THE FACE OF BOXING Jose Luis Guzman From Opponent to Trainer:
A Life in Boxing Photographs by Wojtek Urbanek • Text by Thomas Hauser
J ose Luis Guzman has devoted his life to boxing. Guzman, now 37, was born in Puerto Rico and grew up in The Bronx, New York City. When he was a boy, boxing kept him off the streets and out of trouble. In his years as a club fighter, it gave him a sense of self-worth. Now he’s earning a reputation as one of the better young trainers in New York. “The ring has always been my happy place,” he says. Guzman was what is known in the trade as an opponent. He turned pro at age 18, fought at weights ranging from 127 to 138 pounds and was never matched against a fighter with a losing record. Sometimes he was given only a day’s notice before a fight. Sometimes he won and the judges took the decision from him. “I knew I was the opponent,” Jose says. “But I never lay down for anyone and always tried my best to win. I loved the thrill of walking into the ring and going from being a regular person to being a gladiator. For me, it was the best feeling in the world.”
Guzman was matched against prospects like Teon Kennedy (who finished his career with a 19- 2-2 record) and Carlos Zambrano (27-2). He fought two Olympians – silver medalist John Joe Nevin of Ireland (now 17-0) and Jonathan Alonso of Spain (currently 24-2). In 2009, he lost a six-round decision to Chris Algieri. “It was an amazing feeling for me when Chris beat [Ruslan] Provodnikov to win a world title and fought Manny Pacquiao,” Jose recalls. “Chris is a nice guy and I gave him a tough fight. I was super-excited and happy for him.” Guzman finished his ring career in 2016 with a 6-14-1 record, no knockouts, and six losses by KO. Those weren’t the numbers he had hoped for. But he’d learned his craft. Then he turned to training. Jose now works primarily out of Victory Boxing Gym in New York and is the lead trainer for world-ranked bantamweight
Dominique Crowder. He assists Aureliano Sosa in training Jarrell Miller and recently spent two months in Puerto Rico helping Jordan Maldonado prepare Amanda Serrano for her trilogy fight against Katie Taylor. “I work with some big fighters,” Guzman says. “And there are kids who I train for free. My life has always been about boxing. Most of us don’t become world champions. But boxing makes us better people.”
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