval až do konce.

“Ortiz je silný bojovník a velká výzva. Těším se na další tvrdý boj a předvedení skvělého výkonu pro fanoušky.”

MARIO BARRIOS

“Poslední čtyři týdny jsem dokončil tréninkový kemp v Bay Area s Virgilem Hunterem a cítím se skvěle. Měli jsme fantastické sparingy a všechno vypadá skvěle, směřující do bojové noci.

“Jsem nadšený z této příležitosti. Mám opravdu dobrý, zkušený soupeř přede mnou, a přicházím na jeho dvorek. V tomto boji musím hodně získat. Bude to velmi výbušný boj.

“Jsem připraven předvést svůj talent a dominovat s herním plánem, který jsme sestavili. Soustředíme se na tento boj, ale chci vylézt po žebříčku a do konce roku získat boj o titul nebo eliminátor titulu.”

JOSE ROMAN

“Na tuto skvělou příležitost, kterou tady mám, jsem opravdu tvrdě trénoval. Bylo velmi vzrušující zjistit, že budu na SHOWTIME, zvláště ve velké show, jako je tato, v čele s bojem, který chce každý vidět. Nyní mohu ukázat svůj talent před všemi.

“Měli jsme efektivní tréninkový kemp. Každý den jsme tvrdě pracovali a všechno šlo opravdu hladce. Každý chce být v této pozici, ale ne každý to zažije.

“Barrios má opravdu dobrou nahrávku a je velmi talentovaný. Z nějakého důvodu je neporažený. Jedeme sem vyhrát. V sobotu na tom budu co nejlépe.”

KARLOS BALDERAS

“Když jsem poprvé debutoval profi, měl jsem pocit, jako bych věci v ringu uspěchal a snažil se dělat věci příliš rychle. Teď, když budu mít více bojů, budu si moci dát na čas a rozbít tyto bojovníky krůček po krůčku. Nemůžete vyřadit všechny v prvním kole.

“Je mi teprve 22 let a mám před sebou ještě dlouhou cestu. Více než cokoli jiného prostě musím zůstat trpělivý po celou dobu zápasu. Dali jsme si práci, takže vím, co musím v sobotu večer dělat.

“Minulý měsíc jsem bojoval ve STAPLES Center, tak to pro mě není nic nového. Půjdu tam a budu bojovat, buď chytrá a vezmi ho odtamtud. Děláme věci správným způsobem a plánujeme tu chvíli zůstat.”

# # #

Pro více informací navštivte www.SHO.com/Sports, www.premierboxingchampions.com a www.staplescenter.com sledovat na Twitteru @ShowtimeBoxing, SHOSports, @PremierBoxing @MikeyGarcia, @RobertEaster_Jr, @Ringstar, @TGBPromotions@STAPLESCenter a @Swanson_Comm nebo se staňte fanouškem na Facebooku na adrese www.Facebook.com/SHOSports, www.Facebook.com/PremierBoxingChampions a www.facebook.com/STAPLESCenter.PBC je sponzorována společností Corona, Finest Beer.

„Když jsem vyšel z lůna, Házel jsem údery... miluji kopání do zadku.“

Tuto sobotu Na 10 p.m. A/7 p.m. PT On SHOWTIME

Photo Credit: Showtime Sports

Watch, Pohled & Podíl Via YouTube: https://s.sho.com/2mESWdU

CO: Dny před jeho zúčtováním o sjednocení titulu 135 liber Mikey Garcia (38-0, 30 KO), Mistr světa IBF v lehké váze Robert Velikonoce Jr. (21-0, 14 KO) zamýšlí se nad cestou, která vedla k nejdůležitější noci jeho kariéry, ve videu, které dnes zveřejnil SHOWTIME Sports^®.

Narodil se a vyrostl v Toledu, Ohio, Easter snil o tom, že jednoho dne splní to, co jeho otec, také profesionální boxer, nikdy nebyl schopen splnit: stát se mistrem světa.

"Můj táta měl krátkou kariéru a já jsem si slíbil, že ho donutím prožít vítězství na mistrovství světa skrze mě.",“ řekl 27letý Velikonoce. „Vyhrát titul mistra světa pro mě byla životní zkušenost. Oba jsme v tu chvíli žili své sny."

Velikonoce, který od zisku titulu mistra světa ve vzrušující soutěži nad Richardem Commeym dokázal tři úspěšné obhajoby 2016, se rozhodl, že předběžně provede tréninkový kemp s Kevinem Cunninghamem ve West Palm Beach Sobota noční sjednocení proti šampionovi WBC v lehké váze Garciovi. Cunningham spolupracoval s bývalým mistrem světa Devonem Alexanderem, Cory Spinks a Adrien Broner a nedávno pobídli Gervontu Davisovou k dominantnímu knockoutu Jesuse Cuellara.

„Přestěhování do West Palm Springs mě vyvedlo z komfortní zóny,“ řekl Velikonoce. „Věděl jsem, že Kevin Cunningham má silný tábor a v jeho programu není žádné polevování. Mohu se opravdu soustředit na box a na sebe."

Přímý přenos televizního vysílání SHOWTIME CHAMPIONSHIP BOXING začíná v 10 p.m. A/7 p.m. PT a také obsahuje kubánského sluggera těžké váhy Luis Ortiz (28-1, 24 KO) se vrací do akce, aby čelil bývalému vyzyvateli titulu mistra světa Razvan Cojanu (16-3, 9 KO) a otevírá se neporaženým super lehkým uchazečem Mario Barrios(21-0, 13 KO) převzetí na tvrdých úderech Jose Roman (24-2-1, 16 KO) v 10kolovém zúčtování.