"Once you’re in there to fight, you gotta get mean. When you get in the ring, you gotta switch to a different mode. You can’t get in the ring and be lazy; it’s not going to work. That will make you quit or the referee will stop the fight..We definitely use the Charlo Twins as motivation and I know a lot of people feel they were the first twins to become champions, but they weren’t the first twins to become champion; Tiger and Rock [Allen] were," stated the Grandy twins, Daniel and Steven, who talked about their appearance on NBC's Little Big Shots, their future plans and much more. Check it out!
PC: How is it going, buddy?
Daniel: Good!
Steven: I’m good too.
PC: It all started when your father recorded you and your brother doing some mitt work on the street. Did you ever think that video would become so popular?
DG: No! I thought it was just going to be like a regular video. That’s all I thought.
SG: Yeah! I actually thought it would get big like it did.
PC: I remember seeing celebrities like L.L. Cool J, Neyo, and Shaq comment and share the video. What was that like to see the different reactions from that video?
DG: It was crazy! I really didn’t imagine it blowing up the way it did.
SG: It was a great feeling to see so many people share our video and talk about the discipline we had.
PC: Are you the twin that’s on the mitts or are you the one following instructions and hitting the mitts mostly?
DG: I’m the guy doing the boxing.
PC: You seem to take direction from your brother well. He gives you instructions to follow and you carry them through on the mitts.
DG: Yes sir! I’ll always listen to what my brother tells me to do. Even though I’m older than him, he does the pads and I have to follow his instructions as far as what combinations he wants to work on or what he wants to see from me.
PC: Steven, you are very direct and you are a great instructor. Where did you get those traits from?
SG: I just get on my phone and watch Pernell Whitaker and that’s pretty much it. I get a lot of what I do from watching him.
PC: You guys made it to the show “The Little Big Shots” with Steve Harvey. That video has received over 1.5 million views on YouTube. I’m sure the attention went up after that show aired.
DG: Every time we go somewhere, people always want to take pictures with us.
SG: It was a great experience. I was a little bit nervous. I was nervous and thinking I was going to do a bad job or mess up, but it went pretty good.
PC: You’re only 9 years old. Are you shy about things like that or is it something you just embrace?
DG: I just take pictures.
SG: I’m not shy at all about it. It’s kind of cool.
PC: You guys have some tournaments coming up that you are getting ready for. How has the work in the gym been?
DG: It’s been really good. We have been on the pads, getting in some sparring, working the pull-up bar, on the bag, and strength and conditioning.
PC: It’s hard to say at 9 years of age, but I think it’s safe to say boxing will somehow be in your future.
DG: I want to box and be a racecar driver.
PC: Oh, okay, you already have a plan in mind. You have a couple of things going on. Who are your boxing influences?
DG: My dad, my dad, and my dad. All of my family come to every fight that I have. They all come to watch me every time, so my family is my support system.
SG: I watch Pernell Whitaker. He is the only fighter I watch.
PC: What is your favorite part of boxing?
DG: The actual fights. Once you’re in there to fight, you gotta get mean. When you get in the ring, you gotta switch to a different mode. You can’t get in the ring and be lazy; it’s not going to work. That will make you quit or the referee will stop the fight.
PC: I’m sure at this stage, you and your brother push each other tremendously in the gym to get better.
DG: We both push each other a lot of times in the ring, outside the ring, on the pads, and doing pull-ups.
PC: Do you ever spar each other?
DG: We spar with each other, but it’s for practice so we could be good during the fights.
PC: When you guys look at guys like the Charlo Twins and the success that they are having, is that motivation for you guys?
DG: We definitely use the Charlo Twins as motivation and I know a lot of people feel they were the first twins to become champions, but they weren’t the first twins to become champion; Tiger and Rock [Allen] were.
PC: Do you like to study the sport, and if so, what are you looking for?
DG: I watch boxing every day. We go to a lot of events; we were just at an event yesterday. I like to see different techniques and things like that.
PC: You have two amazing sons that obviously have a love for the sport beyond imaginable at 9 years old.
Daniel Steven Grandy (father): They just gravitated to the sport, man. And once that happened, it was like, alright, this is what we do and people just started paying attention to it and it went to another height. And like I tell people, that’s them; you can’t teach a kid passion. There is nothing I can do. I can scream at them all day long and be Joe Jackson, it still wouldn’t work. They are boxers, man.
PC: Do you think the evolution of social media and the internet is why they’re getting so much attention so fast?
DSG: Honestly, it was just caught by a celebrity. I think the first person that retweeted it was Shaq I believe. Don’t hold me to that, but I think it was either Shaq or George Lopez. From there on, it just went crazy. It went insane from that point on. It was a blessing. The popularity or attention that comes with it definitely helps us out in the sense of making a mark in the future. I’m so grounded at what we do, I don’t even get excited about it. Everybody that meets me is like, “Man, you’re so down to earth. If my kids were popular like that, I’ll be this and this,” but I know the reality of life. You gotta keep working, man, and if you don’t, people will build you up to tear you down. You can’t let off the gas.
PC: You work them hard or else those videos wouldn’t mean a thing. They have to back up what we are saying and what they are accomplishing as amateur standouts is the proof.
DSG: Right! Exactly! And that’s what I mean when I say you can’t take your foot off of the gas. People will be gunning for us and it’s our job to be ready.
PC: How did the “Little Big Shots” opportunity come about?
DSG: Honestly, again, through the whole social media thing. Call after call kept coming in and a guy I kind of came up with was doing some agency stuff and he plugged me to a person that plugged me to a person and long story short, they set up the situation. They flew us out there. The first time they flew out there, I couldn’t even go because I was working. Their mom went out there with them. They did the dry run to see if they wanted them or whatever and they blew those people away. So they flew us back the next time for like a week and a half and from that point on, it’s been kind of on. They just did Harry Connick Jr.’s show like 3 weeks ago and the ESPN show and Max Kellerman talking about them. Doors have just been opening and we actually had a movie audition recently.
PC: And both of them told me it’s not a rivalry as much as it is motivation for them to push one another.
DSG: They definitely push each other. I always say imagine if you had you to push you.
PC: I played football with two twins and they were both safeties and they pushed each other as well.
DSG: And if you played football with them, one thing you know about twins, they are nuts; out of their minds. You would think they didn’t get along, but try to fight one of them. I was telling someone about the Charlo’s the other night, I understand them. I’m raising them. I get it. That’s them two. And you ain’t never gotta go look for sparring. You’re born with a sparring partner.
PC: You watch boxing with them?
DSG: We watch the big fights. They watch a lot of stuff on their own. I try to balance it out with them. I try to not have too much boxing conversation when we in the house. That’s their kid time where they play their video games. But they get on social media on their own and watch fights and clips. Steven is obsessed with Pernell Whitaker. That’s all he know. Now, how he came about it, I have no idea. As a father/coach, I want that. Pernell is a good guy to be obsessed with inside of that ring.
[ Follow Percy Crawford on Twitter @MrLouis1ana ]