This Thursday night is the NFL Draft, where teams will shower prospective players with millions upon millions of dollars to play for their franchises. It?s a crap-shoot where teams hope to build their squads into Super Bowl-caliber teams. It?s an inexact science based on upside and projections. Some players will become Peyton Manning; others, well, they?ll pan out like Ryan Leaf, with plenty of others ending up somewhere in between. Last year, with much hoopla, Frankie Gomez- who performs this Thursday night versus Jason Davis as the headliner on ?Fight Night Club? at Club Nokia at LA Live- was essentially that number one overall draft choice of Golden Boy Promotions, who won a bidding war with archrival Top Rank for his services. With the retirement of Oscar De La Hoya, they felt as though this young man from East L.A. would someday fill the shoes of the ?Golden Boy.?
Fast forward a year into Gomez?s pro career, he has a new trainer, been taken up to Big Bear after a strong rebuke from Richard Schaefer, Golden Boy?s CEO, who didn?t feel his company was getting quite the return on their investment after eight outings.
The bottom line was simple; they felt this kid was going the way of JaMarcus Russell, the Oakland Raiders uber-bust, who was the number one overall pick just a few seasons ago and is now completely out of football.
In a meeting that involved members of Gomez?s management team, Schaefer made it forcefully clear that the substantial six-figure package they had given them (said to be in upwards of $350,000) was at that point, a colossal mistake. He angrily threatened to throw Gomez in there with the likes of Amir Khan, Ricky Hatton or Victor Ortiz- depending on whose version of the story you believe- just to be rid of him. That seemed illogical in many respects but the point was clear- what was going on was unacceptable.
“When you enter into a promotional contract with any fighter, you basically sign in front of the California commission and they always point out what the responsibilities of the different parties are,” said Schaefer, on Tuesday morning, when asked about the powwow with Team Gomez. “And one of the responsibilities of the fighter is to be ready and prepared and obviously taking this seriously because the promoter makes a substantial- and in the case of Frankie, a very substantial- investment and so you really need to have like a partnership. It?s a team you count on and when one of the team members doesn?t fulfill their end of the bargain and starts slacking off, hanging around with all the wrong people and getting into trouble and looking for trouble and all that, then obviously, something has to be done. This is not something we can take lightly; there?s no room. You can?t tolerate that. You need to sit down with the parties and let them know what the hell is going on.
“And that is something which in the process, you hopefully open up the eyes of these young kids. To tell them that the opportunities they have and that it would be foolish to throw it all away. In the case of Frankie, he has tremendous potential, tremendous opportunity but if he?s going to throw it away by surrounding himself with the wrong people then, no matter what talent you have, it will go wasted,” Schaefer added.
At this meeting, which wasn?t quite an intervention, given that Gomez didn?t attend (“We wanted him there but he did not show up,” said Schaefer, pointing out another small problem they were having with Gomez), the normally mild-mannered Swiss banker was said to be quite angry. Eventually, De La Hoya himself had a chat with Gomez. “He tried to explain to him and level with him how important that is, not to be sucked in as you become better known. You start making more money and success often breeds these kinds of elements you don?t really want to have around you. So Oscar had that kind of ?Come to Jesus? talks,” said Schaefer, chuckling.
While on the surface, things seemed OK; after all, he was undefeated but things reached a nadir after he huffed-and-puffed his way through a rather desultory performance on January 14th against Jose Lugo, in which he scored a sixth round decision to raise his mark to 8-0. In the prior months leading up to that, however, some alarming things started happening on a regular basis. Gomez, who is all of 5?8?, started to request higher and higher weights for his bouts (after competing as a 132-pounder as an amateur) and he started coming in as a full-fledged welterweight. More than one fight had to be postponed or scrapped completely as it was made clear that Gomez would not be fully prepared to perform on a given date.
In most of his wins, something was lacking. It wasn?t that Gomez was in any danger of really losing (and he actually scored an impressive win by decisioning tough journeyman Ramon Montano) but he didn?t seem to be really progressing.
So after the struggle with Lugo, it was decided that the ?Pitbull? needed a short leash. The decision was made that Gomez would train full-time in Big Bear (where De La Hoya once trained) and he would be handled by veteran cornerman Abel Sanchez. When asked about this quiet ski resort town, Gomez said, “For training, it?s good. It?s good, the altitude, the trainers up here, everything. I like it for training. To live up here is pretty boring.”
Which is precisely the point, right?
“Yeah, it is the point,” Gomez agreed, “because there?s no friends to talk to up here. Nobody. Just concentrate on pure boxing.” When asked if he got off track last year, Gomez, in a curious answer, stated, “Well, not really; I was doing what I had to do in the fight. The training, I wasn?t training like I was supposed to but y? know, I?m up here now; it?s different.”
So why didn?t Gomez train full tilt?
“I just think a lot of distractions and you can?t train 100-percent. I go up here; you stay focused,” Gomez admitted.
Someone would have to fall on the sword. That?s just the way it is. After all, you can?t replace the boxer. His lifelong trainer, Ronnie Rivota, would step aside. It was clear that Rivota could no longer get in tune with Gomez, who he had worked with since the age of five. It?s a common debate in boxing circles: what to do with the lifelong amateur coach as a bright prospect turns professional?
Rivota didn?t think it would come to this, at least this quickly. “Well, no,” he told Maxboxing, “I mean, when you look ahead, you don?t really look at what the future holds but we are in the situations we?re in. I?m good with it, as long as he?s getting to where he needs to be.”
Luckily for Rivota, he is still on the contract as a co-manager but the writing was on the wall as Gomez started dictating at what time and where they would train- if at all. And as Gomez, who Rivota considered a part of his extended family, ignored the latter?s phone calls and texts, it was clear he had tuned out Rivota. When asked where the problems began, Rivota recalled, “Probably after his second fight. I just saw more lack of commitment. He would show up to practice late; sometimes he wouldn?t show up. His brother would call me and have an excuse for him or whatever. It just kinda started out like that. And y? know, it was really difficult for me to deal with that because I had never dealt with that with him before. He was always committed. I mean, he didn?t get to the place where he got by not being committed. He was always committed. He was always striving to be the best. The money just got in the way.”
Ah, yes, the money. Perhaps Gomez had been committed before- but he had also never had six figures in his bank account and a monthly payment (which was part of his deal) that brings him thousands more every 30 days.
Less than a year earlier, Gomez had been just another tough, hardnosed Mexican-American kid with impressive amateur credentials. In a matter of weeks and months, after taking the silver medal at the AIBA World Championships, he was the most sought after commodity in the States.
“When we got back,” said Gomez?s other co-manager, Hector Ibarra, who accompanied Gomez to Italy for that tournament, “it started getting crazy as far as the offers and the things being said. The original plan was for Gomez – who was just 17 at the time- to mature and stick around and make a run for the 2012 Olympic Games. But according to Ibarra, they were frustrated by the amateur computer scoring system and the never-ending amateur politics, which included pressure to get involved in the World Series of Boxing. As they balked, according to Ibarra, Gomez?s monthly stipend from USA Boxing started getting “jerked around.”
Then there were the internal pressures that led to Gomez to hit the professional trail.
“It wasn?t so much the money that forced us to take the offer,” said Rivota, “as it was Frankie?s decision because me and Hector wanted him to stay amateur. We always spoke of going to the Olympics. It didn?t really matter how high the price got; I wasn?t focused on that. I waited a long time; I was doing fine. I didn?t have to just go out and sign because they were giving us a big bonus or whatever. Frankie?s family had gotten into some financial trouble; they needed some money and Frankie wanted to turn pro. Frankie didn?t actually know about it until his sister brought it up to him and let him know. They never let Frankie know about financial problems and he decided he wanted to go pro so that he could help his family.
“Which was good, I think his intentions were good; it?s just that when you get blinded by all that money, I think he lost focus there.”
Some in the industry have accused the duo of being shortsighted and just taking the earliest pile of money offered to them. Perhaps it?s because they are not the name-brand managers that most are used to but Ibarra bristles at those accusations and states, “You gotta understand- and this is not an excuse- my job is to get the best deal possible,” which no one can argue with. And Ibarra, who?s an LAPD detective and has a Marine background, doesn?t argue that drastic changes were essential.
“I think it?s what it should?ve been a long time ago,” said Ibarra, whose tone and tempo in his voice lets you know he?s had a regimented background throughout his life. “I think it was a great move; I have to give him a lot of credit for acknowledging that there were changes that needed to be made and as difficult as it might have been for Ronnie, I also think it was a good move for him to step aside and realize we needed to do something different.”
When asked what his red-flag moment was, Ibarra states, “The thing that bothered me the most about Frankie is that I know he wasn?t giving, in my opinion, a 100 percent and I?m not about excuses; I?m really big on accountability and that would just gnaw at me. But you also got to understand that dynamic behind all the people that are involved.
Ibarra also admits to playing the heavy.
“In the position I was in, sometimes, I was the one who delivered or said what was needed to be said and not everyone was very happy about it,” said Ibarra, a 27-year veteran of the police force, “but again, at the end of the day, I take my role very seriously and I made a commitment and I asked for Frankie a long time ago, ?Do you know what a ?yes-man? is?? And he said he did and he explained what it was to him and I told him, ?I?m never going to be a ?yes-man.?? I know I had a commitment and a contract to Frankie and I think that Golden Boy has been very good, not only to Frankie, but to all of us. And my whole thing is, loyalty is about a two-way street and we got to do our part just like I think they?ve done their part.”
The dynamic here was ?good cop-real cop.? Rivota admits that by acquiescing so early to Gomez?s edicts, he may have caused his own downfall. It?s one thing for Manny Pacquiao to walk into the gym whenever he damn pleases; it?s a whole ?nother story when an unproven boxer with less than ten fights does.
Rivota says, “I?ve learned lessons from Frankie. I don?t cater to fighters anymore. I catered to Frankie; he was like my son and he actually taught me some things where I?m training my son a little bit different.” He says he still remains cordial with Gomez, although they don?t communicate nearly as often as they used to but also admits, “Things didn?t start to change until he got up there with Abel.”
Sanchez is best known for his past work with the likes of Terry Norris and Miguel Angel Gonzalez. He?s a well-liked and respected figure in boxing circles. When asked about any preconceived notions he had of the kid, Sanchez said, “I never really asked about his work ethic. I asked them to bring him up for a couple of weeks. If we got along and he did the things I asked, if he performed the way I wanted him to perform at the time, I?d work with him. So I didn?t have any assumed perceptions or ideas of what it was going to be like. I had him back here March of last year with Ronnie and Hector; they worked out here. I really didn?t pay attention to him. I know that he has eight fights by now but I didn?t really pay attention to him as far as what he was doing because every coach does things different but he came up here for two weeks, we got along just fine and he?s been here since. He?s looking good.”
Sanchez says he sees his natural talent but he adds some much needed perspective, when he points out, “People fail to realize this kid only fought one open tournament. This is a baby. I mean, this is a guy that was a junior and then all of a sudden, they put him in a tournament and gets a silver medal and he turns pro.”
And he?s still a couple of years shy of legal drinking age.
As for getting him down to his proper weight class, according to Sanchez, the weight limit is 144 pounds for this fight and they are already comfortably at 142. Soon, Gomez will be a full-fledged lightweight. “He told me two weeks ago, ?Coach, I can drop down to 135, no problem.? That?s the goal; maybe in the next couple of fights, be down to ?37, ?38 before he gets some sort of opportunity and drop down to 135.”
Gomez is the introverted type. You get the sense that Larry King or Barbara Walters couldn?t get this guy to open up much. He?s not the type of that oozes promotability with a gregarious or colorful personality. He?ll make his bones in the boxing business by being able to fight like hell and he certainly wasn?t doing that in recent bouts.
“I wasn?t where I wanted to be,” Gomez admitted. “I know I can do a lot better than what I did my last two fights.” He?s been up in Big Bear for almost two months but the questions remain- is he willing to make the sacrifices over the long haul? “Yeah, it?s my job,” he said in typically understated fashion. Time will tell.
When asked if we?ll see a better version of Frankie Gomez on Thursday, he says without hesitation, “Of course, because I?ve trained the way I?m supposed to and just focus on the fight, no distractions.”
Schaefer is taking a wait-and-see approach but he seems eager to move forward.
“Y? know, everybody makes mistakes and everybody once in awhile does something which they later regret and nobody is an exception to that. And as long as you learn from that and you use that as a motivation to right the ship, then so be it and we all move on. No problem, no hard feelings, as long as it?s a learning experience.”
BONUS BABY
In regard to signing bonuses, Schaefer knows that to compete for top-flight amateur talent, he?ll have to continue to dole out money to unproven talent but he?s had a bit of an epiphany as it relates to how his company will do so in the future.
“It?s like ?The Curse of the Money,? that if you do have somebody who comes from modest means and suddenly they end up with whatever the number is, $50,000 or $100,000 or whatever, it?s a big amount of money that it doesn?t actually help to advance but it helps to ruin [a fighter] and I think maybe there should be bonus structures which take into consideration certain achievements,” said Schaefer, who believes certain benchmarks should be achieved in order to receive certain monies.” So let?s say you?re 10-0; you get this much and then win your first minor title, you get this and then when you become a televised main event fighter on a Telefutura or ESPN [broadcast] or so, you get this. When you become an opening bout on ?Boxing After Dark? or Showtime, you get this. And so there?s certain hurdles which provide an incentive to the fighter.
“I think that is a much healthier way to really structure financial incentives but sometimes you have to take into consideration what the market is,? Schaefer continued. ?You have other promoters out there bidding and so you have to take that into consideration. Sometimes these kids want to move out of a particular neighborhood or want to be renting a new house or buy a new house or want to buy a car. You have these kinds of factors which will sometimes basically require you to make a bigger upfront investment that maybe you would like to make. These kind of situations clearly are making me more so of a firm believer that if you give a young person- any young person, it doesn?t need to be a boxer- a substantial amount of money upfront, that it?s very difficult for them what to do with it and you think you help them but you really don?t.
“So I?m definitely going to rethink that much more carefully.”
NO THAW
When I read that Top Rank had made a formal offer to Juan Manuel Marquez to face Manny Pacquiao in October, I got my hopes up that perhaps this was a thawing of the Cold War between them and Golden Boy. Uh, not so fast, my friend, as ESPN college football guru Lee Corso would say.
“It wasn?t offered through us,” Schaefer clarified. “Let?s look at the facts; the fact is that we still have existing rights with Juan Manuel Marquez, which expire at the end of February 2012 and some of those rights include our right to match or last right of refusal. And so, under these rights, Juan Manuel Marquez has to make us aware, as well, if he gets any offers and we were not made aware by Juan Manuel Marquez but we were made aware by Top Rank. Top Rank?s attorney sent us a letter, which was addressed to Juan Manuel Marquez, an offer to make a Pacquiao fight for October, which was very specific. It specified the month, October; it specified that it would be for Pacquiao?s 147-pound WBO belt and it specified the financial elements, such as the upfront payment, an advance. There was a minimum guarantee and there was an upside per homes over a certain threshold.
“So Top Rank sent that to us and I emailed Santa Castillo- who is the CEO of Marquez Promotions- and asked what their intentions are.”
On Tuesday, Main Events and IBF junior welterweight titlist Zab Judah got into the act by formally making an offer to face Marquez on July 30th.
OK, in looking at this whole scenario (and this is just me speculating and pulling things out my backside), let?s say if he passes on Judah and then Golden Boy matches Top Rank?s offer- but for another fight, let?s say Saul Alvarez on September 17th as the main event on their pay-per-view card- and Marquez declines that offer. I think there might be a good chance for the Mexican great to be out of the ring till his promotional ties to GBP expire early next year, which would mean he would have been out of the ring for more than a full year.
Now, if Marquez decided to face Judah in the summer, then he can face Pacquiao down the line it seems. The key thing here is he doesn?t have such a long, protracted layoff.
Regardless, doesn?t this just look like a high-stakes game of chicken being played by Golden Boy and Top Rank?
GAME OF THRONES FLURRIES
Andy Lee returns on May 18th in Chicago versus Alex Bunema. Good for him, not waiting around for an available slot on HBO or Showtime…The bout between Julio Cesar Miranda and Brian Viloria for the WBO flyweight crown will not take place on June 4th on the Sebastian Zbik-Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. undercard at the Staples Center but will most likely land on another date in June, as Top Rank/Zanfer look for open venues on the West Coast…Lightweight Johnny Molina (who is now managed by Sergio Diaz) returns on May 28th at the Blue Water Resort and Casino in Parker, AZ…Lou DiBella tells me that he?s planning back-to-back shows at the Roseland Ballroom in New York on June 10th and 11th on the weekend of the Puerto Rican Day Parade, featuring his new stable of Puerto Rican boxers like Thomas Dulorme and Jose Pedraza. DiBella says those cards will be telecast on ESPN and on ?ShoBox?…The San Antonio Spurs look awfully old and rusty versus the Memphis Grizzlies, don?t they?…Don?t know when it will go up but I am Joe Tessitore?s special guest on his weekly ESPN.com boxing podcast…Can Jim Tressel possibly keep his job that much longer at Ohio State?…Speaking of big busts, evidently the Redskins? Al Haynesworth likes to grope them…Big loss for the Gators in losing premiere cornerback Janoris Jenkins. This guy can really play…OK, I?ll say it right now; HBO has another masterpiece in ?Game of Thrones.? Not saying that they had me at ?Hello? but after the third head was chopped off and all the early debauchery, I was all in…I can be reached at [email protected] and I tweet at www.twitter.com/stevemaxboxing. We also have a Facebook fan page at www.facebook.com/MaxBoxing.
