Manfredo will continue to pursue his higher education, saying, "I’m going to back to college, I want to get a different career; a firefighter or be a law enforcement guy. I just don’t know yet. I’m just going back to school to get my college education."
Right now, he just makes an honest living at a venue he’s very familiar with.
"I work as a laborer. I work for the Labor Union. I work at the Dunkin Donuts Center where I fought Scott Pemberton and Sakio Bika. I work at that at building," said Manfredo, who played to big crowds there. "I set up for the events, I break ’em down, sometimes I work the shows. If there’s a circus going on, I’ll stay upstairs on the concourse. People drop popcorn, I pick it up. Whatever I have to do to make a living. I mean, it’s good pay; I get benefits for my family. Just that alone is huge. So that’s what I do now, presently."
What this gig also gives him is flexibility in his schedule.
"I haven’t worked in the past couple of weeks, as I’m preparing for this fight and I need to rest. I could do that with this job, where I’m not worried about getting fired," he says.
But there must be a few double-takes from patrons, who once bought tickets to his fights inside the Dunkin Donuts Center; now seeing him do manual labor inside the very same facility. Could you imagine Manny Pacquiao or Floyd Mayweather working as an usher at the MGM Grand Garden Events Center?
"I get that all the time," Manfredo says, with a chuckle. "Especially when I work the shows and they see me with a mop bucket and they’re like, ’What are you doing, charity work? Good for you.’ Then you have other people [asking], ’What are you doing here? You made all that money from being on TV.’ People think you’re a millionaire because you were on TV, ya’ know? They don’t realize what goes into it. The cuts you gotta pay out to everybody in boxing and what you really make. You fight for $100,000 and you’re lucky to walk away with 50. People don’t see that part.
"So it’s reality, but I like that part of it because people need to know what the reality of the business is. Not everyone is making Mayweather [or] Pacquiao money, because not all of us can be that good, anyway. But only these top few make the big money where they’re set for life. Other people like us, we gotta still have stuff to fall back on, because in boxing, there’s no union. It’s not baseball. It’s not football. When you’re done, you’re not getting a paycheck. You’re only as good as your last fight. So you need something to fall back on."
Going from a guy whose name was on the marquee to the guy sweeping the floor inside the Dunkin Donuts Center might seem like a humbling experience; something that you’d think would embarrass other fighters who were once in the spotlight. But Manfredo actually embraces what he’s doing.
He says, "It’s good that people see that. So, when I work and people see me, it’s kinda like a positive role-model for kids. Kids see me, they see this guy with a professional boxing career, they seen me on TV, but still, he makes a living for his family. So it’s very important to show kids and other people that, yeah, we have to make a living."
There isn’t a trace of bitterness in Manfredo’s voice. And his attitude and outlook is admirable. In an era when many fighters have a sense of entitlement, all he’s done is roll up his sleeves and gotten to work. In fact, having a “real” job has made him even more appreciative of his boxing career. Simply put, unlike his colleagues, he has options.
"The guys I work with, that’s all they can do. That’s the only way they’re going to make a living. They can’t become a fighter, I’m a professional fighter. I’ve made a name for myself and I can make a big payday out there where I can eventually set myself up for life, which these guys can’t do. So, of course, that’s always on my mind," Manfredo stated.. "Yeah, I can do what they do, everyday, get up nine-to-five, do whatever I have to do to work. But they can’t do what I do in the ring. So I gotta take advantage of that. That’s in my mind. That’s what makes me work hard."
After participating in the initial season of “The Contender,” where he lost in the finals to Sergio Mora, he was able to parlay that experience into a few lucrative paydays (most notably against then-super middleweight champion Joe Calzaghe in 2007, when he was stopped in three rounds in Cardiff, Wales), but his career hit a huge pothole as he was drilled by Bika in three rounds, back in November of 2008.. Now, “The Tournament of Contenders” has dissolved and fighters like Manfredo were forced to find new promoters.
But he looks back on his experience with “The Contender” with no bitterness..
"I’m just looking at the future right now. After “The Contender” was over, I moved up to ’68 and I didn’t want to be in Mora’s shadow. I wanted to make a name for myself. That’s why I moved up and I did well at ’68. I just couldn’t win the big one. Those guys were just too big and strong for me at that weight and I didn’t realize it till I fought Bika. And when he blew me outta there, because he was just so big and strong, I just realized in order to make a comeback, if I want to be something in this game, I have to fight guys my size and that’s why I moved back down to ’60.
"This past year, I didn’t make ’60, but I fought guys in the ’60’s at a catch-weight and I seemed to get them outta there pretty quick. They were nothing special, (Walid) Smichet wasn’t bad. He gave (John) Duddy a lot of problems. A lot of critics thought he won and I got him outta there. This fight is going to be a big fight for me too, with this Matt Vanda, because he’s been the distance with Chavez Jr. twice. He’s been the distance with Duddy. It’s a big step for me. It’s a weight I haven’t made in five years."
For Manfredo, this begins the final chapter of what has been a productive career. He’s been in big fights, headlined shows in his hometown of Providence and overseas and was on a reality show that was viewed by millions. Along the way, the money wasn’t bad, either.. But he knows he’s much closer to the end of his career than the beginning. Soon, it will be time to embark on the next stage of his life..
"You hit that right on the head," he says."I don’t want this much longer in my life. I’ve been doing this since I was seven years old. I had my first fight in 1988, I was seven. I’ve been a professional now for nine years. There’s only so much your body can take. I’ve had three surgeries already, since I’ve turned professional. My body, I wake up and I feel like I’m 50, even though I’m 29. I don’t even know what 50 feels like. I hear about what my father goes through and all that stuff and I wake up sometimes sore and I’m not even training. What’s going on? So, it’s the abuse your body takes that people don’t see in the gym every day. The punches you’re taking in the gym. The fight is actually easy.
"So yeah, I’m more towards the end of the road than anything,” Manfredo admits. “I want to make one last final run at middleweight. See if I can pay off my house, get out of the sport with my brains and everything and just raise my kids and have a career to move on with after that."
TIX INFO
Tickets priced at $80.00, $50.00 and $35.00 are now on sale at the Mohegan Sun Casino Box Office and through Ticketmaster (ticketmaster.com, phone 1-800-745-3000). Doors, on the evening of the event, will open at 6:30 PM with the first bell at 7:30 PM (Ticket prices include a $5.00 facility fee).
FAVRE FLURRIES
Hearing that if a fight between Andre Berto and Paulie Malignaggi is consummated for April 10th, there is a very good chance that it will end up at the Madison Square Garden in New York...Showtime is getting more and more peeved over what they perceive to be out-right counter-programming by HBO (especially when it comes to their “Super Six”) by HBO. Problem is, HBO is the proverbial 800-pound gorilla- they can sit wherever they damn please. But is that good for boxing?...Take away that last pass and Brett Favre still had a great year. Yeah, he could be reckless, but I still think he’s among the top dozen QBs to ever play the game...Larry Merchant had a late situation come up (and no, not the guy from “Jersey Shore”) but Showtime’s Steve Farhood was great in his place on the most recent addition of “The Main Event,” as was Fox Sports Net’s Rich Marotta, who recounted the glory days of Forum Boxing and his new gig. It’s great to have Rich back on the regular circuit. He’s a real pro and a real boxing guy...I can be contacted at k9kim@yahoo.com... twitter.com/stevemaxboxing…
