Sacrifice is always going to be a huge part of anyone’s life in the sport of boxing and such is the case with middleweight prospect Brandon Gonzales. Spotted in Floyd Mayweather’s personal gym in Las Vegas, Nevada last month, the mild-mannered 26-year old spoke reflectively about his life and times in the sport of boxing and from just five minutes of conversation it became very easy to root for Gonzales.
On that particular summer day the facility was full of lively characters, from Floyd himself, braggadocios middleweight Omar Henry and outspoken trainer Roger Mayweather. Possessing a modest nature about himself, Gonzales seemed to blend in with the backdrop of the gym but soon opened up when the moment was right.
“Sacramento,” Gonzales would state when asked of his childhood locale. “I grew up in the Bay area in various parts and went to school in a little town called Livermore. I moved to Sacramento about nine years ago. I had a normal childhood. We struggled a little bit but we always did what we had to do to make ends meet. I’m really family oriented and I grew up that way. I have a tight bond with my brother, my mother, and my father. I display the same type of attitude to my family. I have a ten year old boy Seneca and my four year old daughter Ayahna and I’ve been married four years to my wife Janelle.”
Boxing is a sport with its share of rigors and there seem to be tests of one’s fortitude around every corner. When asked for what has been the hardest hurdle to overcome in recent times Gonzales revealed that simply being away from his family while in training camp has been strenuous enough.
“They are back home in Sacramento and it’s extremely tough,” he continued. “I’ve gone away as an amateur into different international competitions in other parts of the country. I would say it’s toughest being away from the family. My daughter is starting school and my son is playing football and things happen when I am away. I just have to make sure it’s worth the sacrifice.”
Boxing is different from your typical 9-5 occupation yet it is something that is easy for the pugilists in the sport to become hooked on. Gonzales’ journey didn’t start off seamlessly but he would eventually find his way.
“It’s always something I wanted to do,” Gonzales said. “Unfortunately I moved around a little bit and didn’t have a chance to get into a boxing gym so that was the first thing I did when I got to Sacramento. I didn’t have much direction in life as far as what I wanted to do. I just graduated high school and didn’t have a plan coming out of high school. First thing I know I wanted to get into a boxing gym and it all took off from there.”
Gonzales’ career was slightly checkered early on but there was still much to take in both in and outside of the ring. Sensing that a change was in order, he would link up with Reno, Nevada based Let’s Get It On Promotions and has been on a steady rise ever since.
“I’ve learned a lot starting off,” Gonzales claimed. “A lot in the ring. The beginning of my career was kind of stagnant and I had trouble getting fights. The local scene in Northern California was kind of tough if you aren’t a draw or putting people in the seats. It was stagnant but when I reached 8-0 with no manager and no promoter I signed with Terry and Tommy Lane. They’ve been keeping me extremely busy and I can’t complain.”
At the time of our interview Gonzales had gone 3-0 in 2010 and was gearing up for an August 28th clash with once-beaten Byron Tyson in Fallon, Nevada. With the clash just mere weeks away, Gonzalez elaborated on his mindset in training with a fight so close.
“You try to keep your mind off things,” Gonzales said. “Regardless of what you do, you have to fight and that’s how I look at it. I could stress myself over stuff but I just try to relax and have as much fun as I can during camp. Being away from my family, time just drags and drags. I try to read during my down time and things like that. Make time pass as best as possible.”
One key reason for Gonzales’ newfound focus seemed to be his trainer Jeff Mayweather, whom he had been working with less than a month at the time. The low-key teacher is regarded as somewhat of a diamond in the rough in the sport and Gonzales was very adamant about crossing paths with him.
“It was actually through my promoter,” Gonzales said when asked how he and Mayweather joined forces. “We were actually reaching out to different opportunities when the local scene dried up. Me and my trainer parted ways in Sacramento and we started reaching out to different avenues. Terry approached us with this one and being a Mayweather and bringing the experience he brings is tremendous. I’m getting excellent work with Jeff and he’s adding to my repertoire.”
Shortly after our interview Gonzales would enter the ring and engage in some spirited sparring sessions with Henry, the heavily-hyped prospect who had relocated from Houston, Texas. The work each man put in was fierce enough for Floyd Jr. to notice as he couldn’t stop hollering loudly round after round.
On the night of August 28th Gonzales would end up dropping Tyson in the first, cutting him over the eye in the second and eventually carving out a 3rd round TKO after the Los Angeles fighter’s corner through in the towel at with just a minute left in the stanza. Asked for his thoughts on his fighter’s performance, Mayweather was pleased.
“Once he found him with the jab everything else came into place,” Jeff said. “I told him to just walk him down and just break down his body and that he probably wouldn’t make it to the next round. Every time he hit him to the body I heard him scream. It’s something that I never had heard. I never had seen something like that happen with my own eyes. I was like ‘Wow’.”
Mayweather’s stable of fighters seem to be coming along as he also is working with former super bantamweight champion Celestino Caballero and undefeated Oklahoma-based super middleweight George Tahdooahnippah as well as highly-regarded amateur Kevin Newman. Gonzales is definitely a welcome addition to his team and Mayweather could tell from jump just how much potential he has.
“It didn’t take me long to realize that Brandon is an extremely, extremely talented fighter,” Mayweather stated. “There are a few things that he needed to work out. His previous problem was judging distance and he wanted to get back to boxing more so than just being a banger. I guess because he was a top amateur at 178 pounds so for him to go down to middleweight and be fighting with smaller gloves he figured he could be knocking most of these guys out. And he has but I told him that not every guy is going to go so we had to get back to boxing.”
Mayweather is different from his brothers and nephew in that he is far more reserved and less vocal but he has never been one to shy away from stating his opinion. It’s obvious that he feels Gonzales has the chance to be something special.
“Everything worked out just like we planned for this fight and I think that he is only going to get better. He is a guy that I can honestly say if everything goes like it should then he should be a world champion sometime next year.”
Chris Robinson is based out of Las Vegas, Nevada. An archive of his work can be found here, and he can be reached at Trimond@aol.com
