PATRICIA GOUGH calls
on Ruben Sanchez |
Ringmaster
in seven lands |
“
Ruben is one of the best Olympic coaches in
the world. I have had trainers and trainers,
but no one like him. ”
- Erin McGowan, Australia’s
best female fighter
McGowan, the many-times lightweight
champion, told FOL:
“Ruben repeats and repeats and focuses
on the individual. He pushes you and pushes
you. He looks after your mental health as
well. He is the Perfect Guide.”
Erin McGowan has strengthened
her standing as the best female amateur boxer
in Australia, since she came under the care
of Ruben Sanchez from Cuba, as her new boxing
trainer.
Erin was training with Sanchez
in Urban Gym in Fitzroy Street, Perth, when
the reporter called. They were back only a
week from New Delhi, India, where Erin took
a shot at the World Championships and was
narrowly edged out of being the first female
amateur boxer to win a medal for Australia.
“He is a hard
task master and takes 100 per cent out of
you.”
- Adam Forsyth, Australian
Champion of Champions
The triple Australian Heavyweight
Champion won the 2006 Tunstall Trophy. Adam
told me: “Ruben is technical and makes
you do things for absolute fitness. His sessions
are long.”
Adam Forsyth, when home in Perth
from the Australian Institute of Sport in
Canberra, trains under Ruben Sanchez.
What does he focus on
when he trains boxers?
Fighter Online interviewed
to Ruben Sanchez at length and found him a
most affable man. Asked what he focuses on
while training boxers, he said:
”The particular attributes and abilities
of each individual. As each athlete differs
from the next , a personal understanding of
each person’s strengths and weaknesses
is vital.”
The axiom he works to is SWOT
-- Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, Threats.
Variance is important, the
ability to change personal mannerisms for
each fighter increases the potential to win.
Each training session focuses on a different
section and ability, allowing the athletes
to further their learning and understanding
of the concepts of boxing.
“ During my training sessions
I target the individual’s faults in
order to improve the fighter giving him or
her a greater capacity to excel. ”
His most difficult success
story?
“ My greatest success
story can be considered to be my most difficult.
My career itself has been an uphill journey,
moving me on to greater things. ”
“ I feel not being able
to speak English fluently, has been very hard
for me. I have often to adapt to different
cultures and practices and I found speaking
the language difficult, as I have worked in
seven different countries. Each country provides
its own type of elite athlete, each with their
different circumstances. ”
His most memorable fighters?
“My most memorable fighters
had just one goal, to attain the championship.
But achieving that goal was plagued with a
lack of funds and problems of society. Reaching
their goals became the hardest task of all.
“I have no personal favorite
as each fighter is different with their own
personal success. However, with some boxers
I have built a great relationship through
their families. And with others, just the
fact that they have achieved their own personal
goals is success enough. I believe a real
fighter is one who believes in himself. It
is their passion and determination that counts.”
Has Boxing changed
since you started?
“Boxing started as a
hazardous sport, it is now a safer and a lifestyle.
Boxing is big today. It plays a big part all
over the world.
“I feel it is also an outlet for an
individual with exceptional talent. But the
bad part of it is that re-entering the sport
for monetary gains is not good.”
The translator for our interview
was Ruben’s godson, Reno Garcia.
