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By Thomas Gerbasi - The great thing about Don House, one of the fight game’s most underrated trainers, is that he’s not one to beat around the bush. Whether you want the truth or not, he’s going to give it to you.
Some fighters don’t want it, and it may be why some of his former charges, like Joan Guzman, Kid Diamond, and Zahir Raheem, faded from the top levels of the game after packing up and leaving the former United States Army veteran.
Even his current heavyweight contender, once-beaten Bermane Stiverne, had issues with the tough love issued by his trainer, and he went out on his own.
“When you’re ready to do this,” House told him, “you know where I am.”
Two fights later, Stiverne, who faces Ray Austin this Saturday in St. Louis, was back.
He was ready to do this.
“I stepped on my pride and my ego, and realized that it’s not just about me,” said Quebec’s Stiverne, who had trained with House since he turned pro in 2005. “I called him back, we sat down like two gentlemen and came to an agreement and decided to work together again. The way I box today, that’s from everything Don House showed me, so I couldn’t bring anybody else in. I had to go back to the source.”
It was a huge step forward for Stiverne, an ultra-talented heavyweight with fast hands, a nice jab, and crushing power. You would think that was a one-way ticket to the top of a division in dire need of excitement, but the knock on the former amateur standout was that he wasn’t willing to push things in the ring or outside of it. If he got you hurt early, odds are that you were going home early. If you managed to survive, he would let you.
That’s how he wound up with the one loss no one has let him forget, a fourth round TKO at the hands of the then 11-15 Demetrice King in July of 2007. House certainly didn’t soften his assessment of Stiverne’s lone defeat. [Click Here To Read More]
Some fighters don’t want it, and it may be why some of his former charges, like Joan Guzman, Kid Diamond, and Zahir Raheem, faded from the top levels of the game after packing up and leaving the former United States Army veteran.
Even his current heavyweight contender, once-beaten Bermane Stiverne, had issues with the tough love issued by his trainer, and he went out on his own.
“When you’re ready to do this,” House told him, “you know where I am.”
Two fights later, Stiverne, who faces Ray Austin this Saturday in St. Louis, was back.
He was ready to do this.
“I stepped on my pride and my ego, and realized that it’s not just about me,” said Quebec’s Stiverne, who had trained with House since he turned pro in 2005. “I called him back, we sat down like two gentlemen and came to an agreement and decided to work together again. The way I box today, that’s from everything Don House showed me, so I couldn’t bring anybody else in. I had to go back to the source.”
It was a huge step forward for Stiverne, an ultra-talented heavyweight with fast hands, a nice jab, and crushing power. You would think that was a one-way ticket to the top of a division in dire need of excitement, but the knock on the former amateur standout was that he wasn’t willing to push things in the ring or outside of it. If he got you hurt early, odds are that you were going home early. If you managed to survive, he would let you.
That’s how he wound up with the one loss no one has let him forget, a fourth round TKO at the hands of the then 11-15 Demetrice King in July of 2007. House certainly didn’t soften his assessment of Stiverne’s lone defeat. [Click Here To Read More]
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