Former Boxing Amateurs turn away from Competition and look to Business

Former Fil-Am amateur boxers, Joe Quiambao and Nelson Lopez Jr. have decided to turn their attentions away from competition and focus on the business side of the sport. The two have since made names for themselves as well-connected and reliable partners. As they have worked in virtually every facet of the business. They are also recognized as some of the best hand-wrappers in the industry.

Quiambao is a native of Jamaica, Queens in NYC whose mother hails from Pampanga and his father from Lucena City. He previously participated in four consecutive New York Golden Globe finals’ before winning in 1993. In his ‘93 victory, Quiambao scored a third-round stoppage on Manuel Torres in the 106lb division.

Quiambao promised his mother that he would stop competing once he won the title. However, after tasting glory, he found it difficult to walk away. Joe eventually gave in to his parent’s wishes to pursue higher education and enrolled in New York’s Hunter College. After he graduated, Quiambao believed that he had fulfilled all his requirements for a degree in Physical Education. However, he later realized that he was half a credit short.

Rather than returning to school, Quiambao looked to intern in DiBella, an up-and-coming boxing promotion in NYC. After being accepted, he worked as an assistant then a medical coordinator before becoming a matchmaker. During his time there, he helped develop the careers of world champions Andre Berto, Paulie Malignaggi, and Jermain Taylor.

“When you’re an intern, you can’t work hard. You can’t work double hard. You have to work quadruple hard,” said Quiambao in an interview with Ryan Songalia in a segment of “So Game” on the So Jannelle TV show.

“You have to do everything from shining shoes to delivering packages. Anything they ask you to do you’ve got to do, and you’ve got to do it with a smile, you can’t complain.”

Nelson, on the other hand, was raised in Pahokee, Florida, where his father was a boxing trainer and promoter. Nelson picked up the sport as a child and won the Florida Golden Glove title as a heavyweight. Although he drew the attention of several talent scouts, he opted to finish his college education to become a teacher. His time in school was cut short as he had to find work to support his newborn son.

Lopez then pursued deals with international boxers who wished to make it big in the United States. Due to his ability to process visas for boxers to train and fight in the US, he became a sought-after manager for many fighters.

“It just got better and better. I realized I can make money on training, I can make money wrapping a hand, I can make money by doing a visa, I can make money on booking a fight, I can make money by having a training camp,” said Lopez.

“There have been times when I’ve been dropped in the middle of a battlefield and they say, ‘You do everything,’” said Lopez. “But the bigger promoters, like the Top Ranks, the PBCs, and the Matchroom’s, they got it in order, I’m just doing fighter relations at that point.”

“We can follow our passion. I followed my passion which is boxing,” said Quiambao.

Source: Rappler