Interview Dated 2005

Ronnie Shields

Ronnie Shields is one of the best-known trainers in America. The former NABF Light Welterweight Champion retired in 1988 with a record of 26-6-1 with 19 knockouts. Since becoming a trainer Shields has worked with some of the greatest fighters in the history of the sport, and they come from across the country to work with him at the Savannah Boxing Club in southwest Houston.


HBS - So I understand you're originally from Port Arthur?

RS - Port Arthur Texas, born & raised.

HBS - How'd you first get involved in boxing?

RS - Uh, 13 years old, some friends of mine was already boxing so they talked me into coming down to the gym and I fell in love with it ever since.

HBS - What is it that you liked about the sport?

RS - Just the one on one competition.

HBS - I understand sometime early on you worked with Kenny Weldon?

RS - First I worked in Port Arthur with my trainer back there. When I moved to Houston that's when I started working with Kenny. I was about 18 or 19 years old when I started working with Kenny?

HBS - What was that like?

RS - I used to watch Kenny fight all the time and I knew he was a really good boxer. He really knows the sport. He's real smart about how you fight and he's a master at putting a fight plan together. I watched him and he was a professional at the time and I used to fight on some of the amateur shows and I used to watch him. He was such a good boxer and he's a good teacher because he'll sit you down, he'll explain things to you so you can understand.

HBS - You had a fine pro career and at one point you beat Saoul Mamby for the N.A.B.F. Welterweight title. What happened in that fight?

RS - Well I knew Saoul, I always watched Saoul. I used to watch all the guys in my division and when Saoul won the world title I saw that. I said "Man, this guy's such a good boxer." I always kept my eye on him because I knew one day, especially when I signed with Don King and he was affiliated with Don King, I said "One day me and this guy's going to have to fight". So I studied him a lot. I probably studied him more than he studied me when I was coming up. And so when they did make the match, I mean I knew everything about Saoul Mamby. I didn't really have to sit down and watch tapes on him because I knew the way he was going to fight. And it was a really tough fight but I was determined in that fight. I just used my hand speed against him. After I realized that he fought a lot of power punchers, and, you throw one shot at him, he's going to slip it. He's going to get out of the way. He was real good at slipping punches. So what I did was, I stayed close to him but I used my hand speed. But when all these other guys fought him, they stayed close to him you know but with one punch at a time. I threw combinations at him and I was able to hit him.

HBS - Then you had some other big fights and your final shot at a world title was in Japan when you lost a split decision to Tsuyoshi Hamada in 1986. I'm guessing you thought you won the fight.

RS - Well I did think I won the fight. You know I cut the guy in the first round. Basically I fought my fight. I fought the way I worked all my life, which was geared to fighting for the world title. We worked so hard and you know I mean I thought I beat the guy. But it's hard to beat the champion in his home town, in his country. But it was a tough fight. It was a really, really tough fight because he was a really strong fighter. But you know I outpunched him. I outworked him. The worst thing that could happen was that some of the close rounds all went to him and not me and that's what happens when you fight a champion sometimes.

HBS - You have since been a trainer for many, many years and worked with some of the greats. List off a few of the names.

RS - Well, Evander Holyfield, still current with him. Pernell "Sweet Pea" Whitaker and Meldrick Taylor and Mark Breland. I had Vinnie Pazienza, I had John John Molina, Rocky Lockridge, Vernon Forrest, Juan Diaz, I can still go on and on and on.

HBS - Tell us a little about your boxing philosophy.

RS - First of all, fighters now they want to just jump right into just getting combinations. But I'm really an advocate of the basics. Get down to basics first. Everything else is going to take care of itself. It's really easy to throw combinations if you know the basics of it and the basics is just a jab, a right hand and a left hook, and then you can really throw punches off of that. A lot of guys they want to rush it and they want to go too fast. I think boxing would be more competitive if everybody really thinks about the basics. Nobody really thinks about the basics anymore. Everybody wants to hit you with one punch and knock you out and get it overwith. Everybody's trying to rush this thing. It's not something to be rushed. If you look at all the champions out there right now you'll see. Everything is basic. Look at Floyd Mayweather, what he did to Arturo Gatti. Basic jab, right hand, then he threw combinations behind it. It was so simple, so easy.

HBS - I read an interview where you said Pernell Whitaker might have been the best boxer you've ever seen.

RS - Well, you know, without a doubt, I've worked with some of the greatest fighters in the world and Pernell Whitaker, he stands alone at the top. I think him and Evander Holyfield, two guys that I've really put a lot into. I would have to say Pernell first and then Evander right behind that. Evander's work ethic is just unbelievable. Still today it's unbelievable. But Pernell, just a pure boxer. I mean, you can't say enough about what he did and how he did it. The guy was just such a great fighter that he should still be champion of the world right now.

HBS - There was another interview I saw in which you said Main Events wasn't giving Juan Diaz the support or the recognition you thought he deserved.

RS - The thing about it is, anytime as a promoter, you have a champion of the world, and he's not fighting, something is wrong. So what's the problem, you know? He got cut before he was going to fight Ebo Elder (in May of this year) and I've been hearing a lot of different things, that they're mad because he should have fought anyway. I mean, he's 21 years old, champion of the world, why would he go in any fight with an injury? I don't support that. I don't think anybody should go into a fight with an injury, especially if you're champion of the world already and you don't have a mandatory defense. If it was a mandatory defense then maybe you have to sit down and think about that a little bit more. But you could always reschedule the fight. But instead it didn't happen and now Juan is sitting down when he should be fighting.

HBS - You think Main Events is kind of punishing him for pulling out of that fight?

RS - Well I'm not sure if it's punishing. I know television dates are really hard to come by right now, for the kind of money that Juan needs to be paid. One hand washes the other but at the same time you have to look out for your own fighter. This is your fighter, champion of the world, he should be fighting somewhere. Ithink he could have fought on the card in Chicago with Rocky, Valdez and Fernando Vargas. Add another fight to it. I'm sure television would have bought it. HBO, they say they really love Juan so I didn't see no problems with that. I'm not a promoter but if I was a promoter I would try to keep my champion busy.

HBS - There is some perception, and it's certainly not new, that the decisions that are made in pro fights are not always the right decisions. For example is a promoter promotes a card all his fighters are going to win unless a guy gets knocked out. Some people something needs to be done about that, whether it's some some kind of governmenal regulation of boxing on a national level or something else. What are your thoughts on that?

RS - The thing about boxing is, there's always been favoritism in boxing. A lot of politics, you know. Sometimes you have to deal with the politics. But you have to understand what you have to do. You have to go out there and sometimes you have to really beat a guy convincingly, and sometimes you still don't get the fight. But it happens. It happens to all of us. I have some fighters that just fought last week, Pable Pena and Miguel Albares, and they fought in Pablo's hometown (Brownsville area) and Pableo lost a close decision in his own hometown. So that don't really work that way sometimes. It's all up to the judges. Sometimes they don't have the right angle. They have these guys' careers in their hands. But a judge has to be a judge. His job is to judge the fight fairly. No favoritism, no politics, no nothing, just write down what you see. If you think a guy won, then, if it's close, don't say, "Well because I know this guy or because this is his hometown, or this is his promoter" or whatever, you just shouldn't give a guy a fight unless he deserves to win it.

HBS - Finally aside from Juan who are you working with right now and what's coming up in the near future?

RS - Well right now I got Chad Aquino. Chad is 5-0 with three knockouts. This kid is going to be something to be reckoned with. He's going to fight on the 17th of September at Coushatta. This'll be my second fight with him. His first fight with me he had a second round knockout. He looked really good. Then there's still Juan Diaz. I'm helping with Jose Diaz and I'm helping with their cousin Genaro Alarcon. I have Pablo Pena. Evander Holyfield's back in the gym training for a fight on October 8th over in Italy. I've still got some other guys coming up so we're working. That's what we do and we're in this gym every day from 9 until about 1:30, 2:00 and trying to get these guys together.