Veteran local trainer vows young boxer Randy Moreno ‘will be a world champion’

By Jesse Granger

Wednesday, April 13, 2016 | 2 a.m.

As the former head striking coach at Las Vegas mixed martial arts gym Xtreme Couture, Gil Martinez trained some of the best fighters in the world, including Forrest Griffin, Vitor Belfort, Gray Maynard, Martin Kampmann and Randy Couture.

Martinez recognizes a talented striker, and he believes that’s exactly what he has in 20-year-old super featherweight Randy Moreno.

Martinez has coached Moreno for 12 years, molding him into a technical boxing machine.

“There are a lot of good fighters out there with skill, but this kid is the whole package,” Martinez said. “He has skill, he has talent, he has heart and he has a drive that is second to none.”

Moreno made his professional debut March 20, making quick work of Jose Carmona with a third-round knockout. The Liberty High graduate has a quick turnaround for his second fight, which comes Saturday night against Derick Bartlemay on the undercard of the “Knockout at the D” series at the Downtown Las Vegas Events Center.

Moreno finished an impressive amateur career with a 48-6 record. He won the Ringside World Championships in 2008 and the Gene Lewis Invitational Boxing Tournament in 2014. He also placed third and fourth, respectively, in the 2015 Olympic qualifiers in Memphis, Tenn., and Philadelphia.

“His speed and his technique make him so well-rounded,” Martinez said. “He is a boxer, but he’s also a puncher. He likes to pick his shots and has very good reflexes, so if he doesn’t want to get hit, it’s going to be hard for guys to hit him.”

Many talented young boxers rely too heavily on their physical skills and don’t work to perfect their craft, Martinez said. He stresses that that isn’t the case with Moreno.

“The thing with him is his dedication and his willingness to learn,” Martinez said. “He dissects everything, and when I’m teaching him something, he won’t let it go until he gets it down perfect.”

What brought the two together? A feeling in Moreno’s gut.

“One of my old coaches took me to his old gym to spar with one of his kids, and I thought I was going to do good until 30 seconds in and the kid dropped me with a body shot,” Moreno said. “I was like, ‘Man, these kids are doing something right, so I need to stay here.’”

Moreno wanted to learn boxing for self-defense after being picked on as one of the shortest kids in school.

It didn’t take long for him to realize he could do it for a living, and Martinez jumped at the opportunity. Asked which professional boxer Moreno reminds him of, Martinez says it’s Oscar De La Hoya.

“Because he’s not a brawler, but he’s also not a counter-puncher and doesn’t run,” Martinez said. “He can sit in the pocket and move, slip, make you miss and then make you pay.”

Not everything has gone smoothly for the pair. When Martinez left Xtreme Couture, he was left without a gym for an extended period.

“I’ve had a lot of guys, probably around 30, that were just like him, that I started from the bottom up and some of them went to other gyms, or quit the sport altogether,” Martinez said. “But Randy has stuck with me through everything. Gym or no gym, it didn’t matter, so it feels really good to finally have someone that has stuck it out with me.”

Their bond only helps to magnify Moreno’s talent in the ring.

“We have a great relationship,” Martinez said. “It’s been more than just a coach-and-boxer relationship. He is like my son. He probably spends more time with me than he does with his family. Especially when he was still in school, and he would be in school all day, then spend four hours with me in the gym. Go home and eat and shower and go to sleep.”

When Moreno graduated from high school, Martinez persuaded him not to get a job and to focus solely on boxing. He even offered to pay any expenses that he needed to keep him in the gym.

Martinez and Moreno recently moved into the new Roy Jones Jr. Fight Academy in Las Vegas and signed with RJJ Boxing Promotions.

“(Jones Jr.) is one of the best fighters in the world, and to have him behind you, and have him as a mentor to be able to literally pick up the phone and call and ask him questions, is incredible for Randy,” Martinez said.

After 12 years of working together, Martinez and Moreno are reaping the rewards.

“I trust him 100 percent, and I’m sure that he trusts me 100 percent,” Martinez said. “With the combination of that, the work ethic that he has and the ass-kickings I give him in the gym, he’s going to go far. He will be a world champion.”

Jesse Granger can be reached at 702-259-8814 or [email protected]. Follow Jesse on Twitter at twitter.com/JesseGranger_.