U.S. shut out of gold medals, in the Amateurs

hell yeah, thats cool, u mean Kronk, or the place u at now The place I'm at right now.. Posted on Mon, Aug. 22, 2005 MONDAY PROFILE Ex-Granada High student punches his way to the top By Bonita Brewer CONTRA COSTA TIMES SACRAMENTO - When he moved from Livermore, fresh from high school, Brandon Gonzales was somewhat rootless and not quite sure what he wanted to do with his life. But that all changed when he started working out at a Sacramento boxing gym. Competing since early 2004, Gonzales, now 21, has become America's No. 1-ranked light heavyweight amateur boxer and is on the USA Boxing Team with his eye on an Olympic gold in Beijing in 2008. "I jumped on the train and just took off," said Gonzales, who won his first 18 bouts and now has a 26-4 win-loss record in the 178-pound class. "I work real hard and am focused, disciplined and determined. I just love the sport." Seifudeen Mateen, his trainer in boxing and his spiritual mentor in the practice of Islam, said that for an amateur boxer to climb the ranks as fast as Gonzales has "is almost unheard of." Not only is he "a natural" with lightening-speed jabs, Mateen said, he has found his soul in boxing. Low key and soft spoken, "he keeps to himself and doesn't express a lot of his feelings, but once he's in the ring, it's like the light turns on," Mateen said. "He's very conscientious and responsible. He works at Starbucks (as a shift manager, hoping for promotion), and has a nice car he's gotten all on his own. He invests in stocks. For being 21 years old, he's taken a lot on his shoulders." As one of the older fighters at Mateen's Boxing Gym, in a warehouse at the former Sacramento Army Depot, Gonzales is a role model. "He's a good influence; he's the man," said 10-year-old competitive boxer Jasie Zuniga, who does warmups with Gonzales at the gym. Gonzales, soon to be a dad, is engaged to Janelle Runnels, a boxer with a few fights under her belt. "She's pretty, and she's pretty tough," Gonzales said of Runnels, who works at a Sacramento law office. As a kid in Livermore, Gonzales and his friends would throw on gloves after school, and he was always into sports. But he was known at Granada High School for playing football, not boxing, and in part due to an injury, he played somewhat in the shadow of his varsity football star brother, Justin, now 23. Football coach Jerry Wicks said Brandon was "a nice kid" and "an outstanding athlete," but not particularly ambitious. However, "it doesn't surprise me he'd do well if he put his mind to it," Wicks said of Gonzales finding his niche in boxing. Justin Gonzales, who still lives in Livermore, said his brother "completely changed" when he became a boxer. "He was a lot quieter before. He wasn't lost, but he wasn't sure where he was going, what he wanted to do." In high school, "he fell into the whole 'cool' thing for awhile," said Brandon's mom, Terecia Gonzales. "We had some issues there and spent time battling. But he did OK. At 8 years old, he got into a fight with kids on the playground, and those two boys are his friends today." Gonzales did not consider competitive boxing until after he left Livermore. "My instincts started leaning that way," he said. "People told me I resembled (former world heavyweight champion) Muhammad Ali -- physically, how I looked. "I watched a lot of film on him," Gonzales said of Ali, who was a light heavyweight when he won Olympic gold in 1960. "To me, he's the greatest fighter who ever lived. He's where I get my tools from, where I studied boxing even before I began boxing. He's one of the reasons I love boxing." Gonzales recalls how in early 2004, after boxing for a few months, he sparred with Horatio Garcia, a former International Boxing Association welterweight champ. "I got beat up pretty bad and went outside and started jumping rope," he said. "A guy came out and started talking to me. He said he saw a lot of talent in me and said if I wanted to take it seriously, I should get with a personal trainer. He introduced me to his father-in-law (Mateen), and I started training from there." Gonzales won his first 18 bouts, including at regional and state tournaments before losing on the final day of the U.S. Championships in March in Colorado Springs -- his first trip ever on an airplane. Though he still snagged a spot on Team USA there, "it was a long plane ride home," he said. "I don't know how to lose." In June, he took a silver medal in the 178-pound division at the Cheo Aponte Tournament in Puerto Rico. Despite the second-place showing, he became heir to the throne of Oakland resident and Olympic gold medalist Andre Ward, who has gone pro, when USA Boxing named Gonzales America's No. 1 light heavyweight amateur. "I like him, and I like his style," Ward said of Gonzales. "In a lot of ways, he reminds me of me. He's faster than most light heavyweights. He's tough inside the ring, where he's supposed to be tough, and he's a gentleman outside the ring." In July, when Gonzales went to Reno for the USA vs. Korea Dual, he lost by just four points. But Mateen says that while he tells most of the 15 amateurs he trains that winning isn't everything, he's harder on Gonzales because he's so talented. "Being No. 1 isn't good enough if you're not winning the big shows," Mateen said. "The next two months will really put him over the hump. We'll be doing some cross-training to help his balance, focus, foot speed and hand and eye coordination. He's a very good student, very coachable, and works out hard. He has all the qualities of being a great champion. I think (losing the big tournaments) is more mental. That's where the cross-training will help. It's a mindset." Gonzales said boxing has been "a gateway" to discover all kinds of things about life. Like Mateen and like Ali, he converted to Islam to stay focused and "on the straight path," away from smoking and drinking -- not even coffee, despite his Starbucks job. He runs every morning and works out at Mateen's every afternoon. Despite the stereotypes of boxing, "It's a craft; it's a beautiful, disciplined sport," he said. "There's nothing violent about it." Gonzales hopes some day to go professional. But he says even there, looking mean and scary is "a psychological game," and more a matter of image than anything. "I'm studying the craft and taking my time. I want to make sure everything's right with me and my trainer, and when I'm ready to make the step, I'll do it, and I'll do it large."

Stan Martinyouk....born in Estonia, now is the best lightweight out of America....same as Brandon Gonzales(except light heavy) Oooo....both from my gym, too.... hell yeah, thats cool, u mean Kronk, or the place u at now

well i once had the chance to represent my country, but couldnt due to a hamstring pull..now i just may wait 2go pro so i can go to the olympics and compete, but then again, i dont really wanna wait that long..but we need some good strong american fighters again..and i am him Stan Martinyouk....born in Estonia, now is the best lightweight out of America....same as Brandon Gonzales(except light heavy) Oooo....both from my gym, too....

Brandon Gonzales is the next olympic gold medalist of USA. I am dead serious, just wait till 2008. In the light heavyweight division. well i once had the chance to represent my country, but couldnt due to a hamstring pull..now i just may wait 2go pro so i can go to the olympics and compete, but then again, i dont really wanna wait that long..but we need some good strong american fighters again..and i am him

Brandon Gonzales is the next olympic gold medalist of USA. I am dead serious, just wait till 2008. In the light heavyweight division.