I am a boxing manager: if you have questions about the boxing biz, ask!

Have you fought in both classes? If you have which do you feel good at, weight wise? Start at LHW and gradually move up to cruiser. Ask yourself these questions, What is your walk around weight? What is a comfortable weight for you? You might be a tweener, weighing between LHW and Cruiser. As an example I have a tweener he's between JW and WW. He thinks he can make 140, but the lowest he has been is 141 1/2. He is 22-0, and we are looking to rank him, but where '40-or-47? He will be undergoing tests to see at what weight he will be strongest at.
Any trainer or S&C guy can get you down to whatever weight but the question becomes will you be strong at that weight. You need at least 6% body fat any lower can be dangerous.
I hate the cruiser weight division, cos almost all the great HW champions of the past were what is now cruiser. They should have a superHW division, cos guys like the Klits win cos of their size and bulk. The cruiser division is like a lost division nobody cares about it. But they should how many, Dempsey's, Louis's, Marciano, and others who made the HW division the great division that it was, have we missed cos of the size. Let's change the cruiserwt divison to Heavyweight then you will see more talented guys fighting

 

I am just guessing but if your walk around wt is 180, then you are nearer to LHW than to cruiser, maybe even SMW. I am guessing cos I don't know enough about you or where you are or how much amateur experience you may have.
Remember this, the division doesnt make the fighter, the fighter makes the division. Why don't you PM me with a little more about yourself then I can give you better advice.

 

Thank you for the kind words.

 

Guys something happened last night to one of the guys I used to manage. Maybe a lesson to be learned here. Rolando Garza got his "0" taken away in a fight he wasn't ready for or had a clue how to fight. Let me give you a little background, Garza, was undefeated 9-0, 6ko's. He comes from a fighting family from Monterrey, Mexico. He has two older brothers both were good pro's. Juan "Ringo" Garza, 29-3, 24ko's, as an amateur he twice stopped Panchito Bojado, the other brother was Ruben Garza, an 1996, Olympian 15-1, 12ko's,tragedly he was stabbed in a street assault. Both Ruben and Juan were punchers and it seemed that Rola was the biggest and best puncher. I brought him to Texas to train, everybody he sparred with was amazed at his power, ex contender, James De La Rosa, said he hits like he has bricks in his gloves. I had him training with my other guy Alex Saucedo, I asked the trainer, what was the difference between the two, he told me, Saucedo was a killer, a kind of guy who would nothing better then to beat you to dust, Rola on the other, was sorry when he hurt or dropped somebody. I have a clip of him dropped a tough veteran type, with a short left hook, Rola couldnt say sorry enough to the guy, Saucedo would've dropped the guy again and laffed. I got him a promotional with Top Rank, he lasted 2 fights, a ko and a dec win, after the dec win he was released by Top Rank, cos the guy he was fighting was worst then nothing, Rola passively won the fight. I released him and put him with a trainer in Austin. After he was there a while, the boxing know it all's in the gym, saw that here was a potential gold mine. Rola, a Mexican '54pdr who was a legit one punch guy. The gym know it all, took him to Roy Jones promotions, Jones quickly signed him promotionally. I had told them not to sign, but they knew better and signed. The first fight Rola fought another undefeated Mexican Rola won but also took his licks the guy he faced was no duck. The fight last night was against another undefeated guy from California, Neeco Macias, 12-0, 6ko's. Macias had been fighting better opponents and it showed. Rola, in last night's fight was the most aggressive I have ever seen him, he came out throwing bombs but with no aim or plan. Rola was outhustled, and battered from the 1st to the 5th when they stopped the fight. Rola, had no clue how to fight this guy except throw bombs which the guy smothered. Rola, listened to the gym know it all, and went with it cos it was gonna be on TV. I believe the matchmaker wanted a good fight and wasn't thinking of protecting his fighter, since the gym know it all who was acting as the manager didn't say anything about the match, and accepted. The gym know it all, was proud of himself for putting Rola on TV, yes sir. The only thing missing was who was protecting the fighter, nobody. The matchmaker, did his job, the know it all got him there so they are blameless or so it would seem. I would never have signed or accepted that fight, Rola was in over his head and it showed. Another sad story of what could've been.

 

Example Mexican's need a visa to enter the US, some enter the US with a tourist visa, but what happens then, the tax people will ask the promoter to withhold 30% of the purse, you should hear the whining and crying when it comes to getting paid. You will notice Canada uses a lot of Mexicans on their cards, that's cos Canadians don't have the same requirement that the US does. It really depends what country and what their visa requirements are. I know in England if you fight there the tax man is there to collect. I really cant tell you much about other countries and their requirements. In the US for fighters coming from Mexico they need to get a P-1 work visa, then you can travel anywhere in the states and go back and forth, and those require an attorney who specializes in that type of visa. It costs around $1500 to 3500 to get one. A tourist visa is easier to get. But be aware that the tax man wont get fooled again, fighters used to come and go as they pleased with a tourist visa, now fergetaboutit, you aint leaving the arena without the taxman taking his bite if you are a foreigner. Foreigners got wise to it and started using phoney social security cards, now they check the numbers. Foreigners who have a work visa, have a tax number to pay their taxes. Promoters will help you to get a temporary work visa if you are fighting in a big fight. Having a promoter behind you will make it easier to acquire a work visa.

 

An agent/advisor looks for fights and has the contacts to make things happen, advising what moves to make and what fights to take. You can have a manager and an advisor at the same time. A mnager is more involved in the fighters career, giving the fighter financial support, and more day to day things the advisor comes in and suggests opponents to take or not to take, also he might suggest career moves. An advisor comes in cos the manager sometimes is just the money man and doesnt know the boxing business or have the contacts. Really an agent/advisor is the same thing.

 

I was asked a question about managers, there are different kinds of managers, some managers don't know what they are doing, others are trying but lack connections or the wherewithal to make things happen, some managers are driving a meat wagon, and some know how to take care of their fighters, please check before signing anything. Any job that is worth anything always ask about your work history, the same should be for fighters, check their boxing resume, or what they done in the past.

 

I found this article I thought it fits, enjoy and heed:

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/men/acti...u-before-you-become-a-professional-boxer.html

The article is entitled Carl Froch 10 things no one tells you before you become a professional boxer