Amaury Piedra is the CEO of BoxLab Promotions. In this interview, he gives his perspective on being one of the young emerging promoters in boxing. He has worked with various promoters, such as Warriors Boxing (to co-promote Yoenis Tellez), TGB Promotions (to co-promote Gurgen Hovhannisyan) and CES Boxing (to co-promote Jamaine Ortiz).
BoxingScene: How did you become a boxing promoter?
Amaury Piedra: It’s funny, I used to be in the thoroughbred racing business, and I’ve always enjoyed the sport of boxing. A friend of mine, who’s now my partner, got me involved on the management side, probably the year before COVID hit, and we started managing a couple fighters. Then about four and a half years ago, I said, “Hey, I think I’d like to get more into the promotion side than the management side.” So we made the decision to start BoxLab Promotions, and it’s taken off. We had some connections in the industry. My cousin had been an official with the WBO for a long time. We had a perfect venue here in Orlando. I thought Orlando was an untapped market for boxing, being in Central Florida with big Latin and Puerto Rican communities. We started with some of the local promoters doing shows. It’s really grown over the last three years. ProBox probably does more shows than anybody in Florida, but the reality is that after ProBox, it’s BoxLab Promotions, and the people that we’re working with have really put us on the map.
BS: The decision to hold events in Orlando – why?
Piedra: Orlando is obviously a big destination because of Disney and Universal. It is also one of the top two convention markets in the U.S. From a corporate conventions stand-point, it’s Las Vegas first and Orlando is second. It’s always had that component, and there’s always been a huge sport component in Orlando, whether it is baseball, soccer, massive volleyball tournaments or whatever. There was always that sport component, but there really wasn’t a boxing component, and that’s what I thought we could bring to the area in Central Florida. We’re an hour from each coast, three hours from Miami or South Florida.
BS: And why the Caribe Royale as the venue?
Piedra: It is a big independent hotel in Orlando that isn’t affiliated with a brand like Marriott or Hilton. It’s a Four Diamond hotel, and hotels like this are always looking for exposure in the marketplace and exposure on TV. That’s kind of what happened. We were able to get that done with the hotel. The exposure for the hotel has been great. It’s a hotel that came out of a major renovation and major re-imagination. The opportunity to get the word out about it and to set itself apart from other hotels in the area has been great. Many things actually have come out of boxing, Matchroom Boxing just recently did their Moscone Cup, which is a big nine-ball tournament that brought a huge, amazing, passionate fan base to Orlando for nine-ball pool.
BS: Who was the first fighter that caught your eye to start the promotion?
Piedra: I think one of our top first signings was a young man who just happened to win his first world title, Antonio Vargas. Antonio is a 118lbs fighter. He had been signed with Top Rank and he lost, and then kind of got disillusioned with the sport.
He decided to come back. He’s a local. I called my friend Brad Goodman, the matchmaker at Top Rank. He spoke well of him. We gave Antonio a second chance. It probably wouldn’t have happened if he hadn’t become a little disillusioned with the sport. Now he’s the WBA interim world champion, and he’s next up for the world title. We’ll probably be going to Japan to fight for that in the first six months of 2025, but that was the first fighter who showed the determination in his eyes and the seriousness to be a winner.
BS: What is the long-term vision of BoxLab?
Piedra: Boxing is a business of relationships. Through those relationships, we’ve been able to sign some really great fighters, and I think that’s going to continue into the future through our partners at Warriors Boxing. We’ve got Yoenis Tellez, who’s one of the hottest prospects in boxing, ranked No. 2 by the WBA at 154lbs. He will probably be fighting for the interim world title in the first quarter of 2025. There’s Dainier Pero who is an up-and-coming heavyweight.
The vision is to sign the best fighters and to develop the best fighters. We don’t necessarily focus on just Florida talent. For example, Antonio happened to be here in Orlando, but we’re focusing on finding the best talent we can and growing talent. The good news is that we can grow them on televised platforms to get them the exposure that they need. We work with a variety of other promoters that we co-promote with, and in many cases we promote the fighters ourselves.
BS: How is the boxing business different than other business ventures?
Piedra: It’s different because there’s so many hands involved. I’ll give you an example of the thoroughbred racing business. There would be a trainer for the horse. I would be the owner. We talk about where the horse belongs, target a race, and that’s it.
Here, you’ve got a fighter. You’ve got to match them up with another fighter. Both of them need to agree. There’s a trainer, a manager, sometimes another promoter. That is a lot of input. Making fights is definitely harder. There’s a lot [that] people don’t see behind the scenes of what goes on to get those two fighters in the ring. That’s one component of it.
The other component of it is the relationship business. Fortunately, we’ve been able to build relationships over the last four years pretty quickly. You could be a great fighter, but if you don’t have somebody working with you who has the contacts that can get you the exposure, and can network to get you on the big fights, it’s challenging. You see that a lot in this business.
I think the other thing is it’s a sport that needs the exposure. Jake Paul is great for the business. I know there’s various people who have different ideas on that, but the reality is, we need to get more eyeballs on the sport with a younger demographic, and continue to grow and continue to work on the social media, continue to work on making the fights that the fans want to see. We need to continue to make that happen. People don’t realize that on the smaller cards, unless there’s TV money involved, it is very difficult for promoters to make money. Fighters have to realize that they have work their way up. You’re not going to start making life changing money when you’re 4-0 or 5-0. Just like everything else, you got to earn it. You got to pay your dues on the way up. There are a lot of people involved, lots of personalities, and I think those who follow the right program, with the right discipline, are going to reap those rewards.
BS: What do you tell a young fighter who just turned pro and wants to fight on your card for the first time?
Piedra: I think the reality is, it can happen. You have to be patient. You’re not going to start at the top unless you’re someone special who maybe won an Olympic gold. Chances are you’re not going to be headlining your first card out. It’s a matter of being patient. It’s a matter of knowing that the amateur game and the pro game are very different. While you did great as an amateur and you earned medals and belts on the amateur circuit, there’s definitely a learning curve on the pro circuit. You have to trust your team and trust the people around you to guide you in the right direction. Don’t get too far ahead of yourself, because just like anything, there’s a path. Maturity and experience can only be acquired with time. But again, exciting to see, and we always love to have the best on TV whenever we can.
Lucas Ketelle is a proud member of the Boxing Writers Association of America and author of “Inside The Ropes of Boxing” (available on Amazon). Contact him on X @LukieBoxing.
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