Fighters, trainers get creative to stay in shape

Complying with the stay-at-home government mandate to combat the coronavirus, boxers and trainers are also forbidden from their place of employment. With the boxing gym considered a non-essential business, unconventional methods to remain ring sharp becomes the new normal.

“Most fighters don’t have gym equipment at home and it’s better that way,” said trainer Javiel Centeno, who guides 14 professional fighters at his Centeno’s Sweatbox Boxing Gym in Davie. “I always tell my fighters how important it is to separate gym life from personal life. Now they’d probably wish they didn’t take that advice.”

Eight of Centeno’s fighters reside outside of South Florida and have returned home since the banning of social gatherings began two weeks ago. “Before parks got shut down, we were able to do some road and pad work there while maintaining the required distance,” Centeno said.

Lacking gym access, Centeno has developed video workout interactions with his fighters and students he teaches in boxing fitness classes.

“I’ve heard that certain cities have kept gyms open, figuring they are not hot zones for this pandemic,” Centeno said. “But it is not worth the risk of having my license and my landlord’s license revoked.”

While most fighters adapt to life without a gym, Michel Rivera is right at home. Rivera and two fellow boxers live in their trainer Herman Caicedo’s gym in Miami. The gym features the common equipment and amenities found in training facilities, but also complemented with three bedrooms and kitchen.

Consequently, Rivera, Habib Ahmed and Cassius

Chaney continue their workouts at Caicedo’s Sports Training Center, hitting the speed and heavy bags and using the ring for shadow boxing. Caicedo, because of social distancing mandates, cannot directly oversee his fighters’ workouts.

“At first it was frustrating not being able to leave the gym,” said Rivera, a native of the Dominican Republic and unbeaten in 18 professional fights. “But I realized that this is just part of sacrifices you must make to succeed in life.

“We have managed to adapt. We set our workouts at different times. You might think that being in a gym all day can wear on you but I rest and keep busy between my two daily workouts. I play video games, watch movies, go on Instagram and talk with my mom and girlfriend back home. Then you notice it’s 9 in the evening when it’s my usual time of going to bed.”

An ascending lightweight,

Rivera, 22, was scheduled to fight Marcos Villasana on April 18 in Phoenix before the suspension of social activities. “This will only motivate me to do better,” Rivera said. “No matter how long the wait before my next fight, I will be ready. I was born ready.”

Caicedo, who also trains heavyweight contender Luis Ortiz, said the fighters living at his gym have food delivered multiple times a week. “We are also stocked with additional food for about another month,” Caicedo said. “It is not the Four Seasons but they all have their private rooms and other basic necessities.”

Unable to work directly with his fighters, Caicedo has forwarded workout routines to the group.

“It’s only been two-anda-half weeks of not knowing when you can resume your career,” Caicedo said. “You train four to six weeks and then don’t know when you’ll have your next paycheck.

“Boxing is such a rhythm sport and that is one thing that worries me about all of this. When boxing gets the green light again, how much time will fighters have to prepare?”

The inability to fight also results in absence of paydays. Fighters with managerial and promotional support can survive an extended shutdown. But Centeno believes the beginning or veteran fighter lacking such assistance could end up abandoning boxing.

“Those without a stipend or promoter’s contract will likely go job searching and in the process, it will weed out many fighters,” Centeno said. “Some guys, who fight two to three times a year, can live off one paycheck but others maintain themselves with odd jobs. If this lasts long, they might eventually look for permanent jobs and shift their priorities.”

The shutdown’s timing affected bout dates already scheduled for the remainder of March, as well as April and May. Rivera and Ahmed were in the formative weeks of camp for their respective fights. Centenotrained fighters Chris VanHeerden and Nikoloz Sekhniashvili were slated to fight in a Top Rank show April 17 in Tulsa, Oklahoma. George Kambosos, another fighter under Centeno’s tutelage, had a lightweight title eliminator against Lee Selby May 9 in Wales that also was scrapped.

Sunrise resident and welterweight prospect Xander Zayas, who is also trained by Centeno, didn’t have his next fight scheduled but was working out at the U.S. Olympic Training Center in Colorado. Soon after the shutdown order, Centeno said Zayas found a return flight to South Florida and immediately went into 14 days of self-imposed quarantine for precaution.

“Everybody’s worried but at the end of the day, staying alive is the priority right now,” Caicedo said.