Orlando Cuellar talks to 8CN

February 6th, 2010

In the corner of every great fighter stands a great trainer. Muhammad Ali had Angelo Dundee by his side. Current Pound for Pound king Manny Pacquiao has Freddie Roach in his corner. World champions such as Tommy Hearns and Wladimir Klitschko sought the tutelage of Emmanuel Steward. In the vast history of boxing in Miami, one current trainer is keeping that legacy alive by grooming prospects and building world champions. That trainer is Orlando Cuellar. Cuellar, 2004 trainer of the year, has been very busy pushing his star pupil, Glen Johnson back to the top echelon as well as grooming Cuban amateur standouts Rances Barthelemy, Yan Barthelemy and Luis Franco. While preparing Glen Johnson for an IBF Light Heavyweight title eliminator Friday on ESPN and Richard Gutierrez for an appearance on Shobox Saturday, Cuellar took time out of his busy schedule Thursday to talk to 8 Count News.

8CN: I know you are a very busy guy this week, Thank you for taking the time out to talk.

OC: No problem Aaron.

8CN: How difficult is it to train two fighters, for two very big fights on the same weekend, especially when one guy is fighting in another country?

OC: Well I have been at it for a while, and it really isn’t that hard when you love what you do like me. I am training a few other guys too right now for upcoming fights and there is enough hours in the day to fit them all in. You got to have a real passion for the sport to do it and put in the time and if you don’t then you won’t succeed. After Glen’s fight Friday night I will jump on a plane Saturday morning and head to Mexico to be in Richard’s [Gutierrez] corner that night. On February 19th I also have Rances Barthelemy and Olympian Luis Franco fighting on the Telemundo card at Miccousukee and then the following week after that I have Olympic gold medalist Yan Barthelemy fighting here in Miami.

8CN: Glen’s fight was originally scheduled to be in Connecticut, but was moved to your backyard in Miami. Does fighting at home, give you an advantage?

OC: I actually prefer to go away. That way you don’t have friends and family asking for tickets and there is a more distractions staying close to home. We have been down the road so many times though, so it is nice to put on a show for the home fans but there are also added expectations and sometimes they make mistakes trying to put on a show for their crowd.

8CN: Glen has a very big fight this weekend with an IBF title shot ahead if he gets by Yusaf Mack. What are your thoughts on the fight?

OC: Well it is youth versus experience. Glen has been in a lot of wars with many great fighters and is very battle tested. No one besides Hopkins, and Glen was very green at that time, has ever truly hurt him. Nobody else has ever beaten Glen up. I know Glen lost his last fight with Dawson, but that was a track meet. We had to chase him down the entire night. We hope Mack will want to come to fight instead of run all night.
Mack is relatively inexperienced. He has fought a couple guys, but no one on this level before. He has dropped the ball a couple times against guys he should have beat. He is a little inconsistent and has a suspect chin. We plan to stay real close to him and keep the heat on him until he folds. I don’t see this fight going distance and Glen will stop him or his corner will throw in the towel.

8CN: The winner of the fight gets a crack at Cloud, who is fighting at the end of March on ESPN. Would Glen be able to take that fight on short notice?

OC: Well that is the plan. We want that fight. Cloud is on the radar, but first thing’s first, we have to get through Yusaf Mack before we can set our sites on him.

8CN: On Saturday, you continue your busy schedule by heading to Mexico to corner another fighter, Richard Gutierrez, as he prepares for a battle with undefeated prospect Carlos Abregu on Showtime. How did camp go with Richard?

OC: Well this will be my first fight with Richard. We got together about 6 months ago for a fight with Mike Jones, but that fell through. Then we got this fight with Abregu, which has been on again off again a couple times. We have had three straight training camps preparing for Abregu and we finally get to fight him this weekend. I have trained guys who are very good athletes and Richard reminds me of Glen in that they aren’t as acrobatic, but they are tough as nails and are very good listeners. Whatever you teach them, they will soak it in and make it work. I don’t train every fighter the same way but they are similar in that they both come straight for you. I sharpened him up and had him working behind a good jab and body work. We worked on communication, and I told him for him to win this fight, he will have to listen and make the adjustments we are going to have to make throughout the fight. With my experience, I believe we are going to pull off the upset. Abregu has never fought a guy like this before and we will break him down and expose him.

8CN: We can’t leave out your young Cuban prospects. You have Olympian Luis Franco, Rances Barthelemy and his brother Olympic gold medalist Yan Barthelemy. What is the transition like for these guys from the amateurs to the pros?

OC: Their transition has been fairly smooth. I am the type of teacher that teaches different styles. That is what makes fights. They have to be able to adjust to make it on the next level. Cubans are classic boxers, but when they turn pro they have to have a good teacher, someone who will teach them to counter, box on the inside, the outside and the middle, how to work the body, how to turn over their punches and work in the pocket. A lot of these Cubans, when they first turn pro, think their style will carry them all the way to the top and they won’t have to change anything, but that is not the case. This isn’t fighting with the big gloves and head gear anymore. In the amateurs, you could bounce around the ring the ring keep busy for four rounds, but you can’t do that for twelve. You are going to have to stop and you are going to have to fight. There is a difference from fighting kids and fighting men. Most of these Cubans have success in the amateurs because they have so many fights 300-400 and are grown men, 22,23, 25,30 years old fighting 17,18, 19 year old kids that we send over and they toy with them. In the amateurs you win trophies and medals. Here in the pros, you are fighting to make money and put food on the table and it is a different drive. Now it is men fighting men and you have smaller gloves, no head gear and it is a different ball game.

But to go back to your question, I don’t train anybody that isn’t a good listener. They do what I ask them to do and I will make them champions. If they don’t do what I ask them to do, then what good is it for a teacher to teach an uncooperative student?

8CN: Being amateur standouts puts extra pressure on their shoulders. How has that pressure affected them?

OC: Well it motivates them in a positive way. They want to succeed and live on the traditions. They are very trusting in me on how I prepare them and I give them more of a sure thing rather than guessing. I give them answers. I put them in tough in sparring, and they can feel themselves growing and becoming better fighters all the time.

8CN: Any final comments Orlando?

OC: Thanks to all the fans out there, you guys make the sport. Watch Glen Johnson come one step closer to the title Friday night on ESPN and look for Richard Gutierrez Saturday night with an upset over Abregu. Also February 19th on Telemundo watch Luis Franco.