This weekend presents Ray Casal with the sort of dilemma every boxing trainer would love to face.
But maybe not every father.
Casal's 19-year-old son, Nick, is scheduled for his 10th professional fight on Friday night, May 20, in Tulsa, Okla.
That same night, 17-year-old Anthony Casal could be fighting in the semifinals of the National Golden Gloves Tournament 275 miles away in Little Rock, Ark.
"It would be the first time I wasn't in Anthony's corner for a one of his fights," Ray Casal said. "But I can't be in two places at once."
Should Anthony, who earned the state Golden Gloves open men's title at 141 pounds in Syracuse earlier this month, reach the semifinals in Little Rock, Don Patterson of the Northwest Community Center in Buffalo will run his corner.
The scheduling conflict stands as a tribute to the talents of both father and sons. With nine knockouts in as many pro outings, Nick has caught the attention of the boxing world, including several top fighters.
Undisputed junior middleweight champion Winky Wright walked him to the ring for his last bout, a 99-second destruction of Rodney Freeman at Mandalay Bay in Las Vegas.
After the knockout, the Casals watched the main event -- a 10th-round stoppage of Jose Luis Castillo by Diego Corrales that's already being called an all-time classic -- surrounded by such luminaries as IBF heavyweight beltholder Chris Byrd and James Toney, who took the WBA heavyweight title from John Ruiz on April 30, only to test positive for steroids after the fight. Nick, who turned pro last June 5, said that despite the lofty company, he's not letting himself get star-struck.
"It's a job," he said. "But it's not like a five-day job, where you get days off or can take a sick day. It's a seven-day job, and if I take a sick day, I'm feeling the results -- I get punched in the head."
That hasn't happened much in his first nine fights, six of which ended in the first round, with none reaching the fourth. His biggest test came Dec. 17, courtesy of Jesse Curry. A natural middleweight, Curry tagged Casal -- whose natural weight is 140, three classes below -- early in the first round.
"He hit me and stunned me," Casal said. "It felt kind of good, actually."
Apparently so. Casal recovered almost instantly and set about finishing Curry before the end of the round.
His next scheduled opponent, Steve Verdin, brings experience, if not a lot of success. Verdin's record is listed at 5-20-2, but 20 of his 27 fights have gone the distance and he's won the last two.
Getting rounds for Casal has been a priority for manager Shelly Finkel and promoter Gary Shaw. They've tried matching him with bigger fighters like Curry, as well as experienced runners like Sean Holley, who had 22 bouts on his slate before Casal stopped him in three rounds on April 22.
To date, Casal's power has overwhelmed everyone put in front of him. To maximize the impact of his punching ability, he fought Freeman at 139-and-a-half pounds and plans to continue campaigning at the junior welterweight limit of 140.
After weighing in between 143 and 148 for his first eight pro bouts, shaving those last few pounds hasn't been easy.
"He gets pretty irritable right before a fight," said his mother, Lesli. "When he called after the Freeman fight, the first thing he said was, 'I want my lasagna when I get home.'"
Casal is scheduled to fight on the undercard of the June 11 bout between the eternally comebacking Mike Tyson and Kevin McBride in Washington, D.C. He'll likely move to scheduled eight-round bouts on that card or in his next outing. He'll likely move to 10-rounders soon afterward, and could get a shot at a minor-league belt by the end of his second year as a pro.
His style has already drawn comparisons to Arturo Gatti, best known for his three all-out wars with Mickey Ward. But Casal is already learning the value of not getting hit, something Gatti has only started concerning himself with later in his career.
"If you work on defense, your career lasts longer," Casal said. "Gatti's been working on defense lately, and he doesn't get hit as often."
Meanwhile, Anthony Casal is looking to make his mark in the men's open amateur division, where Nick won a National Golden Gloves title as an amateur.
Through much of his career in the juniors, where his accomplishments included state, regional and national titles, Anthony often boxed where Nick had slugged, using his right jab and defensive skills to outclass opponents.
As he matures, though, the younger Casal's style has evolved.
"I'm spreading my feet more and getting more power in my punches," Anthony said. "I'm working on bobbing and weaving, being more of an in-and-out fighter."
He utilized that style almost flawlessly in the state Golden Gloves finals. Facing Darnell Jiles of Rochester, who was ranked No. 6 in the nation at 132 pounds before moving up to 141 this year, Casal earned the title with superior hand speed and power.
Nick Casal decided to turn pro after an injury halted his bid to make the 2004 U.S. Olympic team. Now Anthony is pondering whether to aim for the 2008 Olympics, or follow his brother into the world of punching for money.
"If I get ranked high as an amateur this year, I might want to go pro before then," he said of the Beijing Games.
For now, he settles for sparring sessions with a professional.
"He takes it easy on me, of course," Anthony said with a smile when asked about squaring off with Nick at the family-run gym on Hyde Park Boulevard. "But we do good work together. And on an off day, I catch him once in a while."
Another fighter from Casal's Boxing Club, Anthony Ferlito, won a state Golden Gloves title. Ferlito took honors at 125 pounds in the 15- and-16-year-old category.
Joey Trusello and John Harless are slated to compete at Lake Placid in a Junior Olympics qualifier from May 27 to 29. Trusello, a 16-year-old 132-pounder and super-heavyweight John Harless, also 16, will be attempting to qualify for the national Junior Olympics in June.
Roy Burns, who suffered a broken jaw while winning his last fight in October, is headed for Denver to compete in the Native American Games from June 28 to July 2. A super-heavyweight before the injury, Burns will return at about 190 pounds, Ray Casal said.
| Niagara Falls Reporter | www.niagarafallsreporter.com | May 17 2005 |