The New York-based Dominican is finally reaping the benefits of a deep amateur career, which included multiple gold medals in international competitions and a spot on the Dominican Republic Olympic team in 2000. Before turning pro in February of 2002 (registering a first-round TKO over Jim Combs), Lorenzo, 29-2 (21), racked up an outstanding record of 247-16, immediately catching the attention of Rich Ryan and Kurt Emhoff. Ryan and Emhoff, who got Lorenzo his first promotional opportunity with Main Events. When Main Events opted to not resign him when his contract lapsed earlier this year, Ryan and Emhoff were there to net Lorenzo the opportunity to sign with a new outfit, TKO Boxing Promotions, who, in turn, helped him the shot against Sturm.
“I was really happy,” said Lorenzo, remembering the moment when he got the news that he was up for the bout when previous challenger Peter Manfredo Jr. dropped out. “I always thought that Sturm was a good fighter but was protected by [Sturm’s former promoter] Universum Promotion. After the fight with Sylvester, I said to myself if I ever got another chance to fight in Germany I would do things different. Now I have that chance.” Regarding the aforementioned Manfredo, “The Pride of Providence” passed on the opportunity for the Sturm fight due to the promotion responsible, Arena Box-Promotions, exercising contractual options, had he beaten Sturm. Not only did this open the window for Lorenzo, he actually welcomes the possibility of becoming a property of the outfit.
“Yes, Arena Boxing will have options on me when I win,” said Lorenzo, matter-of-factly. “I have a lot of respect for Arena Boxing; their team is very professional. I looked at this situation like I had more to gain by fighting Sturm with options than not fighting him at all. Arena has a lot of Latino fighters, so I know they understand Latinos. I know a lot of them from the amateurs. They have made them all successful and I know they can do the same with me. So far, they have shown me and my team a lot of respect and have done more than they promised. They know how to promote at a high level; they work well with every promoter in the world, so I am confident we can work well together too.”
But wouldn’t these potential options come with fewer possible opportunities to fight in the country of whence he made his name, the good ol’ U.S.A.? Lorenzo couldn’t be happier, as he feels the Sylvester fight actually helped evolve that name.
“Right now, I made a name for myself in Germany. When I walk down the street, people recognize me,” he said, warmly. “As you know, boxing is a huge sport in Germany, so I am happy right where I am. I am making a lot of money here; so for me, if I never fought in the U.S. again, that would be fine with me. I waited so many years and was told that HBO wanted to put me on but things never developed. In my opinion, they seemed like they were just looking to recycle old boxing names and not looking to develop new stars, so I gave up on that; I could care less about HBO. They are blind and, in my opinion, they have gone downhill fast from when I started my career. They need a guy like Lou DiBella in there who knows how to develop the stars of tomorrow, not recycle the stars of my father’s generation.”
Bold, yet confident words from a bold, yet confident contender who’s had his fair share of cracks at the popular German-based titleholder Sturm in the build-up for this fight. Sturm, 33-2-1 (14), born Adnan Catic (and whose surname translates to “Storm”), is generally a pretty laid-back sort but, seemingly, Lorenzo been getting under his skin a little. Even in the 11th hour, Lorenzo’s still digging away verbally as he muses how he’ll physically dig away at Sturm
“My strength is my two hands; I have KO power to the head and to the body. Sturm’s biggest weakness is his ego,” said Lorenzo. “He believes he is more than he really is; before, he had a promoter who kept his ego in check and kept matching him softly. Now that he is on his own, he thinks he is Superman and he doesn’t have someone there telling him to be careful who he fights. That’s his biggest weakness.
“I have been in the gym constantly, training hard after my fight with Sylvester,” he continued, further expounding his preparedness. “I was determined to get back what I feel I lost [after the Sylvester fight]. I had two fights on the road, during this time Felix was blowing himself up to nearly 200 pounds, fighting with his previous promoter. I stayed sharp. He had to get back into shape; I think that is a huge advantage for me.”
Lorenzo’s confidence and pre-fight picking at his opponent haven’t exactly blinded him to the perils of fighting on foreign soil, especially in the backyard of a fighter as virulently popular as Sturm. Even though losing on two out of the three judges’ scorecards in the Sylvester fight, Lorenzo still smells a huge serving of home cooking on the menu for tomorrow’s meal.
“No way a non-German’s going to get fair shake fighting a German in Germany but, really, isn’t that the same all over the world?” Lorenzo asked bluntly. “So it’s not just a German situation, it’s a boxing situation. That’s the sport we participate in. It’s like the gladiators. Did they get bad decisions? They either killed or got killed; that’s the deal. I understand that and I accept it. I have to do my part and destroy my opponents. Take the judges out of the equation; that is all I have focused on in this fight. Then nobody will talk about the judges; it was my fault that I didn’t destroy Sylvester, not that the judges gave him the decision even though I believe I won the fight. I cannot box Sturm; that is not going to get me the championship. I have to break him down and destroy him.”
With a possible win for Lorenzo, it would seem obvious that Sturm would automatically get a rematch. But would Lorenzo’s stateside foundation he’s worked so hard to build be enough to bring back the fighter most observers believe beat Oscar De La Hoya in 2004?
“Yes, there is a rematch clause,” he admitted. “Sturm is never coming to America. That is the biggest misconception in boxing; he is too big over here in Germany to come to America. He wants to make people think he is coming. American promoters want to believe he is coming but he is not. Why should he? He is making tens of millions of dollars with everything he has going on here with shows and endorsements. Forget that; he’s not coming; he is bigger than the U.S. boxing market right here in Germany. He doesn’t need the U.S. [But] I will have to sit down with my team, TKO and [Arena Box President] Ahmet Oner’s and we’ll discuss all our options. Right now, all I have on my mind is shocking the German fans by beating Felix.”
Regardless, Lorenzo’s view of the middleweight division isn’t as myopic as you might think. He knows there’s another middleweight out there- the true middleweight champion of the world- Sergio Martinez and he sees a lot of himself in the champ, especially when it comes down to what it took to get where they are today.
“Sergio Martinez is a star. His rise to stardom reminds me of my situation. He works very hard; he had some close tough fights where he came out on the short end of things,” said Lorenzo, respectfully. “He learned, got better and then, because of his setbacks, people thought he was beatable and he got a shot at the title against a guy who, by all reports, was distracted and laid off. Sergio made the most of it and now he is a star at the top of boxing. I feel like I am on the same path; I am better prepared today from my past experiences. I am happy for [Martinez’ promoter] Lou DiBella. I think he is a great guy and promoter; he has put me on his cards; we have a good working relationship and if the opportunity came up for me to fight Martinez, I know we could work together to make that happen.”
Interestingly enough, Lorenzo sees Martinez’ April championship victory over Kelly Pavlik, along with Dmitry Pirog’s surprise knockout of Daniel Jacobs in July for another alphabet strap, as a wake-up call for fans who might think the middleweight division is destined for moribundity. When asked if the 160-pound class is a class of unexpected danger now, Lorenzo responds with giddy excitement.
“Absolutely; we are middleweights! Middleweights are the crown jewels of boxing. It’s where speed and power all meet as one. Not like heavies that only have power and are slow or the smaller guys that only have speed. Right now, middleweight is exciting again. New faces, new stars, that is what boxing needs and I am thankful to be a part of it.”
That variety of humility certainly surrounds Lorenzo and there’s no questioning his gratitude of being in the moment, so to speak. It’s almost as if he’s standing in the center of one of those Plexiglas tubes full of swirling money with no time limit whatsoever to grab however much cash he can fit into his pockets. But it’s never far from his mind what it took to get to the sweepstakes. The line was long; too long, it seemed. And as hard as it might be down the line, Lorenzo plans on sticking around for the big grab as long as he possibly can.
“I was avoided. I am a big middleweight and I can punch; nobody wants to match their fighter with a puncher. It is always difficult to make weight but, while I still can, I will. I would rather struggle to make weight and be a big middleweight than an average super middleweight. I think I have a big advantage at middleweight.”
If he pulls off the biggest win of his career tomorrow, that advantage might just serve Lorenzo well in a subtle, yet pleasingly evolving division, should he weather the storm. With a champion like Martinez, a new jack like Pirog, and a vengeful Sturm waiting in the wings, one and all might just agree...he’s gonna need it.
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