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As It Should Be: The Undying Passion of Raymond Charles
November 8th, 2009
Chris Robinson
Being involved in the sport of boxing will test your patience in many ways. From the moment a pugilist turns professional and becomes tangled up in the often shady business of the sport he or she will find themselves fighting an uphill battle in many aspects. The politics of the sport are enough to deter young hopefuls and sometimes it’s the love and passion that you have for the game that keeps you fighting and clinging on to hope.
When looking at the career of 12-0 Jr. Welterweight Raymond Charles one gets the sense of man fighting his inner demons on a daily basis. On one hand Charles speaks with great pride of the sport that is so dear to him but on the other you see a man with much turmoil due to his frustrations from the game. Despite being undefeated, Charles’ career has been plagued by inactivity as he has often simply been in the wrong place at the wrong time on many occasions.
Charles grew up in Houston, Texas and in his early years as a professional he would build up his record while appearances on national television soon followed. Things seemed to be on course for Charles but unfortunately he would have to leave the Houston area and travel further north to the town of Lubbock to be with his mother who was ill at the time. Inactivity and frustration would follow and ever since then Charles’ battles have seemed to come outside of the ring.
Not wanting to fade into obscurity, Charles would take a different approach as he started going about his business online and reaching out to various people in the sport. Charles would come across former champion Nate Campbell via Myspace and the two would keep in touch over the following weeks. Charles would later fly to Tampa and come face to face with Campbell and from that point forward a bond and understanding between the two men was formed. Charles would go on to sign a managerial contract with Campbell’s ‘Voodoo Management’ and would find action in the ring soon thereafter. Despite seeming to have his career back on track, there were eventually disagreements between Charles and Voodoo Managament as well as One Punch Productions, the Tampa based promotional company responsible for showcasing him in his comeback fights. Despite seeming to be on the verge of getting everything back, Charles is now again fighting his battles outside of the ropes with his ultimate desire to simply fight again.
Speaking from his Lubbock, Texas home recently Charles opened up on everything that his life has been and hopes to be. In his own words this is what he had to say about his foray into boxing, the struggles of sitting on the shelf, his situation with Campbell, and everything else in between…
The Best Days…
“I was born and raised in Houston, Texas. My childhood was good man. We didn’t have a whole lot but looking back those were probably the best days for me. As a little kid I didn’t have a whole lot but just having the love around me was the best. The love from my family specifically. My family used to be real tight when I was a kid and I miss those moments.”
An Interest in Boxing…
“Boxing came into my life when I was in middle school. My love was at first for football. I got kicked out of the football program the very first year I could play. That was around the sixth grade. I got kicked out and I remember telling my mom and she asked me what I wanted to do after that. I remember thinking back to a day where I saw some guys walking around with trophies. I found out that the trophies were from boxing and I became interested in that. I told my mom instead of taking me to get a physical for another sport that I would rather go to the gym and try out boxing.”
Showing Who You Were…
“When I first started boxing what surprised me was just how hard it was. I remember being a really cocky kid and they threw me in the ring with guys who had over 20 or 30 fights and they were just ringing my bell. Everything surprised me about it, the endurance, everything. I think mainly when I walked in the gym the big thing was the competition of all it. I think the main thing of it all was to really show who you were. You get in there and you think you are somebody but if you get in the ring with somebody who also has something it really tells you who you are.”
Seeing the Improvement…
“As a kid I was fighting I remember recording every fight and I would come home and watch them over and over and over again. After watching every fight it seemed that I was improving on every single fight. I was improving more and more and I loved watching my fights and I loved seeing my improvement and that’s pretty much when I realized I could do something in the sport.”
Crossing the Hump…
“My best memories of an amateur were the Junior Olympics and being able to cross over that hump and going to Nationals. I remember being back in a truck and driving to state and it was so crowded full of guys who were also going to state. I thought of all the hundreds and hundreds of guys all over who were going to state tournaments and I remember looking up at the stars and thinking of what the chances would be of me being one of the finalists from all those people. It was crazy because the only thing that was on my mind at the time then was just going to nationals. Even when I was in the ring in State hitting another guy that’s what I was thinking about.”
Remembering Houston…
“As you know Houston has been real big in boxing. Houston is a big fight town and Juan Diaz brought a lot of attention to the city as well. A lot of fighters from Golden Boy are actually training down in Houston right now. There are a lot of fighters on their roster who are signed to Golden Boy. Kermit Cintron also works out down there. It’s real big in Houston and I really enjoyed it. I became friends with Rocky Juarez. Me, Rocky, and Juan Diaz all pretty much grew up together. Mainly it was Rocky and I who were tight. We went to Nationals together and we the only two on the Houston team who were in the finals.”
New to the Game…
“The first part of my professional career I started off with my original amateur coach. I was totally blind to the whole pro game and I didn’t know that you had to sign a contract before the fights and stuff like that. It was definitely an experience because I loved the lights and the people; it really excited me and gave me a reason to train. I remember fighting a guy who was 5-1 but after I came out of there I felt there was nobody who could have beat me that night. I went out there and it was great but the pay wasn’t great.”
Love of the Sport…
“The big part of it for me was the love of the sport. Just being blessed with the ability that you have and being able to take that and do something you love is the biggest thrill. To be blessed with something and go out there and do it well and put on a show with people appreciating you is the biggest thrill.”
The Conflicts of Life…
“I was doing very well once I got with my manager Joe Day. We had a great relationship and we were very tight. He introduced me to his family. Me and his son were really good friends. I was friends with everybody. He pretty much took me in as one of his kids. We used to work out together and there were times when my trainer was busy and he would train me himself. He did very well with that. It was great but later I had to move back to Lubbock to be closer to my family and after that it was harder getting fights. Just being away from Houston was a problem for me. I had management issues in the sense that we had a conflict of schedules with one another and I wasn’t able to get the fights I needed so I became inactive. In previous articles it seemed as though I was speaking that I had personal matters with Joe but it was nothing like that. I’m forever grateful for everything he showed me. Boxing can be a brutal business and he made a point to look out for me and I can never forget that.”
Dealing with the Inactivity…
“That was terribly frustrating. I felt myself getting even desperate at times trying to network and emailing people just to try to find another outlet. When Demetrius Hopkins fought for a world title I had remembered beating this guy in the amateurs. To see all my other friends like Jeff Lacy and everyone else was great on one hand but frustrating on the next. It was terribly frustrating because I knew that I had the abilities yet I wasn’t able to show it. Lubbock just isn’t a fight place. We had Orlin Norris back in the day but his love for boxing is pretty much out the window. There just wasn’t anything out here as far as boxing and I just picked up bad habits being out here.”
Reaching out to Nate Campbell…
“The way I linked up with Nate Campbell I got a hold of him on Myspace. I had always been a real fan of Nate for the way he came up through the sport and everything. I got in touch with him and ended up calling him. I didn’t know that he was managing fighters at the time; I was just looking to see if he could help me out with any connections. I just thought he might be able to help me with fights. The first few times I called him he would tell me to call him back because he was either eating or at the movies and stuff like that. I just had to keep calling him and one day I pretty much told him that the longer it laid itself out the more I felt that it wasn’t going to happen.
Meeting Up…
“He finally flew me out to Tampa and immediately after I got off the plane we went to the gym and sparred each other. We also ended up talking and we just pretty much clicked. This was over the summer. It was first time meeting him and it was definitely an experience. I had never been in the ring with a guy like him. Looking at his tapes I thought I had a plan for him but I wasn’t able to land on his head so I pretty much just tried tagging him on the arms or the body or anywhere I could touch. He surprised me with a lot of things he did.”
Real Talk…
“Afterwards he said he grabbed my hand he said that he felt I could fight. He told me that the mistakes I made he could put aside because he sparred a lot of great fighters and had done them a lot worse. He shook my hand and said that he couldn’t wait to see me fight the way he knew I could really fight. He felt that we could work something out and told me that we would make something happen.”
Camp in Key West…
“He later flew me out to the camp in Key West and it was nice. He was training for his fight with Timothy Bradley and I helped him get ready for that. We were fortunate enough to where a manager down in the area, Si, let us stay at his place on the beach. We all got up early in the morning and would run 4 miles in the morning then head back to the place. In the afternoons we would end up going to the gym. The heat was terrible and the gym felt like it was about 120 degrees. I was helping him get ready for his fight but I had a fight of my own coming up too.”
Home Again…
“Those first fights back felt like I was at home again. The first guy I was schedule to fight had a record of 20-9, his name was David Armstrong. He ended pulling out and I ended up fighting Alex Perez instead. When I got in there the crowd showed me a lot of love and the crowd got exactly what they wanted. It just felt so good to be back in the ring.”
As It Should Be…
“I would just like to say to Nate Campbell that I am grateful for him taking me in and introducing me to his close family, including his sons, daughter, and grand baby Niah. I would never forget any of them. There is often times when people do little things for you that you will never forget and I hope Nate and I will always be friends. While I didn’t see eye to eye always with Voodoo Management and One Punch Productions it was nothing personal against Nate or his promoter Terry Trekas. I wish them all the best and I hope we can still work together someday. I still plan on pushing forwad with my career and I can’t let some misunderstandings stop me from chasing my dreams.”
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