Manny Robles has seen his fair share of grueling wars in the ring. 

His fighter Serhii Bohachuk will face Sebastian Fundora for the WBC interim junior middleweight world title on March 30 in Las Vegas with the bout part of the Tim Tszyu-Keth Thurman PPV undercard. 

Robles is no stranger of being in the corner for great fights. Recently, he cornered Rafael Espinoza to an upset victory over Robeisy Ramirez. Robles was also in Oscar Valdez’s corner the night his jaw was broken against Scott Quigg and Valdez continued to fight and Robles led Jessie Magdaleno to a world title win over Nonito Donaire. There are many who believe March 30 could be his next big night. 

“What do I think of Serhii’s fight? It is a hard fight, it is a difficult fight,” Robles told BoxingScene. “At this level, there is no such thing as [an] easy [fight].”

“Styles make fights, and stylistically this is a good match-up. We just have to be in the best shape possible. I know Fundora is coming off a loss. That doesn’t take anything away from who he is – a great fighter. A man or boxer should not be defined over a loss. That doesn’t define his career. He is a great fighter, and if anything he is going to learn from that loss just like we did, and he is going to come back a better fighter – a more dangerous fighter.”

The early rumblings from fight insiders are loud. The belief is that Fundora and Bohachuk could be on the ballot at the end of the year as a Fight of the Year nominee. The 28-year-old Bohachuk is riding a five-fight win streak after losing his first pro fight to Brandon Adams. Fundora, aged 26, is coming off a knockout loss to Brian Mendoza and off a near year-long layoff, and jumping back into a title fight. 

“We’ve got our hands full with Fundora, but I believe in my fighter, and his capabilities,” Robles added. “He is ready, he is strong, he is solid. Better than he has ever been. He is in great shape. Expect a good performance from him.”

A staple of Manny Robles’ coaching dynamic is deep relationships with his fighters. He formed and Valdez formed an iconic duo for years. His relationship seems to go beyond the gym. Robles talked about the bond he has built with Bohachuk over the past few years, since taking over from Abel Sanchez, who guided Bohachuk early on. 

“You can ask him that question yourself, but I get along with the kid great, just like I do with any of my fighters,” Robles said. “I build relationships. It is not just a work relationship – inside and outside of the gym.”