Exclusive Interview: Jerson Ravelo speaks his Mind

[Mr. Ryan]

Exclusive Interview: Jerson Ravelo speaks his Mind
By Ryan ********
9-6-06

[img]http://*******-022.vo.llnwd.net/00677/22/07/677817022_l.jpg[/img]

His story is all too familiar. Former 2000 Olympian Jerson "SuperJerz" Ravelo, 17-1 (12 KO), of Newark, NJ has been through it all early in his career. Injuries, promotional and training dilemmas, and a stunning upset loss have hampered the career of one of the Class of 2000's most promising young fighters. Finally past all of the tumult that he has experienced, things are beginning to look promising for the first time in a long time. A new promotional contract with The Contender and a refreshed sense of hunger have breathed life back into a fighting soul that many thought to be silenced. We sat down for a candid discussion about boxing, the future, and life in general.

********: You have stated in the past that you have been disgusted, absolutely insulted by some of the promotional offers that you have received since your career slowed down following the injuries. You recently signed with the Contender Promotional outfit, what was different about their offer?

Ravelo: "They care about their fighters. They're not trying to make a quick buck out of a fighter, they're looking long term. They're looking to make someone a known name, and then in the future they can make money off of that name. They're not looking to just put you in there to make a big payday for themselves for one fight and then they're done. The contract is long term. That's exactly what I loved about it."

********: The Contender has guys like Peter Manfredo and Sergio Mora that are in your weight range. Would you like to fight them and how would you fare against them?

Ravelo: "Would I fight them? I would love to fight them. I'll fight anybody. First the Mora fight was offered to me, before I even came back. They called me if I wanted to fight Mora, I said yeah I'll fight Mora. I never heard back. He ended up fighting Arcak [TerMeliksetian]. Then they called me for the Peter Manfredo fight, they wanted me to fight him. I said 'Yeah, I'll fight him.' I never heard back, they didn't want to take the fight I guess because I never heard back. I'll fight anybody, anybody (laughs).
I was actually going to enter The Contender last year. I spoke to my Gary Gittelsohn and asked him "What do you think of me joining The Contender show?" At the time, Gary didn't think it was a good move for me. He said 'I think the show is good, but I don't think it's a good move for you', so I decided not to do it. I went this year, being that I wasn't fighting or anything, and I actually got picked for the second casting. They send a form you got to fill out, I got to do that. But then they said I had to get down to 150. That's crazy, I can't do that."
********: Of the fighter's on the new season of The Contender, which one is your favorite and who do you think is going to win season II?

Ravelo: I think Steve Forbes is going to win. I think he's slick, I think he's going to win. Grady Brewer isn't a bad fighter. I thought he beat Sechew Powell. I think it's between them two.

********: You were supposed to fight on the recent Friday Night Fight card featuring Mora and Manfredo. What happened that you weren't able to fight?

Ravelo: The fight fell through, it just didn't go through. They're now trying to get me something quick, but let's see what happens.

********: You've had a revolving door of trainers in recent years. Who are you working with now, and how is that working out?

Ravelo: "My coach is in Paterson, Nettles from Joe Grier's. It's working out good, Nettles is a good trainer. I've had trainers before, but the trainers I've had never been really trainers who coached me or anything."

********: A major problem in your career has been the situation with the trainers. That situation is rarely stable. Talk a little about what that has been like.

Ravelo: "When I was in the National [Golden Gloves], I wasn't really training for awhile because the coach I had at the time wasn't really training me. I was training myself. As soon as I started doing good, all of a sudden he started coming around me more. I would go to places and find sparring myself. It was me and my 2 friends, Pedro Cordova and Anthony Williams, we used to go to get sparring at different gyms by ourselves. I went out there and won the Nationals, Pedro made it to the semi-finals, and Anthony made it to the finals."

********: Did that independent structure where you were training yourself and were essentially your own support system strengthen you to be able to deal with the adverse circumstances you have endured?

Ravelo: "Of course, even as a pro I've never had a steady coach. I have 18 fights, I swear I must have had 15 coaches. You can name them all, Mark Breland, Tommy Brooks, Tommy Parks, Charles Murray, Anthony Ham, Bouie Fischer. I had all of these guys and none of them seemed to work out. When you're training a fighter on the come up and then you have a fighter that you're training that has already made himself and is making a lot of money, guess what? The fighter who is just coming up and has a fight tomorrow, and the other guy has a fight next week and you have to go out there and train with one of them, guess what, you're going to go out and train with the guy you're making the money with. You're not going to think twice about staying back. That's what it was all the time.

When I was training with all of these coaches, they all had other fighters who were fighting on HBO and making big money. Why would they stay back and make $200 with me, when they can go ahead and work with another fighter and make $50,000. After all, this is a job and I don't blame them. It kinda got me discouraged. The coach I had that I didn't think would turn out this way was Oscar Suarez. I've known him since I was a kid. Things just didn't work out. He was training Prince Hamed at the time, and I would stay and train by myself. He was training Freitas, same thing. He didn't give enough time."

********: With those good trainers must've come some good sparring. Describe what happened while sparring with guys like Hopkins and Tarver.

Ravelo: "Yeah, but that’s not from the trainers. That was stuff I got on my own basically. When I went to spar with Tarver, I wasn't being trained by anyone, I was training myself. I got a call if I wanted to go out there and I went out there. For Hopkins I was training myself again, and they called me and I went out there. It wasn't like I had these coaches and that's why I sparred with them. It was just because I got the call and I went and took it for the experience and just because I needed the money at the time. I've been through a lot of ups and downs in my career, man."

********: From my understanding, there was a verbal agreement between you and Golden Boy Promotions that you would be fighting under that promotional umbrella for your exceptional work helping Hopkins prepare for the Tarver fight. What happened there, why didn't that come off?

Ravelo: "I never heard back from Golden Boy. That was a deal that would've really get me back from the long layoff. I tried to contact them. I spoke to Eric Gomez, who was the one who made the agreement to give me the two fights. After that, Raul Jainez told me that they were looking to put me on the Tarver-Hopkins under card. That was one fight and they were going to give me one more fight after that, but I never heard back from them. I basically just let it go. There was nothing signed, but verbally that was the agreement.

The Hopkins training camp was such a great training camp. That's what I got from the training camp. I thought they were pleased with my performance, they saw what I was all about. But it never happened. I'm just glad now that The Contender group is giving me a chance to show what I really has. Like I said nobody else gave me a chance."

[Mr. Ryan]

********: The situation with the trainers has been tumultuous, but what about the promotional and managerial side of it? What was going on there?

Ravelo: "When I first turned pro, I signed with Dibella. Dibella signed a lot of guys, a lot of the Olympians. Some of the Olympians that he signed were managed by the manager I had at the time. For some reason, they weren't seeing eye to eye. I broke my hand during that time. Dibella had it in the contract that if I was injured for over a year, he could terminate the contract. He used that option to get me out of the contract. Once I was injured for a year, I got a letter from Dibella saying that my contract was terminated because I've been injured for a year.

Main Events wanted to pick me up after Dibella let me go, and I don't even know what happened after that. My manager at the time told me 'Yeah, they want to pick you up, they want to sign you.' I didn't even believe him. I did get confirmation from Dominick Guinn, who was with Main Events at the time. Dibella let go of all of my manager's fighters go, all of them. He let Clarence Vinson go, he let Fernando Montiel go, Yuri Foreman, Davaryll Williamson. Out of all of those guys, Main Events was only interested in me, from what I heard. I found it hard to believe because if they wanted me, how come they haven't signed me yet? I don't know what happened. Then I spoke to Dominick Guinn and he told me. He cleared it up and said 'yeah, Main Events only wanted you.' I'm a Latino fighter, they do a lot of local shows around Atlantic City, I bring out a big crowd, those were some of the reasons they wanted me. From my understanding, there were rumors being spread about me and my hand, and that I wasn't the same, that I was done. They labeled me as a done deal. All of these promoters started hearing this.

My manager at the time tried to get me deals with Top Rank. He told me that they didn't want to deal with me because of my injuries. I was basically left to fend for myself. So I just felt like giving it up. I was going to give it up until they called me for the Tarver training camp. I went out there and saw 'I'm getting with Tarver, I'm giving this guy hard work. And this guy's a world champion!' So I said why should I give up? I used to train in my house, I wasn't able to go to the gym. I didn't have any money to pay the gym. I set up a little gym in my house, in the garage. I just put up a bag, a speed bag, and a double end bag in the garage and I work out there. Being that I didn't have a manager or a promoter, I would try to get fights.

People would see me running and they would say 'Why is this guy doing this, he's not even fighting anymore.' A whole year and a half went by, and I couldn't get fights. I had promoters calling me saying "You wanna fight this guy, wanna fight this guy?", but they were trying to use me as a stepping stone for their guys. They know that I'm an Olympian, I have a good record. They were trying to feed me to the sharks. Now that I'm off for so long, now they're calling me to fight on Showtime. I had three fights [since the layoff]. The first fight I got with the help of this guy named John Baron. I did so good with a first round knockout, Dibella told me that he'd put me on the next month again. After that fight, Main Events put me on a card.

I'm struggling, but I'm still here."

********: The hand and back issues that you experienced that led to the long layoffs, are they still issues for you? Do they affect you at all?

Ravelo: "Once a fighter has back problems, he's always going to have back problems. I can go 6 months, a year without feeling my back at all. But I can wake up one day and for a week my back will be hurting me. I've been good, I haven't had any problems. My hand, still my wrist sometimes [bothers me]. I look at it like I'm the [Allen] Iverson of boxing. I don't think I've ever been 100 percent in any of my fights, never. Imagine if I was 100 percent. I'm not one of these fighters that if their thumb hurts, they cancel the fight. I'm not like that, I fight. That's what I like to do. Those are the guys who have already made their money. Guys like me who haven't made no money at all, I made money at the beginning but not lately, so guys like me have to fight. But now that I signed this new deal with The Contender, hopefully now I'm going to start making some good money."

********: In the first round of the 2000 Sydney Olympics, you drew the Australian guy....

Ravelo: (Cuts me off) "I knew that was going to happen. The Dominican Coach was like 'you got the easist fight in the whole tournament.' I said to him 'are you crazy? I have the toughest fight. I'm fighting against the whole country.' That's exactly what happened, I beat this guy. Whoever sees that fight knows that I beat him. I landed so many points and I wasn't getting credit for them. And then after the second round, I didn't get credit for 1 punch. And that's how he came back and supposedly beat me. Then they tried to do the same thing, they tried to help him out in the second fight. But the guy was so beat up from the whooping that I gave him that they couldn't do nothing. I believe the other guy stopped him because he was beat up, I beat the guy up. Even though they tried to help him and do the same thing, he didn't have any gas in him."

********: Was that experience a big disappointment to you?

Ravelo: It was a disappointment in the way that I didn't get the big bucks when I signed [my first contract]. Had I won that fight, I probably would've medaled. Not had I won, had I gotten the decision, I would've medaled. It was disappointing to lose that way, knowing that I won. But it was alright.

********: Many of your fellow Olympians like Lacy, Juarez, and Viloria have been at or near the top of their divisions in the last year or so. How does it feel to watch them now doing their thing, while you have fallen off track abit early?

Ravelo: I look at these guys and I'm happy for them. They're making money, some of them became world champions, some of them have fought for the title. Jermain [Taylor]'s undisputed, I'm happy for them. I think every fighter who puts so much time into this boxing game should be rewarded. On the other hand, I'm not happy about my situation, but you can't blame anyone for that. That's part of life, man. When I broke my hand, I didn't go in and say I'm going to break my hand today. When I hurt my back, I didn't say I want to hurt my back today, it just happened. There's nothing that could have been done about that.

********: In the 6 years since the 2000 Olympics, how has your attitude and perception of the sport changed since you got back from Sydney?

Ravelo: Well, I've learned that this sport is really dirty. With the judging and just the way some people go about the business of boxing. I got discouraged for awhile, I wanted to give it up. Boxing, to me is part of my life, man. So I have to deal with it regardless. I just got to keep going and my chance will come. Maybe I'll be where Jermain, Jeff, Brian, and Rocky Juarez and all of them guys. That's where I'm trying to get to. My time is coming, my time is coming, man. It's just taking a little longer. At the end of it all, I think it's going to be a little sweeter for me.

[Mr. Ryan]

********: Alright, flashback to 2004. You're a highly touted prospect, but the situation behind the scenes is hardly ideal. You meet David Lopez, a guy who you were supposed to blow away. From the opening bell you appeared flat and not really into the fight mentally. You lost that night by TKO. Describe the process of dealing with your first loss. How have you learned from the experience and has that changed you as a fighter?

Ravelo: It wasn't nothing dealing with it. I lost, before that fight I didn't want to fight anymore. I didn't have no confidence because that was prior to me getting the surgeries and that was when I was coming back. I didn't have no confidence. It happens in every sport, if somebody gets injured and they come back, they're not as confident as they were before they got injured. And that's what happened to me. I lost on a Friday, I got back Saturday from Arizona, Monday I was in the gym already. I wanted to fight this guy again. I hate to say it was good for me to lose, but it actually was good for me to lose. Had I won the fight, which I was winning, even though I got stopped. It wasn't like I got stopped where I got knocked out. I didn't get knocked out. The guy dropped me, I felt really bad. Nobody thought I was going to get up, and I got up. Then he dropped me again, and I got up again. The bell rang, I walked to the corner and sat on the stool. Tommy Brooks gave me the instructions. The ref comes to the corner and I told him not to stop the fight, and he stopped the fight. I didn't have any complaints about it, I was drained. Had I won that fight, I still would've probably feeling the same way with no confidence. It was a good thing for me that I lost.

It helped me come back to get my confidence back up and come back to reality. Before that fight, I was walking on a cloud. Whoever saw that fight also knows that that's not the way I fight, the way I fought that fight. I was fighting straight up, I wasn't moving, I wasn't moving my head. I'm a slick fighter, and there I was just a standing punching bag. This guy was hitting me with jabs, and I wasn't even moving my head out of the way."

********: This past Friday, Allan Green struggled through a 10 round decision against Emmit Linton. What’s your take on that fight and on Green in general?

Ravelo: "What happened there was another bad decision. That fight could've went either way. These judges, what were they looking at? The scoring was crazy. Crazy, crazy! The scoring was crazy! Allan Green is a good fighter so I got to give him his props, but the scoring was crazy."

********: Jaidon Codrington and Curtis Stevens have been in a similar boat recently as you. Do you think the Chin Checkers can regroup from their troubles in the ring?

Ravelo: "Of course, that’s the good thing about losing early in your career. You can look back and use it as a motivational tool. I understand Curtis just got caught, it can happen to anybody. You get caught. One punch can turn the fight around. With Jaidon, they're both my friends. They're good fighters. Jaidon's back already with three fights already. "

********: Your ******* headline reads "Haters add fuel to my fire". Elaborate on what that means to you.

Ravelo: "I read all of the boxing websites from time to time, I check them all out. On one of the websites, Greg Leon from Boxing Talk in one of the mail bags, somebody wrote and said ‘Hey, what do you think about Jerson and his loss on Friday Night Fights?’ I remember this like it was yesterday because these are the things that inspire me to do better. He said 'Jerson is done, I don't see him coming back from this one. Maybe now Dibella will throw him in there with Jermain Taylor so he can finish him off.' That was what he replied back. So I read it and I smiled. Just like when I fought my first fight on ESPN, the guy was 7-0 (6 KO) and I was 6-0 (4 KO). My manager at the time was saying this guy has a good right hand. I told Gary that I'm going to knock this out in one round. Gary said come on now, just take it easy in there. I got in there and took this guy out in one round on body shots. Max Kellerman was one of the commentators for ESPN at the time. After every fight they go to the studio and they give their little analysis of the fight. They said 'what do you think of Jerson's performance, Max?' Max said 'well he didn't impress me. He didn't do what he had to do. He's not a guy I see in the future winning multiple world titles.'

The guy who was damaged goods and the guy who was done, look what he's doing. Especially with Donnel Wiggins, not only did he go rounds with Lacy, he was beating him for eight rounds. That's all I've been doing, trying to prove myself. Let them keep talking, and I'll keep fighting."

********: Do you feel you're back now, you're back in top form from before the layoff?

Ravelo: "I'm good, I'm right back to where I wanted to be."

********: You fought Jeff Lacy in the amateurs 3 times, he won 2 of the 3 contests. Describe those fights and the emotions you still harbor, if any, about those affairs. And what are your thoughts on that matchup?

Ravelo: "Not at all. When I fought him three times as an amateur, I felt like I won all three fights. I only got one decision, and that was in the US Challenge where I actually knocked him down, but they deducted a point from me and said that it was a slap. I still won it because the margin was so big. I fought him in the PAL's in 1999 in Florida where he's from. I have the tapes, you can see them if you like. I thought I won, I outboxed him but they said he won. After that I believe it was Willie Gibbs that outboxed him also and they gave Jeff Lacy the fight again. After that they gave him the fighter of the tournament [Award], in Florida. And then when I fought him in the Olympic trials, it was in Florida. I was number one going into the trials. The lady who was the vice president for USA Boxing, after the fight was over she came up to me and she almost cried. She said 'this is not fair, this is a disgrace. How can they let this happen? These judges...'

So I took the next step and I went to my country and when on the Olympic team, which I still had to win a qualifier. The reason I went out there is because I wanted to fight Jeff Lacy in the Olympics on national tv. Even though we were in Australia, but everybody in the US was going to see it. That's why I went out there, that was my main concern. I didn't care about going to the Olympics, to tell you the truth man. I wanted to go to the Olympics representing the US because of course that would open the doors to me money-wise. After that happened, it wasn't no big deal. Then when I went to the Olympics representing my country it was just so me and Jeff Lacy could fight on national tv and everybody could see that I beat him there, and I could beat him here. We actually ended up in different brackets which was going to make us meet up in the finals. So it couldn't have been scripted any better, man. But then what happened happened with the Australian and I was out in the first round."

********: Were you born in DR?

Ravelo: "Yes, I was born in DR."

********: So when did you come to America?

Ravelo: "I came here when I was eight."

********: Now there’s another Dominican fighter on the come up by the name of Giovanni Lorenzo. What do you think about him?

Ravelo: "He's a good fighter. He even went to the Olympics with me. They were talking about Jermain and him before Kassim Ouma came up. I believe he's like 22-0. He's a very good fighter."

[Mr. Ryan]

********: What do you think about bachata and the whole reggaetone movement? What are your favorite songs?

Ravelo: "I like every song. I got my I-Pod right here, I got all kinds of songs. I got old songs from back in the day, I got new songs, I got bachata, reggaetone, meringue, everything."

********: If you weren't a boxer, what would you be doing?

Ravelo: "I'd be working, not sure doing what. If I wasn't a boxer, I probably would've had a degree or something. I'm not saying that if you're boxing, you can't have a degree. I just chose to dedicate my life to boxing. I figured maybe after I'm done with boxing, I'll make enough money to go back to school. You're never old to go to school. Maybe I could take a course or something, get a degree where I could manage my own money."

********: You have an 8 year old son named Jerson Jr. Many feel that when a son has the same name as their fighting fathers, there is added pressure on them to become fighters. Given all that you've been through in the sport, would you want your son to become a fighter as well?

Ravelo: "No, not at all. I'm doing this for my son and my family. As of right now, he doesn't even show no interest in boxing, which is good. He don't like watching fights. If you ask him if he's going to be a boxer, he'll tell you no. He likes baseball. I've been enrolling him into Little League teams for two years now. Boxing? I don't know. I wouldn't recommend boxing to anyone, anyone."

********: You've had some tough times in your career so far, what keeps you going through all of the adversity?

Ravelo: "I'm trying to look at the end of the tunnel. Everything I always wished for, which is to have enough money so my family can live good. That's what I'm looking at. The light at the end of the tunnel. I'm not going to give up halfway."

********: The super middleweight division consists of four European champs who have a reputation of fighting their significant bouts in their backyards where they have a geographical edge. What incentive is there for an American-based Latino to compete in those kind of partisan circumstances?

Ravelo: "When I get my chance to prove myself and fight for one of these titles, everyone is going to see what I have to offer. I'm not going to go into their countries and fight for one of their titles, because even if you win you lose. Just look at Glen Johnson, from what I heard he should've won. If they want to be recognized as one of the best fighters in the world, they have to at one point in their careers come to the United States. They're not going to be recognized as great fighters by just fighting those guys in their countries."

********: Who is your favorite fighter of all time?

Ravelo: "My favorite fighter is Roy Jones Jr. The way he fights, the things that he's done. Alot of people don't give him credit. They talk about he never fought anybody, but like he said in his song, he just made them look like nobodies."

********: What are the match ups that you need, 18 fights and 6 years into your pro career, to get you to the next level of development as a boxer?

Ravelo: "You got to fight these guys that they're making big deals about. These guys that are there that the commentators are making a big deal about. Like Allan Green, he's a good fighter. They're making a big deal out of him. If I was to fight a fighter like him and beat him, then all of the hype he's getting comes to me. Manfredo, Mora, all of them."

********: You have a strong bond to your fans, how has your connection with your supporters helped you in your career?

Ravelo: "The fans are everything. There would be no sports without fans, at all. The promoters and managers don't pay you, the fans do. If no fans went to the fights and paid to get in or pay for the PPVs, how do you think that money comes up? So yeah, I appreciate every fan. You can read from my *******, I'm always talking to people. I get into conversations with people. When these people reach out to me, I reach back"

********: What do you want to accomplish as a fighter, and what are your expectations of yourself?

Ravelo: "As a fighter, first of all I want to represent for my country, Dominican Republic. We never really had a fighter who stood out. Kind of like the way Trinidad is to Puerto Rico, we never had that kind of fighter. I'm trying to be that fighter. But then again, every other Dominican fighter is trying to do the same thing. Joan Guzman is trying to do his thing, Giovanni Lorenzo, Roberto Benitez, all of them guys are trying to do the same thing I'm doing. Hey, we're all trying to put Dominican Republic on the map as far as world champions and recognizable names."

********: With all of the things that you've been through so far in the sport, do you still in your heart love boxing?

Ravelo: I'm always going to love it because I've been doing it for so many years. This is a job, man. This is my job, that's all it is. Sometimes you hate going to your job, but if you want to get that paycheck you have to go. I love boxing, I dislike it alot of times. But guess what, if I'm not fighting, I'm not getting paid. So I have to fight.

********: What do you want to say to the world. Here is your opportunity, anything you want to say after all of these things that you've been through to speak your mind. From your mouth to the fans, what do you have to say?

Ravelo: "What can I say, the people who doubted me, hey, keep doubting me. Here I am. The people who support me, I have to thank them. The people that never gave up on me. I gave up on myself at one point. I was done with it. A lot of people that never gave up on me, that were always pushing me told me "No man, you can't give it up." All that I have to say is that my time is coming, it's been awhile but I know my time is coming. Just how I started, when I was the first Olympian to reach double digit wins. When I was 10-0, Jermain Taylor was still 3-0. I was on a fast pace, I fought eight times my first year. I was ahead of them, as far as fight and development. I was on a fast track. The fight where I broke my hand at, my 13th fight, I was training with Mark Breland and I was hitting the pads with him, and my manager and match maker, they were just looking at me and talking. After the training was over, I said 'what are you guys talking about?' They said 'we're talking about how we think you're ready for Eric Lucas right now, who was the WBC Super Middleweight champion. They said that they thought I was ready to beat Eric Lucas. I said well then get me the fight! They said OK, after this fight I'm going to get you one more fight and you're going to fight Eric Lucas for the WBC [title]. Then what happens, I break my hand. After that, it all went down hill.

Just like I was ahead of all of them guys, now they're ahead in front of me. They got their money, they got their titles, they got their houses, their nice cars, and I don't have none of that. But, I'm going to get there. Just how I was in front of them and they surpassed me, now it's my turn, so now I'm coming."

While his journey is not complete by any stretch of the imagination, it finally appears to have a path, something that has been absent for the last few years. He hopes to stay active and finally get his career on the right track, and with his new found good fortune with The Contender, the future couldn't be brighter. Shortly after this interview, he told me that the story behind his career has been like a movie. And it has been, a movie with many more frames left in it.

Jerson Ravelo has a ******* page where fans can get information on him and his upcoming fights. The address is http://www.*******.com/jersonravelo .

Questions or comments? Send them to me at mc_rson@yahoo.com . My ******* is http://www.*******.com/asian_sensation201 . My Friendster is http://www.friendster.com/******** . Special thanks to Jerson Ravelo for his time and attention.

[vB Martin]

Where's the nickname question?

[Mr. Ryan]

LOL, the funny part is that Jerson helped me out with some of the grammar mistakes I made in the inital draft. Stay tuned, an announcement of his next fight will come soon, and it of course will be a Boxing Scene exclusive

[Mr. Ryan]

comments, anyone?

[Azteca]

i liked the article. great questions. jerson seems like a really genuine kid.

[BLOODSHED]

The fact that Raevelo has fought Lacy three times and won once is a good thing. I personally have never seen him, but will watch out for him on The Contender.

[Mr. Ryan]

The fact that Raevelo has fought Lacy three times and won once is a good thing. I personally have never seen him, but will watch out for him on The Contender.

I saw the Olympic qualifier where they robbed him, that was a BS decision. They also robbed him against Paul Miller in the first round. Ravelo is not going to be on the show, hes just promoted by them. That means he'll be on the Contender boxing cards on ESPN and stuff.