By Jake Donovan
Two heads are often better than one. In the case of undefeated 23-year old twin brothers Juan Carlos and Carlos Ivan Velasquez, two prospects are better than most.
The talented Puerto Rican twosome make their Chicago-land debut this weekend, appearing in separate six rounds bouts on the undercard of Friday night's Telefutura telecast. The length of time in the main event and co-feature will dictate whether or not either of the twins get unexpected airtime, but once the opening bell rings, it's the brothers who always dictate the action, however long or short.
For Carlos Ivan (5-0, 5KO), every night has been a short one, with all five of his opponents to date failing to make it past the third round. Juan Carlos is regarded as the more patient of the two, with decision wins serving as bookends to his pro career, presently at 5-0 (3KO).
Pure punching power may be the only thing that sets the identical twins apart.
"I just feel that it is God-given ability that He put in my fists," insists Carlos Ivan, who takes on 22-fight veteran Eber Luis Perez this Friday. "I feel that I sit on my punches a little more, but don't underestimate (Juan Carlos') power."
If anything, it's Juan Carlos' ability to switch between boxer and puncher that throws off his most of his opposition.
"I try to out smart you while I break you down," insists Juan Carlos, who faces Noe Inzunza in his first bout since a points win over Giberto Luque last July. "I feel like Carlos just pressures you until you crack. I used to throw a lot of fast tapping shots; now I'm picking my punches better and sitting on them."
There was no sitting around for either brother, who could've easily waited one more year to turn pro, while possibly qualifying for the 2008 Olympics. Spots among Puerto Rico's roster were well within reach for the dynamic duo. But fighters know when they're ready to advance to the next level, and when they need to wait around.
Neither felt the need to prolong the inevitable.
"I felt I was ready to make the transition from amateur to the pros," insists Carlos. "I wasn't going to let an Olympic bid prevent me from becoming a champion earlier.
"Plus, it's always good to fight for money and provide for our families."
The Velasquez brothers loved to fight anywhere as pre-teens in Catano, Puerto Rico. But it was destiny, the brothers insist, that led them to the squared circle.
"I feel that every person is born to do something; I was born to fight," says Carlos.
"I loved to fight in the street", admits Juan. "So instead of getting in trouble, my brother and I decided to start training. I liked basketball but was never really interested in getting into it."
Instead, they got into boxing, and got a lot of out it. 290 wins between them, having already spent nearly half of their lives inside of a boxing ring.
To get an idea of how great the brothers were in the non-pay ranks, consider this: in his last amateur bout, Carlos soundly outpointed 2004 Olympic Gold Medalist and highly touted unbeaten prospect Yuriorkis Gamboa, himself a previous subject for BoxingScene.com's New School Pick of the Week series. Juan's amateur career with a close call against two-time Gold Medalist Guillermo Rigondeaux.
Both were impressive enough to catch the eye of Luis DeCubas, Sr. who immediately signed them to a promotional contract straight out of the amateurs. Both turned pro in New York City, last February. Carlos' career began with a bang, scoring a first round knockout, while Juan boxed his way to a shutout on the first of four cards they would share together.
The wins came with ease, even as competition began to progress, but something felt like it was missing.
Enter Luis DeCubas, Jr., who along with his father loved what he saw from the brothers in the ring, but not a big fan of how they were being managed.
"They began their career with some other management team," says DeCubas Jr, who boasts lightweight champion Joel Casamayor among others in his managerial stable. "I was so high on these kids after four fights, but they had some problems with their manager. I made a move where I brought in Shelly Finkel. possibly the best manager in boxing. He and I agreed to co-manage the brothers, and everything has turned out great.
"I think Shelly coming on board speaks for itself. as he knows talent. Also, Golden Boy Promotions has come into the picture to co-promote with DeCubas Promotions. These kids' future looks as bright as it can get."
While they intend to progress and succeed together, one's good fortunes will never come at the expense of the other. Nor will the need for one-upmanship ever present itself.
"We've always fought on the same cards, as amateurs and pros. I got my job to do and he has his," explains Carlos. "We never try to outdo each other; we both want to shine."
Not surprising, Juan sees it the same way as his twin.
"None, no pressure whatsoever with stuff like that. We both have jobs to do and we never ever try to outdo each other."
Much like the Klitschko brothers, they don't even test each other in the gym. At least not since getting paid to punch.
"We used to spar before, in the amateurs," admits Carlos. "But we're both pros now and I feel like it would be a disrespect because we are brothers and twins.
"So now we prefer to beat on others!"
Both have done a tremendous job of living out that preference. The question now is, how long can they do so at their present weights. Both are extremely tall for the divisions in which they presently campaign – Carlos standing 5'10" and going between featherweight and junior lightweight, while Juan is about an inch shorter while creating chaos at super bantamweight.
For now, it's wait – or shall we say, weight – and see. Both are still in the building stages of their careers, and even with the belief that a world championship can come as early as 2009, there's still plenty that lies ahead in 2008.
Still, neither plan on traveling very far once they're ready to make that move. In fact, both have the same target in mind.
"I expect to move up to featherweight in the future," Juan believes. "When I grow into my body, I will be there within a year's time or so. I hope Robert Guerrero is still champion by then. He's a big southpaw, plus Puerto Rico vs. Mexico matches get me fired up."
It doesn't take much to fire up Carlos. Just two fists and a willingness to fight him.
"I know there's Guerrero and (undefeated Venezuelan titlist, Jorge) Linares, but to be honest with you, they don't impress me that much," insists Carlos. I see myself doing great with any champion in the division when I'm ready."
If their career parallels that of another of DeCubas' kids, then the twins may find themselves ready sooner rather than later. It was just three years and 17 fights into his pro career that Joel Casamayor challenged for and won his first alphabet title, quickly advancing through the junior lightweight ranks.
Of course, Casamayor had a huge head start on the Velasquez twins, though it doesn't prevent DeCubas from pondering whether or not his pair of blue chip prospects can match or even surpass Joel's progress in the early years.
"To be fair, Joel was already 25 coming into the US, with a Gold Medal under his belt. He was known more by the public, and also had double their amateur experience.
"But let me tell you, if there's anyone in the last 50 years to come out of Puerto Rico with the type of destructive two-fisted power Carlos possesses, it was Wilfredo Gomez. And Juan is just a boxer-puncher machine that wears you down. In my eyes, he has the same potential of any previous Puerto Rican great."
About as high praise as any fighter, Puerto Rican or otherwise, can get. But even if they can match Joel's early progression, don't expect the same blueprint.
"I believe they're both close to the progression you saw with Joel, but it's a totally different approach. Fighters must be brought up the right way, according to their styles and ability. But what I have are a pair of rare twins that can really fight."
And fight they will. Juan will be coming off of a six-month layoff after having fought five times in less than five months. No more extended breaks, as he and Carlos can both expect a rapid rate of activity throughout the year.
"Shelly put together a plan where they should fight 7 to 8 times this year and I wouldn't be surprised if they fight more than that because these kids train 24/7/365. As long as their bodies permit them and hopefully no injuries occur, expect to see a lot of these two, for a very long time."
Which means years of double trouble for those in their way.
Jake Donovan is a member of the Boxing Writers Association of America and the Tennessee Boxing Advisory Board. His feature column runs every Tuesday, and his Prospect of the Week series runs every Thursday. Jake is also BoxingScene's official Telefutura correspondent.
Please feel free to submit any comments or questions to Jake at JakeNDaBox@gmail.com .
