Valdez’s Manager Frank Espinoza Reveals His Talent Finding Secret
By William Trillo
His ledger speaks for itself. Martin Castillo, Enrique Sanchez, Daniel Ponce De Leon, Israel Vasquez, Abner Mares and now Oscar Valdez. The chances are whenever you see the next up and coming lighter weight Mexican hitting the spotlight there is a good chance you are going to see Espinoza in their corner.
I was fortunate enough to speak to Espinoza a few days after his latest protégé Oscar Valdez shocked the boxing world with the devastating defeat of the now dethroned Champion Miguel Berchelt. After congratulating the manager for having another World Title holder under his wing I had a few questions I hoped he would answer.
The first question was if was if he didn’t mind revealing his secret? How is it that it’s not uncommon to see him in the corner of the next Mexican breakout champion? What does he know that helps him find the fighters that will rise to the top?
Espinoza chuckled and said, “Thanks for the compliment Will. You know the main thing is the fact that I like to do my own scouting in the amateur ranks. I like to see them for myself. Of course, I love my Mexican fighters. When I am watching I look for fighters who already have that pro style. I like the amateurs that will fight and have that certain toughness about them. Those are the young men I target.”
Fancy that! Espinoza’s secret is simply good old-fashioned nose to the grindstone hard work. In a world full of boxing managers who are busy cutting records or worrying about their Social Media presence it is refreshing to see a guy who does his work the old-fashioned way. (Insert Smith/Barney commercial here).
Of course, I had to inquire about the Valdez/Berchelt fight. I noted that it’s doubtful anyone is going to worry about Oscar the next time he gets into the ring against a perceived bigger and stronger fighter.
“I am glad you mentioned that,” shared Espinoza. “You know, after the Quigg fight I knew it was time for a change. Oscar was just getting hit too much that night and as far as I was concerned. We had to go a different direction. A lot of people were extremely critical of me when we left Manny Robles, but it had to be done. You saw the difference Eddie Reynoso has made. Oscar did not get hit flush very much on Saturday night. Bringing in Reynoso made all the difference in the world.”
In other words, Critics be damned.
From being second guessed for replacing trainers to having his fighter being given no chance to defeat Berchelt, Espinoza has shown once again that it’s best not to second guess him or his hard work.
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