#ivan calderon

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Ivan Calderon | Connolly

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#22 - Iván Calderón - OF - Chicago White Sox (1986-1990, 1993)

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Ivan Calderon

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INTERVIEW: From Ring to Glory: Ivan Calderon Honored at Boxing Hall of Fame

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By Hector Franco

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Published: June 09, 2024

The views and opinions expressed on this website are solely those of the original authors and other contributors. They do not necessarily represent those of Frontproof Media, the Frontproofmedia.com staff, and/or any/all contributors to this site.

Portions of this interview were done in collaboration with Fansided MMA.*

One of Puerto Rico’s most celebrated champions, Ivan Calderon (35-3-1, 6 KOs), will now receive his just due as he will be inducted into the International Boxing Hall-of-Fame as part of the 2024 class. Calderon was a two-division world champion, making 11 defenses of his WBO strawweight championship over a four-year reign from 2003 to 2007. He also won the WBO light flyweight champions and made six title defenses from 2007 to 2020. He is widely considered only second to Mexico’s Ricardo “Finito” Lopez as the greatest strawweight fighter of all time. 

In a candid interview with Frontproof Media earlier this year, Calderon opened up about his emotions upon learning of his Hall of Fame induction. He also took the opportunity to reflect on his career, particularly his role as a pioneer in the lower weight classes. Calderon shared some of his most memorable performances and challenging fights, including the one he believes was instrumental in securing his place in the Hall of Fame. 

He expresses his thoughts on the attention fighters in the lower weight classes are now receiving, including the increased pay they are getting. Calderon details some of the challenges he faced throughout his career, including the lack of money and marketing. 

Calderon shared his thoughts on the current state of boxing in Puerto Rico and the promotional tactics used by promoters and fighters today. He also discussed the importance of connecting with fans in Puerto Rico to become a true star. Lastly, the Iron Boy revealed his dream of training a world champion.

HF: Congratulations on being inducted into the boxing Hall-of-Fame. What was the feeling like when you first heard that news?

IC: So when I first heard it, I didn't believe it. The first time they (IBHOF) called me, they thought I would be in 2017. In the other years, I knew I would not be ready to get in because there were many names, Floyd Mayweather, Miguel Cotto, Pacquiao, and all those kinds of boxers, and I knew I would not make it in those years. And in 2024, they just called me, and I said, "I know this the year, I know this the year. I don't get a lot of competition, so it's the year." And this was the year."

Struggles throughout career and thoughts current era

HF: So, how do you feel about the attention fighters like Chocolatito, Estrada, and Inoue are giving the weight classes now?

IC: I feel pissed. I wanted that moment because I knew I would get good pay, but it was not my time. I feel so happy they are getting good pay now, and they are making them fight in main events. 

HF: What was the biggest struggle that you had in your career?

IC: The money. And the thing is that when I used to fight, I used to fight in big events with good names. I was opening the show or opening on TV when I used to fight a lot on Oscar De La Hoya's cards, Pacquiao's cards, and Miguel Cotto's cards. And I didn't really care if I was the main event or not.

Ivan Calderon’s best perfomance

HF: If you were to recommend a fight of Iván Calderón, what do you feel is your best performance or maybe your favorite fight of your career, where you were at your absolute best?

IC: In one of my best fights, I did everything, whatever I wanted, with Nelson Dieppa, the Puerto Rican guy. I think fans like the Hugo Cázares fights because he was the one who was killing all the Puerto Rican guys. He killed Nelson Dieppa and Nene Sánchez. 

Puerto Rico was so mad that there were no fighters to beat him, and everybody just started saying, "The only one who could beat him is Iván." And I was like, "Nah, man, don't think about me. Homeboy's going to kill me. I'm a 105, he's a 108. So look at that." I waited a year, and I had to fight him. 

HF: You moved up in weight to fight him.

IC: Yeah, because it was a business. They will pay you more, and you will stay a world champion. If you lose, you return to 105 and stay a world champion. You're just going to lose your undefeated record, and you're going to get paid. So that's why I decided to go up and make myself a champion in another weight class.

It helped me with the Hall of Fame. That gave me another push to be where I'm at right now in the Hall of Fame.

The current state of boxing in Puerto Rico

HF: Is boxing as popular on the island now as it was in the past?

IC: For me, fighters don't fight for the love of being a world champion. They don't have that feeling that when Miguel Cotto and I used to fight, we used to fight with our hearts. We used to fight because we wanted to defend our titles. Today, it's only money. "How much are they going to pay me?"

Today, they defend the title once, and they don't want to protect it until next year because they got a good payday, so they are surviving with that pay. They say, "Nah, don't worry, I'll fight next year." They're giving the boxers many opportunities just because they have an excuse; their hand is messed up, and they can't defend their title. So take the fucking title off of them if they can't defend them. They have to have a good excuse because many boxers are waiting behind that rank, and they wait a lot of years for the opportunity. 

HF: Do you think, besides Amanda Serrano, we're probably at a low point in Puerto Rico for boxing's popularity then? It seems to be more about the fighters than the sport itself.

 IC: Right now, Serrano is living in Puerto Rico, and she's trying to get boxing back to the popularity of when Tito or Miguel Cotto fought. So, we have five champions, and Serrano is at the top because they love how she fights. But if we get the other four, that is Matías. Everyone is talking about him.

The thing is that when he fights, he stays in his house, and nobody knows anything about him. He doesn't come out; nobody knows him. That's why he's not like Trinidad or Miguel Cotto. He's not helping the promoter to promote himself for people to know who's him, who's Subriel Matías. 

CONNECTING WITH THE PEOPLE OF PUERTO RICO

HF: How important is that connection to the people there to make that transition happen, to make you a star over there?

IC: It's very important if you want to be a star and you want to be a boxer who everybody knows. 

That's the kind of work that the people who promote boxers do, the way they should work promoting boxing, but because they have Facebook and Instagram, everybody is going to know them. 

My mother doesn't get on Instagram. My mother and my father don't go to Facebook. They don't know who the fuck that is who's speaking about.

HF: Shakur Stevenson is a good fighter at lightweight, and Top Rank for some fights is promoting him as a Puerto Rican fighter. Other times in his last fight, they didn't do that. Against Oscar Valdez, they did. Can people on the island see through that? Is it just promotion more so than something legitimate?

IC: They're just trying to get some fans; that's all there is to it. And they know Puerto Rican fans; they're so different because they are 100% real crazy fans and go everywhere. It's not the same fan of the USA, the same fan of Latinos. They're so different. The Mexicans they got their fans, and they go all the way with their fighters; they don't even care if they lose the fight. They support them to the end.

THOUGHTS ON JAKE PAUL

HF: What are your thoughts on Jake Paul? Has he been a positive for boxing in Puerto Rico, or is it another way of using it to make fans and gain money for marketing?

IC: I have to be careful how I talk about that thing. But yeah, maybe it's something that helps them spread a lot, but for real, people don't care because if it's making money in Puerto Rico, if it's making boxing move in front, nobody's going to care.

They're going to say, 'Forget it, he's Puerto Rican. We love him.' They're not going to care. They're not going to care. They want business. They want the sport of boxing to keep on growing. If this man will put back boxing in Puerto Rico to work, he's the man. He's the Puerto Rican for us. Forget it.

Because if you are a Puerto Rican guy, you could excite him or you one of the ones that say, 'Nah, he's not Puerto Rican,' but you are a promoter, whatever. So help us then. You are not doing anything. You're Puerto Rican 100%, and you're not doing anything for us. Homeboys, not Puerto Rican, and he's giving things, helping in the gyms, hooking up the gyms, giving equipment, and all that. And you are from Puerto Rican, and you're not doing any of this stuff. And people from outside got to come and do all this stuff for us.

The beginning of the boxing journey and sparring sessions

HF: You were always relaxed in the ring and really smooth in the ring. Who were some of the people that you watched growing up that helped mold your style? Or was it just something that straight up you came up on your own?

IC: I started watching boxing when I was 17 and saw Mike Tyson lose against Buster Douglas. That was my first time seeing boxing.

It was like me; I started boxing here. I was living in the Bronx, but I started my career boxing in Puerto Rico when I was 17. Then I left when I was 18 or 19, and I did the Golden Gloves in New York. I did ten fights in New York. I was with Zab Judah, the same team. Then, I tried to make it to the Olympics in '96. I lost. Then, I was told to make it here in Puerto Rico, and from then on, I stayed here in Puerto Rico.

I used to fight a lot in school when I used to live in the Bronx, but I never liked boxing. When I came to Puerto Rico, I started looking at boxing because my brother went to a gym. I said, "Let me go with you just to see how it is." And then he stopped going. The next day, I said, "Let me try." And when I started hitting the bag or started moving, the trainer asked me, "You used to box?" I say, "Nah, I never put on a glove before. this this my first time." He says, "You move good. You know how to move?"

That was my vision. I learned from other fighters, looking at them, looking at the fighters, that I know are making the correct move. So I start looking at them and doing a lot of things about them. I used to see fighters in Puerto Rico, like Wilfredo Rivera, who fought Oscar De La Hoya. He was a technical fighter, and I used to spar with him, so I started learning. 

I told a lot of people, "How do you learn how to move?" I say, "Because I used to spar with Tito, Miguel Cotto, and Shane Mosley. So I had to learn how to move, how to box because I didn't want to get hit."

HF: What was that experience like sparring with Oscar?

IC: When Oscar came to Puerto Rico, he did it twice, training in my gym where I used to train. The last time he came and Freddie Roach was the trainer, he told me, "Hey, can you help him spar?" I said, "Yeah, sure." And when I helped him spar in the last three rounds, I moved him around. He couldn't hit me, and I was getting him inside. I was outboxing him, and then when Freddie Roach saw that, he said, "Wow, a small powerful person moves a lot quicker." 

And that's why he took Manny Pacquiao and Oscar De La Hoya's fight. That's what he says in history. He says, "I decided to take this fight because Iván Calderón show me that Pacquiao got the style, the moment, and to beat Oscar De La Hoya." That's why they took the fight because of my sparring with him.

Future Trainer

HF: What are some of the things that you're doing with your life right now and any projects that you have coming up that you want people to know about or pay attention to?

Right now, I'm a temp scout working for the government. I have already spent 21 years in administration. And like a trainer, the government has given me two gyms here. 

I'm working with ESPN Knockout as a Spanish commentator. As a trainer, I have a few boxers, like Kiria Tapia, and a few boxers that are growing right now. So, my dream is to make a world champion out of my hand.

Maybe I could be one of the lucky ones like Freddie Roach. He was not a good boxer, but he's a good trainer, and many names come to his hands. Miguel Cotto, Pacquiao. 

And thanks to the fans that have always been behind my career.

(Featured Photo: Laura Rauch/AP Photo)

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