Interview Dated 2006 Joe Day has been to boxing's epicenter as a manager, having taken one fighter to a world title contest, and at least a few others to regional belts as well. He remains a steady presence on the Houston Boxing Scene, working with some of the city's top fighters, and now hoping to guide his son Kareem to prominence as well. I caught up with him recently at the Savannah Boxing Club. HBS - How would you describe your role in the fight game? JD - Actually I've been involved in boxing from carrying the bucket all the way up to where I'm presently a manager. I work as a manager for fighters, also as an agent. As far as trianing, I work in the gym with my son, but that's just about it. But I have trained quite a few fighters. HBS - How did you first get involved in boxing? JD - Well I'm from the city of Philadelphia. Everybody fights in Philadelphia. You've got to watch yourself in Philadelphia. A bum can beat you in Philadelphia. A wino can beat you in Philadelphia. There's so many things that we all do in Philadelphia fighting so that's how I got involved in it. So I was an amateur in Philadelphia and then I moved to Houston and continued being involved in boxing. HBS - Did you ever fight pro? JD - On the record, no...(laughs) HBS - There might be a couple of underground incidents that we don't necessarily want to get into. And How long ago did you move to Houston? JD - I moved to Houston in July of 1990. HBS - Obviously Philly's one of the fight capitals of the world so there can't really be much of a comparison between the two cities but contrast if you can at all the fight scene in Houston compared to Philly and describe the fight scene here has evolved over the last several years. JD - Well it's a lot different than Philadelphia. The training's a lot different and once I came down here and I saw things work, I figured I could implement some of the stuff that I learned in Philadelphia here in Houston with some of my fighters. People started looking at me when they started seeing that things were a lot different with me than they were with the regular fighters down here, and the regular trainers down here in Houston. HBS - So you've had some fighters that have had some success. Rodney Moore was and NABF champion, and Sebastian Hill also held a title. Tell us about who you've had in your stable, who you currently have in your stable and where things stand. JD - You forgot to mention Thomas Tate. I got Thomas Tate when everybody thought he was done and we won three titles and fought for the world title after he came under my management. So he's one that we definitely don't want to forget about. Most of the other guys I have are pretty much journeyman fighters that are coming up, that are going to be making some impact in the years to come. HBS - Obviously you're not Bob Arum or you're not one of the big heavyweights in the promotional or management game, so it's got to present a certain amount of challenges to you as you're out there dealing with these guys that have a lot of money and power and influence and then you're bringing your guys in. Of course the fight game has its unique set of challenges in terms of making sure you get a fair match and what have you. How do you cope with that and tell us a little bit about your experiences with that. JD - Well, (laughs), there was an incident that happened with me and one of the big wheels, Lou Duva, on national television in which he kind of went berserk and had his little tantrum but you know I kept my composure and I handled that well. The thing is, these guys have been around for years and these guys, yes they are established, yes they've made a lot of money and they're well-known. However, they're on their way out. It's a whole new generation of managers and promoters that are going to be taking over and that are going to be doing things and I plan on being there. HBS - And now you've got your son Kareem, who, he had his first pro fight, and he's getting ready to fight again soon. Tell us from a father's perspective what it's like to watch your son in there in the ring. Of course Im sure he had a long amateur career. There's got to be to be a lot of pride but then some concern as well. JD - There is some concern because he is my son. However, the position that I'm in in boxing, as a manager I can more or less look out for him. It would be more of a concern if I was his trainer, because then we would have someone else navigating his path. I know the ins and outs. I know that boxing's one of the busiest and one of the stickiest games I've been involved in so I kind of watch out for him and make sure that he's evenly matched. I feel as though with the amateur experience he has, and he's a good fighter, that he can pretty much hold his own in an even match. HBS - Sebastian Hill's still active in your stable. He's still pretty well known around Houston, a real nice guy, what's going on with him? JD - Sebastian Hill is coming off of a fight he had with Alan Green that was just featured on ShowBox. Unfortunately he lost that fight. He's backin into training and we decided to bring his weight down and you're going to see Sebastian back in action again. Right now his weight's down, he's feeling real good. You're going to be hearing more about Sebastian. HBS - Is he a super middleweight now, or where's he at? JD - He was fighting at cruiserweight so now we've got that down to light heavyweight. HBS - What do you envision happening with Joe Day Boxing in the future? JD - Right now Joe Day Boxing's going through a state of metamorphosis. Right now we're going around, we're recruiting a bunch of younger fighters and it's going to take a little time to turn these guys up but once they hit the papers you're going to hear a lot of impact from Joe Day Boxing so right now we have to sit back and regroup because we've had guys like Thomas Tate, guys like Rodney Moore, and even guys like Sebastian Hill and it's a cycle. In order to keep it going, keep Joe Day Boxing alive, we've got to go around, recruit these fighters, and bring 'em on up. HBS - So if there are some young pros out there, or guys that are thinking about turning pro, maybe they're thinking about letting you manage them, what can they expect when they contact you or sign on with you? JD - Well trust is one thing they can expect. All the guys that signed with me always re-signed with me and the finished their careers with me because they trust me. We had a rapport and they knew that I was looking out for them and for the best interests of these guys. So that's one of the things that they can look forward to, being with someone that you can relate to, that you can have a rapport with, and just to be concerned about boxing and not worrying about other things.