By Ryan Songalia
BoxingScene.com has the unfortunate task of reporting the passing of trainer Oscar Suarez, who died late Saturday night. Suarez's age isn't immediately known but the cause of death is being attributed to complications from pancreatic cancer. Sources close to Suarez estimate his age to be in the early 50s and say he had only recently discovered his infirmity. Suarez is survived by his wife Marie and several children.
Suarez, a New Jersey native of Puerto Rican descent, rose to prominence in the late-90s through his work with former champions "Prince" Naseem Hamed and Acelino "Popo" Freitas. It was Suarez who adjusted both fighters from wild, unorthodox sluggers to more composed, traditional boxer-punchers. Some criticized Suarez for altering their instinctive styles and negating the traits that made them special in the process. Still, Suarez was generally well-respected and regarded in the industry.
Of late, Suarez had been dedicating his time to "El Elegante" Patrick Lopez, a two-time Venezuelan Olympic representative with a 14-1 professional record.
Suarez had a reputation for caring for the safety of his fighters. During the 2006 clash between his fighter Jhonny Gonzalez and Israel Vasquez, Suarez, sensing that his charge's health was at risk, threw in the towel in the tenth round to the objection of Gonzalez's handlers and HBO commentator Larry Merchant. Gonzalez, who was winning the fight handily early on but was fading rapidly after suffering two knockdowns, was at the end of the line and only Suarez took note.
Suarez's concern for his fighters reached beyond his world championship clientèle. Jerson Ravelo, who had known Suarez since his teen years, is one of the many fighters who were saddened by Suarez's passing.
"Oscar was more than a trainer to me," Ravelo tells BoxingScene.com. "He was a very good friend, a great person, great family man, very religious. This has hit me very hard."
With Suarez in his corner Ravelo won the 1998 National Golden Gloves. He had also worked briefly with Ravelo in his professional career. Ravelo said Suarez's training methods were a perfect match for his style of boxing. Ravelo says he was shocked to hear of Suarez's plight since he was known to be a health-nut.
"Oscar was always a happy person," says Ravelo. "If we were just hanging out or training he was always making it fun, telling jokes, dancing."
Sunday was Ravelo's son Jerson Jr.'s birthday. At 10 AM Sunday morning, referee Ricky Vera called Ravelo to inform him of the tragedy. So distraught by the news was Ravelo that he canceled the festivities for the day and has gone into a state of introversion.
Another former pupil of Suarez, Dmitriy "Star of David" Salita reacted similarly to the unexpected news. "It's tragic, I can't believe it. It's a loss to the boxing community and to everyone who knew him personally. He was one of the nicest and best people that I have met in the boxing business."
Suarez worked Salita's corner for 7 fights, alongside head trainer Jimmy O'Pharrow.
"He worked and stood up for his fighters. He was also a straight up guy, just a good guy."