This coming Saturday afternoon, the world famous Mayweather Boxing Club hosts a 20-bout amateur boxing event in honor of the late former world champion and legendary trainer Roger Mayweather. One of the fighters representing the gym on Saturday will be Orazio DiMauro, a second generation boxer and California transplant that was determined to find his way to Las Vegas after watching Roger on television.
Even though he did not start competing until a later age than some second generation fighters, DiMauro has been around the sport his entire life, being the son of promoter and former professional fighter Phil DiMauro.
“My dad always brought me to the gym, from the time I was little,” recalls DiMauro. “The first time I put on a pair of gloves I may have been about five. I was always a bit shy and I started doing it just to work out. I didn’t really start to like it until I was about thirteen, but even then I was still just doing it to stay in shape.”
By 2020, DiMauro had decided to take the sport seriously and pursue competing. DiMauro, living in the San Francisco Bay Area at the time, was determined to break in at the world renowned Mayweather Boxing Club, having followed the goings on at the gym through the documentary series “24/7.” After failed attempts to gain entry via e-mail, a gym member overheard Orazio and his father talking during a Las Vegas fight week and extended an invite to join him there at a specific date and time.
“When we first went in, we saw Jeff [Mayweather] and he was very polite and welcoming,” remembers Orazio. “I wasn’t a national champion or anything, but he was still very welcoming, and Jeff did a few rounds with me on the mitts and from then on, if we came out to visit, Jeff said we could come out to the gym. Our relationship and friendship grew and I made the decision to move out here and really do it.”
DiMauro decided to make a big move in order to pursue boxing seriously by packing his bags and relocating to the nation’s boxing capital: Las Vegas, Nevada. Unfortunately, the world was still dealing with the COVID-19 pandemic, which made moving and getting started up a bit more complicated.
“I moved out here to Vegas sort of in the middle of COVID, in September 2020,” recalls DiMauro. “The airport was empty and everything. I moved out here for boxing and to train at the Mayweather Gym. It was rough for me because I didn’t have any money saved up or anything. My friend bought my plane ticket and another friend let me stay with him until I found a place. Since then, I’ve never really looked back.”
Despite his limited experience, DiMauro found success early on, finishing as the runner-up in his first tournament in the summer of 2021.
“I made it to the finals of the Silver States tournament in Primm, Nevada in 2021,” recalls DiMauro. “It was normally in California, but that year they moved it to the state line and in Primm. It was my first tournament and I made it to the finals and I got outpointed to finish in second place.”
Early in his amateur run, DiMauro was working mainly with Jeff Mayweather, one of the three Mayweather brothers, along with Floyd Sr. and former world champion Roger, that parlayed a high level professional career into becoming a well-respected trainer.
“One of the biggest things I picked up from Jeff is my defense and how to read fighters and set up combinations,” explains DiMauro. “Now when I rewatch fights, especially Floyd fights, I can see that he doesn’t just see the punches coming, he knows what the fighter is going to do before he even does it. If Floyd’s opponent landed something, he would just adjust right away. When I was working drills with Jeff, I would pick up on some of those thinking habits.”
In more recent times, DiMauro has worked mainly with longtime Mayweather family associate and a respected trainer himself, Otis Templeton.
“I’ve been with [Otis] for the past year-and-a-half, but he has been someone that always helped me from the time I first moved out here,” explains DiMauro. “If Jeff had something out of town with one of his other fighters, Otis always helped me. Even when Jeff wasn’t out of town, Otis was always someone that helped me with advice, sparring and training. Working with Otis, my power is a lot better. My footwork and balance are a lot better. My work ethic is a lot better. Otis really pushes us. I have definitely learned more about utilizing distance and my reach. That is a major thing, because I do have a reach advantage. My jab is a lot better. I’ve definitely learned a lot working with Otis this past year-and-a-half.”
DiMauro takes all the knowledge gained within the walls of the Mayweather Boxing Club into the ring with him at the gym’s big event this coming Saturday. Titled the “You Don’t Know S#it About Boxing Showdown,” in honor of Roger Mayweather, who passed away in March 2020 and would often throw that line out in discussing the sport.
“This event is going to be really big because anything with the Mayweather name is going to get a lot of attention,” explains DiMauro. “Roger Mayweather’s son, Lehkei Mayweather, trains now and he’s behind this event as well. There are going to be a lot of tough fighters from the gym and a lot of other tough fighters are coming from out of town to be a part of this card. It is going to be a great event and it is going to be exciting. It being in honor of Roger makes it really special and great as well.”
Aiming to defend his home turf, DiMauro is matched with Orlando Luque, a well regarded fighter from Phoenix, Arizona.
“I try not to really look up opponents too much because videos might be old and fighters are improving just as I am,” says DiMauro. “I did see just a little to get an idea and he looks like a tough opponent that is going to come ready to go to war, but nothing that he brings will be anything that I haven’t seen before.”
Representing the Mayweather Boxing Club at an event honoring Roger Mayweather on Saturday will bring some added pressure to the match against Luque, but DiMauro is confident from his past experiences that he will be up to the challenge.
“There is a little extra pressure,” admits DiMauro. “I know my opponent is going to want to come and show out, being at the Mayweather Gym. When I made it to the finals of the tournament, that was the most pressure I’ve faced. There were three rings going and about 4,000 people there. There is always pressure with people coming from other gyms to spar, because everyone wants to show out whether it is to get noticed by Floyd or the coaches and staff at the gym. So yes, there is a little bit of extra pressure, but I just use that as motivation to work harder and be sure that I am more than ready.”
DiMauro is excited to have the opportunity to display the skills he has learned since making the move to Las Vegas specifically to train at the Mayweather Boxing Club on a night honoring the memory of Roger Mayweather.
“This event is not going to be a regular boxing show,” explains DiMauro. “It is going to be really special because it is in honor of Roger. What this gym is about is Roger’s teachings that he taught to Otis and Jeff picked up. There are still a few fighters here that trained with Roger before he wasn’t able to train anymore. This show is going to be very action-packed. I don’t see it being a regular amateur show by any means. I am really excited to be on this card and I am really looking forward to it.
I’ve gotten great work here at the gym. A lot of the guys I spar with have more experience than me and are better than me. Especially the pros in the gym, if they last in this gym and especially if they are signed under Floyd, you know they walk through people. So whatever my opponent brings to the table, it is not going to be anything I haven’t seen before. So I am just working as hard as I can until July 12th.”
Tickets for Saturday’s event, promoted by Mayweather Promotions, will be available at the door.
Mario Ortega Jr. can be reached at ortegajr.mario@gmail.com
