By Ryan Burton
BoxingScene.com was on hand for undefeated cruiserweight BJ Flores' first two sparring sessions as he prepares for IBO champion Danny Green. Flores went four rounds on Wednesday and another four on Friday versus 290 pound heavyweight Ty Hinkey (6-1-4) at Barry's Boxing Center in Las Vegas.
Jacob Chavez who trains Flores wanted Flores to get some rounds in with someone who would mix it up and push Flores around. Strength and conditioning guru Ray Franklin was also on hand and promises to have Flores in the shape of his life for the biggest fight of his life.
Flores' timing was off a little bit in his first sparring session. Flores has stayed busy in recent months sparring with the likes of David Haye and Chad Dawson as they prepared for title defenses but he hasn't had a training camp of his own since preparing for his knockout of Epifanio Mendoza in August of last year.
Flores looked noticeably sharper in his second sparring session. He focused more on his defense in his second go round with the much heavier Hinkey. He also put an emphasis on going to the body and throwing combinations. Hinkey landed some shots as well as Flores appeared to already be rounding into form early in camp.
Chavez said that they would be bringing in some new sparring partners this week that would be closer to Danny Green's size. Overall Chavez was pleased with Flores' performance and the work Hinkey provided him. "BJ looked good. He shook off the rust and got some rounds in. Ty pushed him around a bit and made him work. That is what we were looking for this early in camp."
After the sparring session was over Flores said that he was happy to be back in training camp. He said he felt blessed to have a fight of this magnitude and to be in there mixing it up again, "sparring is a blast! I feel myself getting so comfortable with the new things I will be doing. Training is fun every day. I genuinely look forward to punishing my body every day so I will shine on November 17th."
Flores is very close to his trainer Chavez and strength coach Franklin. They do everything together as a team. " Anything my team decides to do we all do. We work out, train and eat together. They are like an extended family. I Love it."
Flores knows that fighting IBO champion Danny Green in his backyard will not be an easy task. He knows most of the boxing experts are doubting him and he knows Green is the favorite. All of this gives Flores extra motivation. "I look forward to shocking everyone on November 17. I plan on putting on the performance of my life."
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