Matchmaker Joe Quiambao Keeps His Eye on the Sport

May 28th, 2009

Chris Robinson

In order to survive in this world just about everyone has to get their hustle on. Money must be made in order to keep up with the necessities of life and some people find themselves doing things they never would have imagined otherwise in order to stay afloat. Work is work, as they say, and sometimes the battle within is to find that love outside of your day gig and push towards that vision. Everyone seems to have a true calling in life but it can be debated whether or not we all find what we are meant to do in this world.

Some work tirelessly towards their passions while others are simply in the right place at the right time when it comes their way. When taking a look at the life of Joe Quiambao, you will find a man who is blessed on many fronts for the vocation he holds. Quiambao is currently the matchmaker for Dibella Entertainment and it is the type of profession that can go under the heading of ‘dream job’ for the Queens, New York native.

A former Golden Gloves champion himself, Quiambao has always had a deep love for the sport of boxing. It captured his attention as a youth and he never was able to shake the bug, despite turning his attention to other projects as his life moved forward. His job as a matchmaker is one that allows him to tap into the early days of the fighter he was while also allowing him to explore new horizons within the sport. Quiambao will be the first to tell you how grateful he is for his line of work, but even more interesting is the story of how the job came his way.

Speaking recently with 8 Count News, Quiambao opened up about the ins and outs that come with being a matchmaker and spoke freely about the good and bad of it all. In his own words this is what Quiambao had to say about the fate of chance that allowed him to land the job of a matchmaker and what it means to his life…

Stuck in Between…

“I was born and bred in Jamaica, Queens. I didn’t roll with the bad kids but I didn’t roll with the good kids either. I was sort of stuck in between. I was like that until I found boxing, and then my life changed. I remember that I was always around my Dad when I was younger, like most kids were, but he didn’t really like the sport. I finally saw it myself and it was like a soap opera. I really felt that I would love to do that because I was too small for basketball, baseball, football, and all these other sports. I was a boxing geek and I lived, ate, and slept in the gym. I became a gym rat and that’s all I did. I was about ten years old at the time.”

The First Gym…

“The first boxing gym I went to was Lost Battalion Hall in Queens, New York. My first trainer was Artie Cintron, who was one of the trainers for the Bed-Stuy Boxing Club. I remember that former WBO Heavyweight champion Michael Bentt was always in the gym as well as Clinton Mitchell, who was the first man to beat Bernard Hopkins in his pro debut. I remember upstairs they had a recreation center and Kenny Anderson used to play basketball all the time.”

It Was On…

“I remember when I first started training I still had braces on and I couldn’t spar. It was pretty frustrating so for like a year and half I was just training non-stop until I got my braces off and then it was on. I fought in the New York City Golden Gloves and my first fight was actually in the finals of the Golden Gloves where I fought a Jr. Olympic Champion. It was in the main arena of the Madison Square Garden so it very exciting but very nerve wracking as well. I lost my second amateur fight to David Dillard, who had over 100 amateur fights. I lost my early fights and I was thinking about quitting but I stuck with it and to make a long story short I won the New York City Golden Gloves in 1993. It meant a lot more to me winning the Golden Gloves after losing my early fights because I had to really put my heart into it.”

A Real Damper…

“I still had a passion for boxing and I continued to train. One day I was in the gym sparring with Sechew Powell when he was still little and he ended up cracking my orbital ball with one of his punches. That really put a damper on my boxing career and I had to put it on hold. I tried giving it one more shot later on but it just wasn’t meant to be and I decided to turn my attention to other areas. I decided to go to school and end up attending Hunter College.”

A Different Kind of Credit…

“I went to Hunter College and I ended up graduating…or at least I thought I graduated. I remember one day I was talking to my wife and she suggested that I should go get my diploma that I could have it and put it on my wall. I agreed with her but unfortunately my college broke me the news that I didn’t graduate because I was short a half credit. They said that they could help me out and they had an idea for me to pick up the extra credit. They had me do an internship program and it just happened to be with Dibella Entertainment. I interned at Dibella Entertainment and it was actually the week before 9/11 (September 11, 2001). A couple weeks after that was the Trinidad-Hopkins fight and even though I was just an intern I was able to see that fight. That was one of Dibella Entertainment’s highest points because they were involved with Bernard Hopkins at the time. That jumpstarted everything and I was able to see a lot of things that I never would have before.”

A Perfect Match…

“As far as my job as a matchmaker it actually started as a trial run. The moment I had been given the position of an intern I had been working hard just to get noticed and Lou Dibella could see that. After taking a few jobs in the company Lou came and offered me a shot at being their matchmaker. Lou had me put together a ShoBox card that ended up being Sechew Powell vs. Cornelius Bundrage with Yuri Foreman on the undercard. I put the whole card together and Lou told me that if I did well with the show then I had the job. When the Powell-Bundrage fight happened it was a double knockdown, and after Sechew Powell landed that follow up left hook he had Cornelius Bundrage stumbling around the whole ring. After it happened the crowd went crazy and I looked at Lou and he just gave me the thumbs up and I knew the job was mine.”

Staying Close to the Sport…

“Being a matchmaker is great because I get to stay so close to the sport I love. I’m living the dream of every boxer who didn’t make it in the sport. Still, this sport can be very stressful at times. There are a lot of good people in this business but there are also a lot of ‘funny’ people. You meet a lot of interesting characters and you hear a lot of stories. Working with Lou and just listening to how he does things is interesting. He does everything honestly. I’ve heard a lot of stories about other promoters but I haven’t seen that in Lou. From what I have seen he does it the honest way even if it doesn’t always work. Dibella Entertainment is one of the top promoters in the world and he has always remained steadfast in his approach. Lou as a person is just one of the good guys. His whole staff are all just family and I couldn’t ask for anything more.”

The Main Priority…

“We have a lot of fighters signed and my main priority is finding them the right opponent. You can’t put them in with King Kong at the beginning of their career but you also can’t put them in with Joe Shmoe either, because they won’t learn anything. I just have to get them the right opponent so that they can grow as a fighter. I’ve been told that I have been doing a decent job. The first world champion that I ever built from scratch has been Andre Berto and I hope there will be many more.”

Always Observing…

“The thing is that I love boxing. I loved watching boxing even before I was involved in the business so everything has come naturally to me. It could be two bums fighting each other and I would still watch it. As a boxer I was always observing, even inside of the ring, and that was actually my downfall. Now a lot of that stuff is actually coming into play as far as keeping an eye on everything that takes place in the boxing game. I have to analyze fighters from all over the place and determine whether or not they would make the guys I am working with better fighters. There are a lot of fighters where you have to work on their confidence and others come fresh out of the box and you don’t have to worry about them as much because they are ready to fight.”

Memorable Moments…

“One of the happiest moments for me as a matchmaker was when Carlos Quintana upset Paul Williams for the first time. At the time Paul Williams was a beast, and he still is, but little Carlos Quintana outboxed him for the whole twelve rounds. It meant a lot to me because I spent the whole week with him before the fight and I was also around his family and his team. They are just great people. You always hear people say they are in the best shape of their life but after he said it, he ended up showing it inside of the ring and that was one of the best moments for me. Another big moment was when Jermain Taylor beat Bernard Hopkins for the first time and that was actually the second champion for Dibella entertainment. That was one of the highs for the company. And everybody knows about the history between Lou and Bernard and that fight just added to it.”

A Lot of Work…

“I love my job but it is a lot of hard work. Right now I am a married man and I’m not always in the position to spend time with my wife because I am traveling a lot. The traveling was cool in the beginning but it can also take its toll on you. Sometimes my wife will come to the bigger shows with me but she will usually pass if it’s a small show because she’s a registered nurse and can’t always take the time off work. I’ve been all over the place, from Vegas to California, and even to smaller towns where there isn’t as much to do. I sometimes end up locking myself in my room and end up working from there until the fight draws closer. Sometimes I have to bring my X-Box with me just to kill time.”

Always an Example…

“I say the same stuff that all other fighters say when I talk about boxing teaching me a lot of discipline and the rewards of hard work. I learned about persistence and that carried over into all aspects of my life. To this day there are people who still recognize me from my fight in the Golden Gloves. I’ve had people tell me that watching me fight inspired them and that really shocks me. If I wasn’t in boxing I would probably either be a physical education teacher or I would probably be a police officer and just try to find a way to make the world a better place. Still, I’m grateful for the position I’m in and when people learn that you’ve fought they give you a sense of respect. I’ve just learned that no matter what position you are at in this sport you are always an example to somebody.”

Questions and Comments can be sent to Chris at Trimond@aol.com and www.Myspace.com/BoxingHarmony