"I think it's a defensive ruling because they are targeting fathers who possibly wouldn't pull the plug on a fight involving their son, and to me, it doesn't make sense because what is the referee and the doctor there for...I mean, anybody can give instructions in the corner, so unless there is a ruling against that, then it becomes problematic. If they say nobody else can speak in the corner but the chief second, then it becomes a problem," stated world-class trainer Gary Russell Sr., who shared his thoughts on the World Boxing Council's rule that does not allow a fighter's father to be the chief second in his corner during a fight. Check it out!
PC: Who better to speak to about the WBC's ruling on not allowing fathers to serve as chief second to their children anymore. You have 3 sons currently fighting that you serve as their chief second.
GRS: Honestly, I think they are just looking for something to do. I don't believe its' going to make too much of a difference. When they put it out, they actually showed Angel Garcia; I don't know if it's to pick with him, but they used him as the poster boy. I think it's a defensive ruling because they are targeting fathers who possibly wouldn't pull the plug on a fight involving their son, and to me, it doesn't make sense because what is the referee and the doctor there for?
PC: That's a great point because although the trainer has a vital role in that corner, they are not the last line of defense for a fighter in need of a fight being stopped or continuing.
GRS: That's what the referee and the doctors are there for. They tell you when they come into the room, "The referee can stop the fight and the doctor can stop the fight."
PC: I said this earlier, but just to be clear, you are the chief second in all of your sons' corner, correct?
GRS: Exactly!
PC: So there is no trainer out there that would be affected more by that ruling than you because I don't believe there is any other trainer with 3 children in the sport.
GRS: From a numbers standpoint, yes, but not really from a strategic standpoint. I don't get in the ring anyway. I don't go into the ring, I give instructions when they come back to the corner. My son could be the chief second.
PC: So you're not necessarily a fan of the rule, but there are ways of getting around it for the Russells.
GRS: Exactly! Honestly, at the end of the day, it depends on the individuals. There was a fight that took place here in D.C. during the early part of this year. The kid was complaining about getting hit in the head. His father was in his corner. In all of the confusion of what was going on, his kid was losing, what happened was, it was a 10-round fight and the father started to cut the gloves off at the end of the 9th round. They disqualified or stopped the fight. The boy left the ring complaining about his head and they took him to the hospital where he went into a coma. I think the kid is still in a coma.
PC: You're talking about Prichard Colon.
GRS: Right! You saw how that went. If you review that fight, you will see that there was never an instance where he was getting hit frequently with big punches or rabbit punches to the back or top of his head. The damage that kid sustained was in training. It was definitely during training because he didn't get hit that much or that hard at any point during that fight to cause the damage that took place.
PC: I look at some of the trickier cases, like a Barry Hunter, who is the adopted father of Lamont and Anthony. Would the WBC allow him in their corners?
GRS: What they put down in the ruling is biological father, but you're right, how can you clarify that? It's not a lot you can understand about this rule. It's like they needed some type of platform for shock value. One of the articles I was reading was saying that it may affect Danny Garcia and Keith Thurman's fight.
PC: Does that change anything for you guys psychologically?
GRS: Not at all! I mean, anybody can give instructions in the corner, so unless there is a ruling against that, then it becomes problematic. If they say nobody else can speak in the corner but the chief second, then it becomes a problem.
PC: Off of that subject, Gary Jr. recently came out and said he only wanted to fight a couple of more years. Do you agree with his timetable?
GRS: I agree with him 100%. A lot of people let the sport define them. My kids, I try to keep them rooted. I tell Gary, Antuanne, and Antonio not to let the sport define them. People will say, "They are pugilists." They are quick to tell you, "This is not who I am, it's what I do." We are going to use the stage and the platform to secure ourselves financially, not only as a dynasty in boxing, but for our families. A lot of melanin people leave nothing to their kids but debt and memories. I want my kids to leave their kids something. You take this business over here and you do this, you run this housing development or you manage these rental properties that we own. That's where my kids are with their mindset. The longer you are in this sport, the risk of being hurt mentally grows higher. I have seen guys in this game who had money, who are really well known in the boxing world, and now I see them around now, man, just surviving. I don't want to see that happen to my kids.
PC: What kind of 2017 can we expect from the Russell family?
GRS: We have our prayer to try and get spiritually correct and physically they are at the gym right now. We are really going to start picking it up next week on into January and we're scheduled to fight in February.
[ Follow Percy Crawford on Twitter @MrLouis1ana ]