In January, I sat in press row at The Joint in the Las Vegas Hard Rock when, in between bouts, a fellow writer alerted me that Cameron Dunkin was across the ring apron. By the time I was able to weave my way through the sea of chairs and bodies between us, he was gone before I could even pull my recorder out of my pocket.
Such is life for the 2007 BWAA and HBO Manager of the Year who, by pop culture standards is the anti-Diddy. You won?t see him holding court at the dais or popping his head in front of as many cameras as he can find. But while he borders on the invisible, don?t make the mistake of underestimating his status; he?s one of the true movers and shakers of the sport and by the time his name shows up in print, it?s usually accompanied by the phrase ?manager of the new world champion.?
This week, I was lucky to catch Cameron long enough to talk some boxing with him as he commented on topics like his newest California kids, the state of negotiations between his charge Kelly Pavlik and Julio Cesar Chavez Jr., and his side of the story regarding Robert Garcia, who chose to be Nonito Donaire?s chief second on July 10, rather than join Brian Viloria in the Philippines.
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Ryan Maqui?ana: Your newest signee is amateur standout Manuel ?Tino? Avila. How did you discover him?
Cameron Dunkin: I knew of [Manuel] following the amateurs but I had never seen him. I was out in L.A. and I was told he was fighting Victor Pasillas [for the California Golden Gloves 123-pound title]. I got the tape of it off the internet and he?s a bad boy. Avila can really fight.
RM: You?ve got quite a proven track record with the little guys, from the New Mexico duo of Johnny Tapia and Danny Romero to guys like Diego Corrales and Mark ?Too Sharp? Johnson, all the way to Steven Luevano and Nonito Donaire today. What was it about Manuel that caught your eye? Does he remind you at all of anyone with his style?
CD: Not really. I think he?s got great distance. He?s real calm and smart. He was fighting Victor Pasillas who was a highly, highly ranked southpaw. I thought it was an even fight. He?s got good speed and good power with the left hook. Smart too. He knows how to set sh*t up. He does a lot of things well. It?s like when you watch Randy Caballero. He?s another one. He?s who I?d compare him to.
RM: You?ve also done your homework in California as Avila marks your third signing this year from the inland part of the state. What are your immediate plans for him as far as making his debut and for the rest of the year?
CD: The plan was to get [Avila] started like Caballero, who turned pro about three months ago. He?s 4-0 with four first-round knockouts. I signed another kid from Indio, Gabino Saenz, who?s 1-0 with one first-round knockout, and that?s kind of what I wanted to do with Manuel. I wanted him to get his feet wet and get him started but TKO [Promotions] cancelled three shows in a row, so I have to go make a deal with somebody else and find a place for him to fight.
RM: Reports are that a proposed fight between your fighter, Kelly Pavlik, and Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. didn?t pan out and the grumblings are that Top Rank had a hand in negotiations falling apart. I take it you weren?t too happy with that.
CD: No, no I wasn?t. [Top Rank CEO] Bob [Arum]?s saying now that he?s going to put it back together. I don?t think so but I?ll wait and see.
RM: After Kelly?s last fight with Sergio Martinez, has his attitude toward Top Rank changed at all? How do you feel about the way they?ve handled him, as of late?
CD: You know, they gave him a lot of opportunities early in his career and I think now I don?t see the same enthusiasm. I don?t see the same energy. I?m not saying it can?t come back but every time I ask [Bob] what we?re going to do with him, they don?t know. Bob said the other day, ?If you guys want to do your own fight, you know, go ahead and do it. I don?t want to pay for it.? I just don?t think that?s the right attitude; that?s all.
RM: Recently there were some hard feelings between the camps of Brian Viloria and Nonito Donaire because when faced with a decision, trainer Robert Garcia chose to work with the latter. Obviously, Brian and Nonito have never been the best of friends dating back to their amateur days and now they?re sharing a trainer. As a manager, what is your role when a conflict of interest comes up like that?
CD: You have to step in. You have to stand up for your client, of course. But where I had a problem with all of this is two things. I never said a word about it. I let it pass. But [Viloria?s manager] Gary Gittelsohn said, ?[Robert]?s got a loyalty to Cameron and that Cameron might have problems with him because he was going to be the next Freddie Roach.? First of all, I don?t have a problem with him being another Freddie Roach or anything like that. I can?t do that. I don?t have Manny Pacquiao. But for [Gary] to even say something like that is stupid. He doesn?t know what I say. He?s not there. He doesn?t talk to me.
And the part about ?[Robert] having a loyalty to me,? well yeah, dum-dum! He does have a loyalty to me! You came over and he was already training all of these fighters for me. You came to him and asked him if he would train Brian. Now Robert called me and said, ?Hey Cameron, do you mind if I train Brian Viloria?? And I said no. I said, ?Look, Gittelsohn?s a great guy. I don?t know him real well, but I?ve always heard good things about him. I know Top Rank likes him, so as far as I?m concerned, he?s always been polite when I talk to him. So I have no problem with that. That?s your call.? But Robert did have the decency to call me.
But [Gary] went into that situation knowing that Robert trained four to five guys for me and that he knew that I?d be bringing in more because [Robert]?s my guy. So is that a surprise? You came to us and Robert, who trains guys for me. He didn?t solicit you and dump you.
The other thing is when Luevano was on HBO in New York?the biggest fight of his career?Robert called me up and said, ?They want me to go with Brian to Hawaii.? And it?s no comparison. He?s fighting in the dark in Hawaii in a bullsh*t fight and my guy is fighting on HBO against ?JuanMa? Lopez. Biggest fight of his career. And I said, ?What do you want to do?? And [Robert] said, ?They really want me to go, Cameron, and it?s going to put a lot of heat on me if I don?t go.? And I said, ?OK, let?s check with Steven, and if it?s OK with Steven, you know it?s alright by me. You?re my friend. Whatever you need to do, I?m backing you. But let?s be sure it?s OK with Steven.? And Steven is the greatest guy in the world, so we call up Steven, and he says, ?Do what you got to do. No problem. I got it. I?ll do the best I can.? So [Robert] goes there instead of going with Steven.
Now, Gittelsohn, what?s he crying about? Why, because now, he?s going to go with Nonito instead of Brian? I didn?t bitch. Steven Luevano didn?t bitch. Nobody cried when it was [time to] take care of Brian. And those were the two things I resent. One, that [Gary] came to his gym and solicited him while he?s training fighters for me, which is fine. I have no problem with that. But then don?t cry if [Robert] stands by me. And two, is that [Gary] had no right to complain after what [Robert] did [in] not going with Steven. Believe me, I wanted him going with Steven that night but I bit my lip and it hurt. I didn?t like it but I did it and I supported him. So this guy can?t support him here?
RM: Speaking of Robert, his little brother Mikey Garcia has been coming along quite nicely and has an IBF featherweight title eliminator three Saturdays from now. Cornelius Lock?s a southpaw who has plenty of TV experience on both ESPN2 and HBO. What is a manager?s role on the team as your prospect prepares for the biggest fight of his career up to this point?
CD: We all have to get him the best sparring. We have to watch out for the officials and the ring and the gloves and everything you try to control to the best you can. I send training money to him and to his father. I just have to look out for him. But [the opponent] may not be Lock. He might fight [current champ Orlando] Salido and go straight to the title. We?re waiting to hear from Top Rank. They?re both tough fights. Robert and his dad talked about it. Either one of them is going to be a fight but they said we might as well go for the title.
RM: Another one of your fighters in a similar situation is Brandon Rios, who has a WBA lightweight title eliminator. He was excited to make a statement on ?Latin Fury 14? before a cut caused him to pull out of a fight with Urbano Antillon. Now he gets his shot on September 11 against Anthony Peterson. Is there anything you do as a manager to keep a fighter like Brandon focused, especially in a situation where he?s had a longer layoff than expected?
CD: I leave that up to Robert. I talked to Brandon for a long time two days ago. I like to talk about stuff that keeps him motivated. I got two different people making two different uniforms for him. I told him I?d send him some equipment and told him I?d let the apparel guy call him. We have to keep his mind on boxing because it?s been a long time. I told him how important this is. So that?s all you can do and again, getting the best training and best sparring so he can be 100% right. He can win the fight but he?s going to have to be 100% right.
RM: Last question. What?s your take on the Pacquiao-Mayweather negotiations saga? Top Rank gave Team Mayweather a deadline and they went on record saying that they had reached an agreement with Al Haymon and Ross Greenburg on all the details ranging from the money to the 14-day testing deadline. Floyd, for his part, denied every word through Leonard Ellerbe?s recent statement. In your opinion, what do you think has been going on behind the scenes?
CD: Really, I don?t have any take on it. I have no idea what?s going on. I got a guy, Timothy Bradley, that I?d like to get in there somewhere with Pacquiao or Mayweather at some point but I can?t really comment on that. I just don?t understand, for that kind of money, how they can?t get it together.
Ryan can be reached at [email protected].
