Venroy July [16-1-3]

As someone who juggles being a professional boxer with managing his own career, promoting shows, as well as practicing law, the career path of Venroy July is as hectic as it is unique. Venroy recently took the time to talk to BoxingQnA where he discussed his career progress as well as the managerial and promotional side of things

How did you get into boxing initially?

I actually got into boxing as a result of interning at a law firm. I had wrestled in high school and college, and then went on to law school. I had interned at a law firm in (Washington) D.C. and there was a partner that used to bring all the summer associates to a boxing workout as a part of the summer associate program. I went and really just kind of fell in love with it, and so kind of just kept doing it. Initially it was kind of to stay in shape, and then eventually I took a few amateur fights. I did pretty well in the amateurs. I won the D.C. Golden Gloves in the Novice Division. By that point I was relatively old. I figured I might as well take a shot at it, and so I turned pro and things just kind of took off from there. So what made you decide to turn pro? Like you said, you were relatively old. Was that a factor? Yes. I mean, that was the only factor really. I only had nine amateur fights. I'm 31 now and was 24-25. Honestly it was a combination of two things. First, I was older, so I needed to actually move my career pretty quickly. People were telling me that I was good enough, so I was going to try. Secondly, it was a matter of "If I'm not going to be that good, then it's better for me to find out now. Let me try my hand, and if it works out, it works out. If it doesn't work out, then at least I know and I won't ever regret it." So I just took a shot. As I understand it, early on in your career you started to manage yourself because you were less than impressed with contracts that were being offered to you by managers? People would come and see me in the gym, and so George Peterson, who used to manage Paul Williams, had approached me about being my manager at that point. My first fight was against a guy that was 4-1 and I beat him. Then I had a couple more fights against, you know, not great guys, but guys who were decently tough. I fought a guy named DeLeon Tinsley who had been in there with some pretty tough guys, and I beat him pretty soundly. I think I fought him like my sixth or seventh fight. And so at that point I started getting more confident. Everybody kind of told me, "You get to 10-0 and you're going to take off." That's kind of the magic number, and I was winning these fights against guys that - compared to the other guys that turned pro at my level of competition - were better on average than some of the guys that I'd seen. So once I started racking up some wins with the aim of trying to get to 10-0, I started really being serious about "Maybe I can actually make something happen here. People approached me quite early in my career saying that they wanted to manage me and it was quite shocking to me. The terms on offer meant that they would get between 30% and a third of my money, while I would also pay my coach. I just wondered what exactly a manager would do for me. If it's a matter of looking over my contract, I can clearly do that myself as a trained attorney. Granted, they could have been useful for getting me some fights since I didn't really know my way around boxing, but I thought I'd be able to figure all that out. It dawned me on me that I'm the one getting punched in the head and I'm the one getting up for training, yet 50% of my money would already be accounted for each time before I even step into the ring. It all seemed ridiculous to me, so I opted to do things my way. You often see young prospects taking time out of the ring until they're no longer under contract. It seems a common theme where young fighers are quick to sign something just so they can hurry up, turn pro and get fights under their belt? Yes, you have fighters who don't really know their way around and they might sign contracts which they do not fully understand. People come to me asking about the terms of contracts they have signed that they are trying to get out of. What the fighters thought was going to happen doesn't come to fruition and in a lot of cases they are simply not getting the fights they thought they would be getting. There are a lot of guys in boxing who are just looking for any opportunity they can get, so it's easy for them to be taken advantage of.

Ths is probably intertwined with that but I know you got into promoting last year. What incited that? It is definitely intertwined! I quickly realized that once you get to around 10-0, a lot of guys don't want to fight you initially. Also, unless you are signed with a promoter, they are not willing to pay the money it takes to get you a fight. I had an experience where I went into someone's hometown, paid for them to fight me and beat them pretty convincingly, yet the fight was declared a draw. My coach said I had won 5 out of 6 rounds easily and my opponent's hometown crowd were also cheering for me after the 4th round. During that fight I noticed that the promoter was even working my opponent's corner. After the event I just thought about how nobody was putting me on their cards, I was paying for fights and I was traveling to people's home towns. I decided that it just didn't make sense and so I started to put on shows myself. One thing you've pursued as a promoter is the "Bring your boys" initiative. For those who aren't aware, what does that entail and what made you decide to pursue it? Well, my father passed away unexpectedly this past year. Right after he passed, I went to the gym and someone said to me "Man, I can't believe he passed. I remember seeing him at your last fight." My father was always very supportive, he would always come to my fights. It just made me think about one of my early memories where my father and I would watch boxing together. Meanwhile, one of my last memories of him is about boxing since in the last conversation I had with him I talked about my promotion company and what I could potentially do with it. In honor of him, I wanted to do something that would recognize the impact that watching boxing with him had on me. I wanted to be able to recreate that for others with the "Bring Your Boys" initiative. Of course, I realized that there are a lot of times I would invite people to come to fights and they would say, "I'm not paying $35 - $50 for a 10-year-old to come to a fight." They'll pay for themselves and they'll come with their friends, but they're not going to put that much money out for their sons to come. One of my fraternity brothers actually said that to me. So we decided that for each fight, tickets for sons aged 15 and under would be significantly reduced at $10. Avenues are being explored to build on the "Bring Your Boys" initiative. For the last show we partnered with an author who got caught up in the street life when he was younger, spent a lot of time in prison and then turned his life around. He provided books for all the boys that were in attendance.

You are now 16-1-3. Most fighters who manage their own careers end up taking a lot of fights at short notice and ultimately have the career of a journeyman or a gatekeeper at best. So surely you must be happy with the progress you have been making and all that you have overcome up to this point? I am happy with my progress, although I do now have a greater understanding as to why fighters get managers. If they are managed well, then things are easier for them. There are some fighters I train with who are signed to a manager and their journeys are easier since they have protection. If you you're signed with someone who's a powerhouse, you are going to get a lot of wins because they want the best possible return on their investment. Opponents are carefully selected. In contrast to that, my toughest fights have been the one I put myself in, but that's the only way I have been able to advance. I have not had the luxury of having easy pickings for opponents. One thing which hasn't halted your progress is the fact you took up boxing at 25, which is obviously considered very late. It's often said that there comes a point where it's too late to develop good boxing fundamentals. Do you feel that where there is a will, there's a way and that it is possible to cram in a lot of learning in a short space of time? Surely your career proves that it's possible? I think that statement is generally true, but it can be counteracted at least to an extent by having a great coach. I give my coach a lot of credit for my success. He has trained 16 world champions throughout his career and he knows boxing inside out. I have learned a lot with his tutelage as my foundation. I pick up on small things here and there as I go to other gyms, too. I feel like I'm getting better and developing solid fundamentals. I would say there are parallels with my wrestling career in how there was a stage where I felt as though I was rapidly improving before feeling as though I hit a plateau. There was a time where I felt that I was no longer getting any better. However, it's after persevering through those bumpy stages where you realize you are growing again. I am that stage again now with my boxing. I see that as a positive since there are a lot of guys who have always been around boxing since they were a very young age. Naturally, there are times where you have to question how much better they are going to get given how much time they have had. In my case, I know that there is still significant room for growth, so I'm excited about the future with that in mind.

Your last opponent Qauntis Graves was someone who had an extensive amateur background and won Golden Gloves three times. Was that fight a good learning experience for you and would you say it was your sternest test yet? To be honest, I think Quantis Graves was my toughest opponent to date. Graves, Joell Godfrey, and Rayford Johnson are who I would consider to be my three toughest opponents. Graves is the kind of fighter who has seen everything, so me being a southpaw didn't bother him. In addition to winning the Golden Gloves, he was also a runner-up at the Olympic trials. The only guy who beat him was Deontay Wilder, who a lot of people believe is one of the best heavyweights around. So Graves was a tough opponent with good credentials. There were periods during the fight where he was countering me from angles that nobody else had managed to do before. Graves actually talked to me after the fight and admitted that he had to make the fight dirty. It was an ugly fight and some people weren't happy by the end, but those are the fights you have to go through to advance. Guys who are tough, who are going to make things difficult or force you to change your style. The fight was a great experience for me and I have never had to make as many adjustments as I did on the night against him. Demond Nicholson featured on the last Hardwork Promotions show, where he moved up to 9-0 with 9 KOs. How far do you see him going? In my view, Demond is a prospect to watch out for. He is one those guys who was not a stand-out in the amateurs, but he has found his way as a pro. He is looking better after each fight and he can really punch. On my shows, I've wanted to put him in with people who he could learn from. I put him in with David Rohn, a guy who beat a New York Golden gloves champion, yet Demond stopped him in the first round. I saw David Rohn at a later fight and I said to him: "I put you in with Demond because I thought you would be challenge." His reply was "Honestly, the thing about Demond is that everything he touches you with hurts." To me that was another clear indication that Demond has some significant power. In Demond's last fight he met Taneal Goyco, a guy who had upset a guy who was 8-0 previously. Demond was in control throughout the fight and stopped him in the 4th round. Demond has "it," whatever "it" is. Any boxing inspirations from past or present? A fighter I liked a lot when growing up was Mike McCallum. He was a big deal in Jamaica. I didn't really aspire to be a boxer, so he wasn't an inspiration. As I got older and started to watch classic fights, I really liked Thomas Hearns. In addition to his style, he was really intimidating in how he carried himself and I admired that. When I do win the World title at cruiserweight I will know that I have earned it. For those who continue to support me, thank you and watch out, because it's going to happen.