The future of Boston boxing Gabriel Duluc (12-1) to impress on 06/11/16

Gabriel Duluc (12–1) — the super lightweight professional boxer from Boston, Massachusetts — is the proud product of perseverance and positivity.

After spending his first decade of life in Dominican Republic, Duluc relocated to Dorchester, Massachusetts with his parents. Leaving his siblings and friends behind, Duluc found solace in the sweet science at Dorchester’s Grealish Boxing — quickly compiling an outstanding list of amateur and professional accolades under owner and famed former professional boxer-turned coach Martin Grealish:

• 55–5 amateur record
• Long Island Amateur Boxing World Champion (2x)
• Ringside World Champion (2x)
• Title Boxing World Champion
• Northeast Regional Champion
• Platinum Gloves Tournament title
• New England Golden Gloves Champion
• 12–1 professional record

After winning his first eight professional matches in five different states, Duluc suffered his first loss in July 2013 — a controversial TKO to undefeated Jonathan Perez — the veracity of which was questioned by judges and fans alike.

In 2014, Duluc signed a three-fight contract with Big Knockout Boxing, an organization which allows Duluc to fight for outside promotions. In 2014, Duluc competed and won twice — defeating Josh Beeman via Unanimous Decision as part of a Pro-AM Show in April, then defeating Kendo Castaneda via Majority Decision as part of BKB 1 in August.

Duluc again fought twice in 2015: defeating Antonio Canas via Unanimous Decision as part of BKB 2 in April, then defeating Ian James via Points as part of a cross-promotion between New England Fights and Granite Chin Promotions.

Looking to continue his momentum and capture the results of his hard work, Duluc returns to the ring on June 11, 2016 to face Bryan Abraham as part of an event again promoted by Granite Chin Promotions.

The epitome of a hard-working professional, Duluc never has a ‘training’ camp; he stays in shape around the calendar, working towards fulfilling his destiny and dreams of boxing greatness.

In between sparring rounds at Grealish Boxing, Duluc took the time to speak about his youth, his dreams, his faith and his future.

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ON WORK ETHIC

I love working – that’s the key to everything. You could do anything you want in life if you work hard at it. You could become a doctor if you want, if you go to school and work hard. I read something like, “Skill versus hard work” – how much is skill the given gift of talent compared to hard work?

You could have all the talent in the world; if you don’t work, you’re not going to get anywhere.

There’s a lot of talented people in the street, but they’re not in the gym. They could be the world champion tomorrow if they really put themselves into it, but they’re not in the gym. They don’t want to do the work. Or they’re in the gym but they’re messing around.

Sometimes life gets in the way. Sometimes you get in the way of your success. I feel like sometimes even for myself and in my career – because I’m the only one who supports my family, the only one that’s working, the only one really with an income coming in: it’s a lot of pressure on me to do both. To be in the gym all the time and to work or go get money somehow.

I feel like that’s slowed me down a little bit in my career. I feel like if I just had the opportunity to just fully box and do what I want – go to the gym in the morning or run in the morning, go to the gym in the night time – and just dedicate myself full-time to it, it’d be easier for myself.

It’s excuses in a way, because I feel like I could still do the work. But it’s just a little harder when you don’t have the schedule how you want. But that’s how life is – everything in life. That’s life. You just have to do the best you can.

ON POSITIVITY

I’m a happy person. I try to be happy every day; live my life happy, feeling happy. Because you never know about tomorrow. Tomorrow could be the end of it; the life could be over.

So many of my friends died – they’re gone already. I’m only twenty-six, but I feel young; I feel like I’m twenty, still. So many of my friends: they’re gone already and just looking back – they’re gone, but life keeps going; the clock keeps ticking. Life keeps going on.

And that’s how life is. You have to try to be happy and do what you love, and this is what I love.

I believe in destiny. I believe when you’re born, you’re born with a piece of paper that says who you’re going to be and what you’re going to be in life, and you just have to work at it. If you really work at it, you could become that person you were sent here to be.

That’s me. I try to come here every day and work hard and do my best. And anybody that knows me – they know I work hard. I want to work hard; I love working, I love working hard.

I get home beat up; my girlfriend’s like, “Why don’t you pay attention to me? Why don’t you talk to me? Why do you want to go right to bed?” I’m like, “I just been in the gym for the last four hours; I’m dead. My body just wants to sleep.” And I want to come back the next day and do the same thing.

That’s what I’m here for. I love it.

ON EARLY YEARS

It’s a funny story – I always say it. That’s why I say I believe in destiny a lot. I always think back; I always review my life. I sometimes sit down and see how my life has gone; see how far I’ve come and I’ve gone, and all the opportunities that God has given me.

I’ll be looking back and I laugh at myself like, “Wow, this is how it works.”

When I was ten years old, I came here from Dominican Republic. I’m the youngest out of three: I’ve got an older brother – about thirty-two – and my older sister’s about thirty-eight. I’m the youngest one out of all of them. I came here when I was ten, and they both stayed back there in the Dominican Republic.

We were supposed to come here only for a vacation or something; it wasn’t going to be to live here or anything. And then the economic status – work and stuff – so my parents had to stay here. My Dad came here, but my sister and my brother couldn’t because they didn’t give them any papers; only my father, mom and I.

God gave me the opportunity to come here and help my family and do better. Because over there is no opportunity: you could be a doctor and get paid $500 a month there. There’s no opportunities for no-one.

So God gave me the opportunity to come to this great country: learn English, learn the culture, learn different people; you see everything over here. That’s how my life is: it’s all about things that I don’t even plan for myself – they just happen on their own. So that just happened on it’s own: I just came here, no choice. I was ten; my mom said, “You coming. You coming.”

It was tough at first; you don’t know English, you’re in elementary school, middle school. And it’s tough; the kids are bullies. Kids are tough. I went through all the process. Then we ended up living in a tough neighborhood: Blue Hill Ave. in the projects: they’re called Franklin Hill Projects. That’s where I grew up.

I had my cousins over there, I had friends over there. But the community was all Black and Spanish – it was a very rough neighborhood. I remember thinking when I was young that White people were bad. I was like, “Oh, White people are bad” because all you see around you is Black and Spanish; it was still a little racism and stuff going on. That’s all you see and all you know.

ON BEGINNING IN BOXING

One day going to school, one of my Black friends Giovanni – rest in peace; he died, he got shot a few years ago – he came up with the idea, “Oh, I want to box.” I remember I was about fourteen – it was about seventh grade, eighth grade.

So one of my friends was like, “OK, let’s go. I know about a gym.” The gym was around Columbia Road at the time. We walked over there, and I was like, “Alright, I’ll go with you guys because you’re all my boys. But I’m not going to box.” I had no intentions to box. I love the streets; I’m a very hyper kid, so I used to love going outside. Playing basketball, just going outside. I’d look forward to going outside, hanging out with my friends every day. I used to love that; I couldn’t stop. I was like a very energetic kid.

I was like, “OK, I’ll go there the first day but I’m not going with you again.” So we all went – it was about five of us that walked in the gym. My coach Martin looked at us and was like, “Oh, you kids want to box?” We were like, “Yeah.” So he was like, “Alright: start doing jumping jacks.”

So we all started doing jumping jacks. I remember being the smallest in the group, so I always wanted to be big; be better than them. Because they were bigger, so everyone talked to them and liked them. So I told myself: “The only way to do it is to work harder than them.” So the next day that made me come. I was like, “OK, they did a hundred jumping jacks – I want to do a hundred and one. I want to beat them.”

Everyday I keep coming, and everyone would go talk to them, and nobody really paid attention to me much. I was the smallest – about one hundred and ten pounds and they were bigger kids. The bigger kids always get more attention: more potential, stronger-built, everything. So it was like a competition in my head; I was very competitive.

“If they do a hundred push-up’s, I’ll do a hundred and one. If they do a hundred jumping jacks, I’ll do a hundred and one.”

I had to beat them each time to catch up to them, so people could pay attention to me. That’s what I did. And that’s why I think my work ethic has come. I always have worked more than the guy next to me. I always try to outwork the person next to me, just because that stayed in the back of my head when I was a kid.

“They’re bigger than me – I have to work harder.”

ON COACH MARTIN GREALISH

He was a tough coach, man. He put me to fight right away. Within a few months I already had my first fight, and then another fight after that and then another fight. The other kids – they didn’t even have not one fight, because they all stopped coming.

One by one – they stopped coming.

I remember in 2005, we went to a big tournament called the Ringside Tournament. It’s in Kansas City; kids from everywhere in the country. They have about six rings going on at the same time fighting. It’s crazy; it’s a big show. It’s awesome. That was my first big show; he brought me there from Boston.

And that’s why I say about destiny: how in my life, something I’m not even expecting just comes along.

Someone gave him a call and told him that they had an extra ticket if he had any fighters. He was like, “Yes, I have this kid: one hundred and twenty pounds.” So my Coach told me, a few weeks we got ready and we went – I won the whole thing.

I wasn’t even supposed to go to the tournament and I won the whole thing.

And that’s when he saw me; that’s when I felt that he started believing in me. And I felt that I started believing in myself. I was like, “Wow, I have a little talent here; there’s something here.” Because out of all these kids from everywhere, I won everything; I beat them all.

The guy: he works, he’s a family guy. He’s here every day just dedicating himself for no reason, really. He doesn’t get paid like nothing for years. And they’re like my second family. And after that tournament, with his own pocket money he took me to Vegas for tournaments that I won or came in the Finals. He took me to Orlando, he took me to Kansas City again, he took me to Florida.

Many of the tournaments I won and some I lost, but he believed in me. He kept trying to give me the exposure and the opportunity to show myself. There’s about eight or nine belts in my gym just from my tournaments that we been to. I have a few big trophies and medals, too.

ON CITIZENSHIP

But something that was always stopping me was my papers – my status. I didn’t have all my citizenship. So they never let me box in the Golden Gloves, because if you win you go to the Nationals. And that’s like you have to travel and stuff. So you need to be a citizen to represent the U.S.A. before you go to the Olympics or anything. So that always stopped me.

The only year they let me box, it was 2010. I won the whole thing. But then they stopped me again because I wasn’t a citizen yet. So they’re like, “OK, you win but you can’t go to the Nationals.” It was good and bad, I say; it was meant to be that way.

Photo by Nick Cosky – www.nickcoskyphotography.com

ON SELF-BELIEF

I got faith; I believe I just have to keep working hard, stay in the gym. I’ll be in the gym for a while without leaving and my body’s feeling great. I’m feeling really good, so I feel like I just have to stay in the gym and wait for the next opportunity to come by and take it.

And if it doesn’t come, I’m still happy. I’m still happy with myself and who I am; with my family. You still need the money for a better future, for your family and stuff. And of course I want that.

But I try to be happy with myself every day.

ON TRAINING UFC FIGHTERS

Eddie Alvarez is a great guy. Eddie’s one of the guys that believes in me. He’s one of the guys that loves me, that thinks I have a lot of talent.

He called me up to spar with Tony (Martin), and it was great. Tony learned a lot and became better real fast. He learned real fast and became better real fast.

Any opportunity I have to work with people – I love working with people – to work with someone or to help someone, especially a friend, I will. And they’re great people and Eddie is one of the ones that believes in me and he thinks I’m great.

He believes in my talent and he believes I have something special going on; that I work hard.

ON BEING A ROLE MODEL

It’s tough, because when you’re in the gym you realize it’s like the world – you can’t help everybody. You want to but you can’t help everybody. That’s just how it is.

Many of these kids and many people: they come here and you’ll be like, “Yo, come to the gym.” I speak their language; I came from somewhere they came from. I came from the bad neighborhoods they came from. So I speak their language; I understand them.

And now my brain doesn’t think that way any more, of course; I’m a very different person. But I could live in both worlds type-of-thing. I could see both sides. I try to speak to them and say, “It’s nothing good in the street. What’re you going to do? Nothing. Come to the gym – you’re doing something positive. You’re doing something good for yourself.”

Some of them last a week, they last a month and they go. And there’s nothing you can really do about it. It’s just tough because you see people come in and out of here all the time and you don’t see them again.

ON STUDYING BOXING

It’s funny: I don’t like watching boxing. I get nervous when I watch fights! I don’t know why; I feel like it’s me or something. And then I feel I have to go outside, run ten miles or something. I feel like I’m doing something wrong.

And sometimes when I look at these guys, it should be me in there. I be like, “Wow. That should be me in there.” I get a little jealous in a way. Like, “I could do that; I could be better than them. That could be me in there.”

I don’t really study no one; I don’t really know half of the people I fight. People look at tapes and study the guy how he fights – I don’t do none of that. Sometimes I go to YouTube, look at their face and that’s it; that’s all I need. I really don’t care. Like, “OK, that’s how he looks. That’s good enough.”

I don’t really watch boxing much; I just work hard.

Maybe one day I will have to; one day maybe I should. But right now I’ve never done it and I just work hard. I believe that if I’m ready, I could beat anyone. If I’m ready – if I’ve done my part – I don’t have to worry about no one else.

If you’re ready in there, you can fight anybody.

I worry about my body first, about how I feel. Which is tough: you try to feel good all the time, and you don’t always do your best in doing it – to get prepared. But you try to get as ready as you can and that’s what I try to do.

ON ADVICE

I just want to tell everybody: whatever you want to be in life, you can – just work hard. I know sometimes life gets in the way, but just try to give your best.

And no matter what, try to be happy with yourself.

If you’re not happy, nobody’s going to make you happy. I walk around, and some people have a face like they’re so miserable. I’m like, “Why?” There’s no reason to be like that.

Just try to be happy and be happy with who you are. You are who you are. Be happy with who you are, be happy with yourself and with what God gave you.

Be thankful each day.

Photo by Nick Cosky – www.nickcoskyphotography.com

 

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• Special appreciation for Martin Grealish and the entire Grealish Boxing team
• Special appreciation for Nick Cosky and his brilliant photography

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