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Boxing coach Jose Campos molds young men
Boxing coach Jose Campos molds young men
©by Leo Adam Biga
Appeared in December 2017 issue of El Perico (el-perico.com)
Jose Campos grew up a fight fan and competed as an amateur. For years now, he’s applied his ring savvy teaching the Sweet Science at Jackson’s Boxing Club, 2562 Leavenworth Street, where he’s head coach.
He’s worked with kids-adults, amateurs-pros, journeymen-champions. When he looks at Ralston High School senior Juan Vazquez, he sees world-class potential.
“I’ve only had four or five kids that I said, ‘For sure, he’s going to be something,’ and Juan is one of them. If he sticks with it, he’s going to be a world champion for sure.”
Vazquez, 17, won the National Junior Olympics title at 152 pounds earlier this year in West Virginia. He made it to the semifinals of a regional qualifier in Tennessee in October, Campos sees similarities
between four-time world pro world titilist Terence Crawford of Omaha and Vazquez at the same age.
“I coached with Terence’s coach, Esau Dieguez, for four years. I see a lot of things Juan does the same way Terence used to do it. It’s exciting to see that in somebody I’m coaching now.”
The first week in December, Vazquez lost in the semis at USA Boxing’s National Championships in Salt Lake City, Utah. Despite finishing in third place. he’s still been invited to train with the U.S. Olympic team in Colorado Springs next May. He’s next man up for international competitions should either of the two fighters ahead of him not be able to travel.
Campos has another promising fighter in his own son, 142-pounder Marco Campos, who, like Vazquez, is nationally ranked. Marco competed in Salt Lake and will join Vazquez in training with the Olympic team.
“Being part of the USA team is everything,” Jose Campos said. “Promoters are paying attention to them. Once they turn 18, there are contracts waiting for them.”
Win or lose, fighting for one’s club or country or for money, the coach wants his boxers prepared for life.
“I tell all my kids they have to go to school, they have to get a degree. Boxing, one day you’re on top, the next day something happens to you. They need to have something to fall back on.”
Besides being a student of the ring, where he’s progressed from slacker to prospect, Vazquez also applies himself at school. Campos said his prodigy is mature for his age.
“A lot of people think he’s older than what he really is.”
Campos describes the dramatic transformation his star pupil made.
“Usually, kids come because they want to do it and they want to be part of this. Usually, parents are like, ‘If my kid doesn’t want to do this, I’m not going to make him.’ Well, with Juan, his mom brought him to me because he was so overweight and he didn’t do anything after school. He just sat down at home playing video games. His mom wanted him to do something. It didn’t come from him.”
All it took to get Vazquez motivated was his coach challenging him.
“If you’re going to come train with us, you’re going to train,” Campos said. “We don’t do things half way. I don’t let the kids compete unless they’re prepared. It’s a way of life, it’s hard, it’s not for everyone.”
Even when pushed to his limits, “Juan kept coming back” and improving, Campos said. “Some guys advance faster than others and Juan picked things up quickly.”
After shedding pounds and learning the ropes, Vazquez decisively won his first few fights. He was hooked.
“He started to work really hard,” said Campos, who also coaches at Premier Combat Center.
Vazquez’s early bouts were in upper weight divisions. As he moved up in competition, he didn’t have the strength to dominate anymore. He still finished as runner-up at 165 pounds in a national tourney. “He was outsmarting them in there,” Campos said, “but at the end of the day they were too big for him. We decided to go down to 152 and that’s where we’re going to stay. That’s where his body feels more comfortable and he’s at his strongest.”
Should Vazquez eventually turn pro, he’ll fight lighter yet, perhaps at 135-pounds.
So far, Vazquez’s work ethic has not wavered. If it does, Campos will call him on it.
“If you don’t train hard, you’re going to get hurt. One fight can change the rest of your life.”
Campos knows Vaquez dreams of going pro but he also realizes “that could change,” adding, “It’s hard to predict. Things happen in life. You never know what’s going to happen with these kids. I’ve had other Juans in my gym before with his talent. Unfortunately, for whatever reasons, they didn’t continue in boxing.”
Like his gym-mates, Vazquez usually depends on donations and scholarships to travel to tournaments. “He doesn’t have the money to do these things,” Campos said. “His mom’s a single mom.” USA Boxing will pay for Vazquez’s and Marco’s Olympic training.
For Campos, it’s not about the titles won but the growth young people make at Jackson’s Boxing Club.
“It inspires me watching these kids develop. It makes me happy. They validate me in what we’re doing. It’s not just me. Coach Christian Trinidad works with the kids, too. Christian used to box for me. He was an outstanding fighter. For medical reasons, he had to stop.”
Trinidad, he said, is “the other half of the coaching we do with Juan – we have brought Juan up together.”
Similarly, Campos said his son and Vazquez “have come up together and make each other better.”
Those two are the most high-profile competitors, but they’re not the only ones making noise at Jackson’s.
“We have a really good crop of fighters who are fighting at a very high level. Five are nationally ranked. I’m not sure if there’s another local gym that can say that.”
Visit jacksonsboxingclub.com.
Read more of Leo Adam Biga’s work at leoadambiga.com.
From couch potato to champion pugilist
From couch potato to champion pugilist
©by Leo Adam Biga
Appeared in December 2017 issue of El Perico (el-perico.com)
No one expected nationally ranked amateur fighter Juan Vazquez, 17, to be the poster boy for how boxing can transform your life. Four years ago, the now Ralston High senior was an obese couch potato who preferred video games over physical activity.
Even after his mother practically dragged him to Jackson’s Boxing Club in south downtown, where his older brother trained, he cut up rather than worked out. Head coach Jose Campos expected Vazquez to quit when he pushed him hard in training. But Vazquez took everything Campos and assistant coach Christian Trinidad dished out and came back for more. He rapidly shed pounds and learned ring skills. Mere months after getting serious, he fought bouts – and won.
“I tend to pick things up quickly,” Vazquez said.
Campos knew he had someone special when Vazquez kept beating or nearly beating more experienced foes.
“It inspired him to get better because he knew that if he could compete with these high level kids with his little experience then he was going to be something, and he did. He started to work really hard.”
Vazquez won Silver Gloves regionals and twice won Ringside youth world championships. Then he became a national Junior Olympic champion at 152 pounds in West Virginia. He’s now a USA team hopeful eyeing the 2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo, Japan.
No one’s more surprised than Vazquez himself.
“I never thought I would compete like this nationally, but as the years went by I’ve shown I’m really good at it. What I love most about the sport is that it keeps me in shape and it makes me a better person. Every day I try my hardest in everything I do. It just gets me through my days when I’m stressed.
“It’s always there for me. It’s made me into the person I am today. I’m doing good at school. I’m healthy, I’m eating right. It teaches you things you can use in real life. It’s taught me a lot about discipline When I train, I don’t cheat myself. If I don’t train hard, that’s going to end up turning into failure.”
Campos confirmed Vazquez is a quick study.
“He picks things up more and faster than other kids. When Juan goes into a fight, it takes him a round or half a round to feel out the other kid. He’s looking for mistakes they’re making, for flaws in their game, and once he sees it, he works off that.”
Reading opponent tendencies shows a cerebral side.
“I see everything,” Vazquez said. “I’m jabbing, feeling how hard they hit, what their favorite punch is, what are they throwing often, and how can I counter all that.”
Campos said Vazquez can adapt thanks to unusual versatility.
“If Juan notices he needs to go forward, he’s really good at going forward. If he notices he needs to box and move around, he’s really good with his footwork. If he needs to switch from right-handed to left-handed, he will do that, and be just as good, which is pretty impressive. You only see that from high level professional fighters.”
This complete package compels Campos to sing his prodigy’s praises.
“He’s smart, he’s calm and he’s super tough – physically and mentally. There is no quit in him. It’s rare. He’s one of those kids where if he sticks with it, he’s going to be a world champion for sure.”
Vazquez, who’s trained with world champion Terrence Crawford of Omaha, said, “I want to make this my career. I honestly want to pursue it for the rest of my life, I’m willing to take it all the way – as far as I can.”
His family supports him right down the line.
“They tell me to pursue it. When they see me fighting, they see I have the potential to be one of the greatest in the sport. I see it, too. They see that boxing has really helped me with my life – with just everything.”
Even though he has his mom to thank for introducing him to the gym, he’s taken it far beyond her imagination.
“She never thought it’d be like this.”
She’s happy for his success but can’t bring herself to watch him fight,
“She’s scared to see me getting hit. She never wants me getting hurt. She’s really protective over me.”
Only his pride was hurt when he lost in the semi-finals ofa national tournament in Tennessee.
“I thought it was a really close fight, but you can’t really be mad at anybody but yourself. You just have to go back to the gym and start training again.”
Campos feels too much time off hurt his boxer.
“He didn’t get to fight in between the Junior Olympics (in July) and this tournament (in October) because we couldn’t find him any opponents, so he got rusty.
“This kid needs to be active.”
Vazquez is in training now for a December tournament in Salt Lake City, Utah that will decide the USA boxing team for upcoming international competitions.
“That’s where I really need to bring it because that’s the one that’s going to determine who’s going to take that spot,” Vazquez said.
With a fighter who’s come so far, so fast, it’s no wonder Campos uses Vazquez as an example to others.
“I love that he does it,” Vazquez said. “It shows kids there is a chance for you to be slimmer and to up your lifestyle. It’s not all about eating junk food and playing games. You have to work out to keep your body in shape to live a healthier and better life.”
The nonprofit Jackson’s Boxing Club, 2562 Leavenworth St., holds fundraisers and accepts donations to send kids like Juan to competitions.
For details, visit jacksonsboxingclub.com.
Read more of Leo Adam Biga’s work at leoadambiga.com.
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