Gabriel Flores, Sr.: “The Same Lips They Talk Shit With, The Same Ones Gonna Kiss Our Ass Later”
April 19, 2024
Simon Ruvalcaba
@Mister_Boxing
Punchline.live recently caught up with with trainer Gabriel Flores, Sr. whose 18 year old Son Gabriel Flores, Jr. improved to 12-0 with a unanimous decision victory this past Sunday in Fresno, California on the ESPN+ portion of the Top Rank card. Flores, Sr. was raw an uncut as he reacted to some of the fan criticism from his Son’s performance.
Punchline (PL): Congratulations, How do you feel about the (Gabriel Flores, Jr.’s) performance?
Gabriel Flores, Sr.(GFS): Great man! I think everything’s perfect, I think he’s developing really good, speeds coming along, he’s getting faster. I like everything he did…Brad Goodman’s putting durable guys in front of him because Gabriel’s young and he does want to get him good experience and the rounds in…I give him a solid B for his performance.
PL: There was fan criticism that he got hit too much, Do you think it’s unfair criticism for an 18 year old?
GFS: I believe the fans, that are casual fans, that have no idea what they are talking about. I mean you’re gonna tell me that another kid his age or 20 years old has his skill set?
PL: Does it bother you or (Jr.) that most of the writers aren’t including (Gabriel Flores, Jr.) as a top prospect in boxing?
GFS: It’s because he’s young right now and there’s guys that are older then him like Teofimo and Ryan and they’re knocking their guys out, which is fine. We’re fine with that, we stay in our lane, but when Gabriel’s time comes, all these same guys are gonna be the same ones on us, it doesn’t bother us one bit…Gabriel’s always been a successful kid, he’s always been a stand out kid so when his time comes, it’s gonna be big.
PL: Following (Gabriel) I know the showmanship, alot of fans on our podcast (The Punchline with Kelly Pavlik and James Dominguez) chimed in about his antics post fight, kissing his biceps…What about the criticism?
GFS: To those fans, my message to them? They can kiss our ass pretty much, we’re not gonna act to what they want us to do. Gabriel’s gonna be who he’s gonna be and at the end of the day they’re gonna still watch him and Gabriel’s still gonna perform….We’re the same people we’re gonna be now and we’re gonna be later…because the same people that talk shit, the same lips, their gonna kiss our ass later with, and you can record that, you can post that, because it’s true, two years later you can bring it up, “hey, wasn’t this dude talking shit? And now he’s our biggest fan” That’s how boxing is, you know how it is.
PL: How is your stable going? I know you got a new building (gym) about a year ago?
GFS: Everything’s going great, I just stay busy with Gabriel, we have a big announcement coming up here in a couple of weeks, it’s gonna be huge man. Stay tuned!…It’s gonna be prospect this and prospect that, but no other prospect is going to be doing what Jr.’s gonna be doing this year.
PL: How many fights are planned for this year? Do you think he’s setting down on his shots now?
GFS: We’re gonna try for 5…People gotta pay attention, the saying is true, “most people don’t know shit about boxing.” Look at the guys Gabriel’s fighting, the guy hasn’t been knocked out and Gabriel’s 18 years old. We compare him but he’s 18 years old, he debuted when he was 17 and 4 days… We don’t compare ourselves to nobody, we just go with the flow let people say what they wanna say, but later on they’re gonna be the same ones riding his coattail.
PL: There’s a rise of Father/Trainers, with Vergil Ortiz, Sr. and Teofimo Lopez, Sr. Do you ever run into them, do you ever share anything with them?
GFS: I know Vergil Ortiz and his Father we where in the amateurs with them, they’re really good people, we always have respect for each other. We don’t really communicate with them too much, but if I see them they’ll say what’s up. I like his Son, I think they’re great people, his son is a great talent!
PL: At this stage, how much is Jr. still a sponge in the gym as far as learning new things?
GFS: Actually it’s funny say that man, he’s doing better man, he’s listening more, he’s getting more mature. You can see it in the ring, he’s sitting down better, he looks sharper. I’m happy, overall I’m happy, Brad Goodman’s happy, Top Rank’s happy and that’s all I can ask for.
PL: Well thank you for your time, and I’ll keep watching, Gabriel’s boxing i.q. is beyond his age
GFS: You know how hard it is to keep your distance and shoot your punches so precise like he does and pick the shots that he does? Everything else is gonna fall into place with his age. That’s the hardest thing to get (boxing i.q.) if you don’t got it you aint got it. and later on, Gabriel’s gonna be super hard to beat and people are gonna dodge him, mark my words, people will dodge him! Put everything I said, don’t cut no corners..The same lips they talk shit with, the same ones gonna kiss our ass later.
About the Editor
Army Veteran and former Professional Boxer Simon Ruvalcaba started boxing at the age of ten and Had a 71 fight amateur career which featured a 139 lbs. 1998 8th U.S. Army Boxing Championship out of Camp Casey, Korea and a spot on the prestigious Army Boxing Team at Fort Hood, TX. After a journeyman pro career of 18 fights, which included sparring sessions with many champions and contenders including Julio Cesar Chavez and Pernell “Sweat Pea” Whitaker, Simon started writing and has contributed to many publications and websites including fighthype.com, pound4pound.com, Tahoe Daily Tribune (South Lake Tahoe, CA), Nevada Appeal (Carson City, NV). He has also been the Boxing Instructor for Ken Shamrock and The Lions Den and was MMA and Bareknuckle star Paige VanZant’s first boxing coach!
Born and Raised in South Lake Tahoe, California he now resides in Sun Valley, Nevada and spends as much time as possible with his Sons Gabriel and Oscar! Beyond boxing, Simon is an all around sports fanatic and is passionate about the teams that he roots for. Simon also works as a Sportsbook Supervisor for Caesars Sportsbook in Lake Tahoe.
