Sometimes people end up in the right place, at the right time. For Ralph Velez Jr. that time was 4 years ago. When Velez called FanBase Promotions to offer his ring announcing services at no cost, Velez figured that would be his only way into a sport he had only been a fan of for most of his life. ? I flat out lied that I had ring announced before, it was something I wasn?t proud of, but at the same time, I didn?t charge them for the announcing, and I think it worked out well for both of us?. All that did for Velez , was get him noticed on ESPN Friday Night Fights, his first ever announcing gig, in front of 7,000 people, and over 115 million people world wide. ? Man , it was fantastic, and honestly , I think it was one of the greatest nights of my life. My dream was to hold an ESPN mic in my hand, and it happened, so, if I die tomorrow, I?ll die a grateful man?. Velez impressed FanBase Promotions so much , that within 15 months of Ring Announcing, they made him VP of USA operations. Velez didn?t stop there, besides ring announcing, he decided that he wanted to tackle something else on his bucket list, the silver screen. ? All my friends tell me that I belong in a stand up club, I love to joke around a lot, so, I decided to try it out,and although it?s not been comedy that I?m involved in right now, I?m pretty stoked about the opportunity to act with established actors who have been in major motion pictures, it?s fantastic?. Jesus Beltran, one of Velez? closest friends, gave him the opportunity he speaks of. Beltran, a former engineer turned film maker, decided that Velez had what it took to be in his projects. ?Jesus told me what he had planned, and I was a little nervous about it, but we hit it on the head, and I couldn?t be happier with how it turned out?. Beltran started desmadre.com , a web based production company, along with Zumpango films, who?s role call of actors show that they mean business. ?Oh yeah, we have Chingo Bling, Julio Cedillo, who was in The Three Burials of Melquiades Estrada, Cowboys Vs. Aliens, and The Mist. Jorge Jimenez, who has been in the Machete series, and now they have their biggest project to date, boxer Chris Arreola. Well, we were sitting around after filming our Marco mini series for Desmadre, and Jesus asked about my budding friendship with Chris and his trainer. I told Jesus they were the realest dudes that I know, and they were cool down to earth people. Jesus turned to me, and said, we should do a story about him. I went home, laid in bed, and realized that Chris indeed did have a story to tell, and that it would be a wonderful thing to do for a friend?. The result, ?Chris Arreola My Own Worst Nightmare? appearing on Desmadre.com has been nothing but spectacular, and has been a hit on youtube, and all over the web, so much so, that there are talks of a full length feature. ? That?s Jesus? department, but the stuff we are capturing is real life, no fluff, and you couldn?t pay anyone to produce and capture something more realistic. It?s Fantasic stuff no doubt. ? But it doesn?t stop there, Velez sees more potential in Arreola the boxer, especially in building his legend. Velez has teamed up with PPF (Professional Pension Fund), and helped to form their Boxing division, to better the lives of all boxers to generate income in the ring, as well as outside. PPF struck a deal last week, with ACF Global, one of the biggest licensing companies in the world, and together have formed The Legend of Boxing brand, which will feature the biggest names the sport has ever seen. ?Chris has the world by the balls right now, especially if he wins on May 10th potential in the Hispanic, and boxing markets. We will be getting with his team soon, to be able to work on that. To me, Chris is a friend first, and I always look out for him as a friend first, it just so happens that my friends are in businesses that can allow Chris to be able to take control of the rest of his life, and that?s something that I?ll be proud of for the rest of my life.?
