"The fans know what they saw and both fighters are warriors that put on a show. I didn't realize how great the fight really was though until we got back and all of the media and everybody was calling and texting me. I still haven't seen it on TV, which I am looking forward to doing, but everybody's reaction let me know how great a fight it was and they began to scream rematch immediately, so it was all unbelievablet...We're going to listen to all of our options. Delvin will fight King Kong if he has to. He's not going to duck anybody, but part of the problem I feel in the past with him has been his willingness to take every single fight and going to other peoples countries. I think that has hurt him in the past. So we will listen to all options, have a sit down, and then ultimately make a decision," stated A.J. Galante, manager of jr. middleweight Delvin Rodriguez, as he shared his thoughts on the thrilling and entertaining draw with Pawel Wolak, a fight that's sure to be a leading candidate for Fight of the Year. Check out what he had to say about Delvin's performance, his future plans, and much more.
PC: How is everything going my man?
AG: I'm doing good, man; just on a little vacation with the family.
PC: Before we even talk about the Delvin Rodriguez and Pawel Wolak fight, tell me a little bit about Elite Boxing Enterprises.
AG: Listen, I got into boxing basically because I'm from Danbury, Connecticut, like Delvin, and also Delvin's trainer, Fernely Feliz. Fernely approached me back in March. He wanted to sit down with me and he told me that Delvin didn't have a manager. His contract had ended with his old manager and he wanted me to sit down with him and discuss what I could do for him. I said, "I have no problem sitting down with him." As a business man...I own two oil companies; I always listen to whatever proposals are out there. I asked him what can I do for him and Delvin told me what he was looking for. I'm only 24 years old. I will be 25 in about 4 weeks, so I'm a young guy. I'm younger than Delvin and younger than Fernely, obviously. I let him know that I will definitely work with him. I let him know that I didn't have any experience in the boxing industry, but I had experience in sports and I'm a leader and I'm a winner. I look for the best. As far as the upstart of the company, I decided to create this company, Elite Boxing Enterprises, and I'm also on the verge of signing somebody else. He's a little older and he's not really at Delvin's stature right now, but I'm looking to build him up. I'm just looking to sign guys who are disciplined and have the drive to not only win, but entertain, like Delvin does. I'm not looking to sign guys who will duck fighters and run around the ring and bore people to death. You know as well as I do, this sport needs a shot in the arm of guys who will entertain and who want to fight and mix it up, like Delvin, Pawel Wolak, and Brandon Rios, who fought a few weeks back, and I like Victor Ortiz. We need more guys like that in the sport. That's how it got off the ground and we're looking to do big things.
PC: Is boxing a sport that you have always follwed?
AG: I was born in '86 and I have been a fan of the sport since I was 4 or 5 years old. When I was a kid, Mike Tyson was a God in sports. I have always liked boxing, Mike Tyson, Lennox Lewis and Holyfield; back in the days when the heavyweight division kinda ruled the roots. There was a bit of a low there for awhile, but I always kept track with boxing. I've always followed Delvin's career, being from the same city as him. He's had some very frustrating losses in his career, but the guy comes to fight and that's what I like to watch and that's what I like to represent.
PC: When people see that you are only 24 years old, they may think that you are in over your head, but you were put in charge of a minor league hockey team at a very young age, right?
AG: Listen, my father was the owner of a big trash hauling firm in Danbury. He was always interested in sports, like me, and he introduced me to sports. I have played every sport growing up: hockey, football, baseball and basketball. I can watch just about any sport. I played hockey predominantly in my high school years and I have always loved it. I was never good enough where I was going to get recruited for college, but I enjoyed playing the sport. I was a hard-nosed defense man and I liked the physical play. After I graduated high school, my dad started his own minor league hockey team. It's not there anymore, but it was called UHL [United Hockey League]. I will never forget it. It was a Sunday evening and we're eating pasta, you know, typical Italian family, and he says, "Hey, you want to be the President of the team?" And I say, "Yeah, why not?" I thought he was kidding around. The next thing you know, we were all over the papers and I realized it wasn't a joke. Listen, I was 17 years old at the time it started. I turned 18 by the time the season got underway. Everybody thought it was a joke and a gimmick, and I understood that because you got to pay your dues in life. I just tried to keep quiet, but I'm an emotional person, so my mouth got me in trouble the first year on a couple of occasions (laughing). But we were a dominant team. Our first year, we set the league record for penalty minutes in a season. We were always fighting. We were the toughest; nobody wanted to see us Percy, I'm telling you. Nobody was seeing us in the UHL that first year with the toughness that we had. We came a couple of games short our first season in making the finals, and our second season, we did make the finals and we lost in 5 games. But then my dad kinda got into a legal situation and we had to fold the team. It kinda left a void for me because I always wanted to be involved in sports, and...hey, listen, I'm very religious and I know that God has a plan and the cards fell the way they fell. I met up with Fernely and Delvin and now I'm back into it. So just like the Trashers [hockey team], I know I have to pay my dues in boxing, and I know a couple of people who found out that I'm doing this think it's a joke, but I'm very serious and I'm hoping within a year, we will have Delvin a couple of titles, but we will see what happens.
PC: Delvin and Pawel put on a spectacular performance and in many opinions, the Fight of the Year to this point. At what point did you realize this was going to be a special fight?
AG: I think the night before, when we were at the weigh-ins, it kinda hit me. I was like, "Wow, this is my first fight." And Delvin is so relaxed and loose and I'm sitting here sweating to death. I'm not gonna lie, I was nervous. Delvin was like, "What are you nervous about?" I had to tell him, "Delvin, this is my first fight, buddy. I just want to win so bad." So I organized a couple of Coach Buses for his fans to come down. I had a lot going on in my mind. When Friday came, I went to work for a little bit and then I met him at the hotel and we walked around the city for a little bit and I kinda calmed down. By the time we got to the locker room, there were a lot of cameras and lights, being that it was an ESPN fight, and Delvin is just a natural under the lights. He's got that face and he can interview with everybody, and he speaks well. I just wanted to fade in the background and observe because I am new to this. I just wanted to be respectful. By the time the fight came and I'm walking down with Delvin, to tell you the truth Percy, I was shaking a little bit. I was nervous. I got into the ring and I started to feel much better because I saw a lot of familiar faces in the crowd. And to be honest, between Pawel's fans and our fans, I've never been in a place that loud before in my life. I'm being dead serious. It was unbelievable. And I'm just watching it and I thought Pawel won the early rounds. Delvin admitted that it took him to about round 4 to get his legs back; he was off a year. Listen, you know what the deal is with Pawel Wolak. He's gonna come and he's strong as a bull. He is a beast. But by the 4th round, Delvin started getting him with the combinations and he wasn't getting bullied at all. It was unbelievable. And then when the situation with Pawel's eye happened, I have never seen anything like that before in my life. The fact that that guy kept going, Pawel Wolak is obviously not with my team, but I have all of the respect in the world for that guy. A lot of fighters would have folded and he kept coming and Delvin just kept dishing it out. It was so surreal Percy and I'm just sitting there watching it and thinking, "For a first fight, it is going to be hard to top this." It was great back-and-forth action and the crowd was crazy and it was unbelievable. I knew it was a great fight, but not until....they read the decision and we obviously were disappointed. I don't think it was a robbery though. It wasn't Paul Williams against Lara. It definitely wasn't a robbery, and not being biased, we definitely felt like we won the fight. But hey, listen, we respect the decision. I'm not a professional judge. They obviously saw certain things, but all I know is at least one judge thought we outright won the fight. The fans know what they saw and both fighters are warriors that put on a show. I didn't realize how great the fight really was though until we got back and all of the media and everybody was calling and texting me. I still haven't seen it on TV, which I am looking forward to doing, but everybody's reaction let me know how great a fight it was and they began to scream rematch immediately, so it was all unbelievable.
PC: I think the fight turned out so well that win, lose or draw for your fighter, it has to open up doors for him.
AG: I think so. I already spoke to his promoter, Joe DeGuardia of Star Boxing, and we're going to take a week off and I will go back and see him. We're going to go over all our options and we're going to make the best decision for Delvin because that's what it's all about. It's not about anybody else, and like I told Delvin since day one, "I'm with you and I'm ready to go to war with you." I just want what's best for him. He's definitely a hot commodity right now, especially at 154, so we will see what happens.
PC: So it's not solely about a rematch with Pawel at this point?
AG: We're going to listen to all of our options. Delvin will fight King Kong if he has to. He's not going to duck anybody, but part of the problem I feel in the past with him has been his willingness to take every single fight and going to other peoples countries. I think that has hurt him in the past. So we will listen to all options, have a sit down, and then ultimately make a decision. Like I told him, I will never make a decision without him. Who knows, we may get something nice, but I told him, "We gotta stay hungry. It's good to feel good about this performance, but it's over now and next time, we need a W, that's for sure."
PC: I'm sure another year off isn't in the plans, but after a grueling fight like that, how long would you like to see him take off?
AG: I asked him point blank on the way back to the hotel was he ever hurt and he said no. He said he landed a few good shots, but he said he feels good. And I have to say this, Fernely Feliz deserves a lot of credit. That was his first fight as a trainer. He boosts Delvin's confidence because he was coming off of a couple of bad decisions and a year layoff. A lot of guys doubted Delvin; a lot of guys didn't want to give Fernely a chance to train and a lot of people think I'm a joke all together, but Fernely Feliz deserves a lot of credit. He put in a lot of conditioning work and just all of the work in general. I saw it firsthand and he was unbelievable. But we will see what comes up. We're not going to rush anything, but at the same time, we know there is a high demand for him right now.
PC: Before I let you go, Elite Boxing Enterprises, are you guys looking for prospects, veterans, or like you said, anyone hungry and looking to put on good fights?
AG: Anybody who is hungry, disciplined, and this is their livelihood. I want guys who can't accept a loss. I don't like guys who can accept a loss and pick up a paycheck. That's not me, man. I'm very involved with this and I may not have boxing experience, but in life, I'm a leader and I'm a winner and I'm very young. I can have a large shelf life in this if I pursue it. I just want guys who are willing to work. Unfortunately, with this sport, people think it's cool to box and it looks cool, but they don't know what goes into boxing. This sport is a lifestyle and you have to be willing to eat right and run 7 miles at 4 AM, and some guys just don't have the discipline for it. I know that Delvin does and my new guy does and I will call you when I'm ready to announce that with him. I want to become a force in boxing. I know a lot of people don't know my man and I would rather it be that way because, in my opinion, a good manager is seen and not heard. I don't want to become a character and overshine my boxers. I just want my fighters to shine and I will be okay with fading into the background.
PC: Hell of a fight again my man. I wish you, Delvin, and Elite Boxing Enterprises the best of luck.
AG: Thank you Percy for all that you done for us leading up to the fight, man. We definitely appreciate it.
[ Follow Percy Crawford on Twitter @MrLouis1ana ]