Troy King has lived many lives in the boxing industry.
His latest role is head coach.
A former fighter turned internet personality and now a teacher of the sport, King led his longtime friend Aaron Coley to a six-round unanimous decision victory over Moris Rodriguez in a middleweight bout last Saturday in Oakland, California.
The move was hardly spur of the moment. Dating back to 2012, King and Coley would go into Virgil Hunter’s Gym in the Bay Area and coach each other up as sparring partners to some of the biggest names at the time, such as Amir Khan and Andrzej Fonfara.
That relationship during sparring sessions created a bond.
“What makes it easy is that I know, Aaron,” King told BoxingScene. “James Brown used to say he could take an orchestrated band and make them play the sound he wanted them to play within an hour. If someone gives me the time and they listen, I can have them beat anybody.”
The measuring stick for King was Levan “The Wolf” Ghvamichava, a rising prospect at the time. Coley would coach King for sparring sessions with Ghvamichava.
In turn, King would help Coley with whoever he was sparring.
“I don’t care what anyone says, ‘Wolf’ was the best guy in Virgil’s gym after Andre Ward,” King said. “I used to touch on that man, and that is what made me want to be in there with him, because if you didn’t know what you were doing, he’d beat you up.”
King had dabbled with corner work while being a pro. He previously served as a second assistant for Oakland’s Miguel Lopez and Richmond, California’s Aldwayne Simpson.
Even as a pro boxer, King enjoyed teaching and helping others improve.
“It is just a regular thing, I have been working corners, even when I was a professional boxer,” King said. “I was always a guy who would work a corner and give insight.”
King finished his pro career at 8-0 (5 KOs). Towards the end, King would create a media profile with strong opinions on fighters, joining podcasts unafraid to speak his mind.
“I say what nobody wants to say,” King said. “A lot of people are fans, but I have never been a fan of these guys.”
“A lot of the stuff I do is to teach people about the craft from a casual to professional standpoint,” King said. “It is just taking people through the steps.”
King shared that the hardest part about coaching is that you are not in control. Despite the advice you give, it is up to the fighter.
As King gets going in his new career, a longtime veteran, Coley, 33, returned to the ring after a nearly three-year layoff, and improved to 17-5-1 (7 KOs). King was able to showcase his talents, honed in the gym. King got his first major chance to coach a professional fight with a longtime friend, Coley, whom he’d helped for a decade, and trusted him for his comeback.
“I could wake up every day and train somebody,” King said. “That is how I knew it was my calling.”