Ronnie Shields is widely regarded as one of the best trainers in the sport, having worked with high profiled fighters like Mike Tyson and Evander Holyfield. Currently, Shields has two reigning junior middleweight champions in his stable with Jermall Charlo and Erislandy Lara holding belts at 154lbs.
In this special interview from “On The Ropes” boxing radio, I get Ronnie Shields’s thoughts on Jermall Charlo’s title win against Cornelius Bundrage and what direction he would like to see Charlo go next. Shields also talks about Erislandy Lara and when he will be returning to the ring. Additionally, Shields shares his views on a potential Manny Pacquiao vs. Amir Khan bout. Here is what Ronnie Shields had to say.
Jenna J: I want to talk about one of your fighters who’s had some success in the ring, Jermall Charlo, he just beat Cornelius Bundrage by knockout in three rounds. Can you talk a little about his performance?
Ronnie Shields: Jermall did a great job in the fight. He did everything I asked him to do, as far as training is concerned. He’s done a hell of a job in going in and fighting the way he did, staying on the outside and letting ‘K-9’ run into shots. No surprise came with the power that he had, he was dropping him with a jab. He did a phenomenal job training for the fight and a phenomenal job in the fight. I was vey proud of him.
Jenna J: Were you surprised at all that he took care of a veteran like Bundrage so quickly?
Ronnie Shields: Well I wasn’t surprised because I know the power that Jermall possesses and ‘K-9’ didn’t realize how strong this kid really is, but know he knows.
Jenna J: What is the biggest different between Jermell and Jermall in terms of power? Why does Jermall seem to possess more of it, even though they’re twins?
Ronnie Shields: Well Jermall is just a freak of nature I guess, I don’t know.
Jenna J: You’re no longer training Jermell Charlo, why did that relationship end?
Ronnie Shields: We just had some differences and we parted ways. I will leave it at that.
Jenna J: As far as the future of Jermall, what fight do you see out there for him next?
Ronnie Shields: Right now I’m just trying to let him enjoy himself as being champion of the world. I spoke to him last night and I told him not to even think about a fight or anything right now, just to enjoy himself.
He did a great job and he’s champion and he’s really excited and he’s gonna be fighting pretty soon, probably somewhere in December. He’ll defend his title for the first time, but right now I’m not even thinking about opponents or anything right now. I’m trying to just enjoy the victory.
Jenna J: You’re in a good position, not only do you have Jermall Charlo, you also have Erislandy Lara in your stable. What do you think is next for Lara?
Ronnie Shields: He’s fighting on November 25th and we’re looking at opponents right now. They gave me like five opponents and we’ve been looking through them right now to see who we feel would be the best guy for Lara. We’ll be making an announcement real soon.
Jenna J: Is there anyone on that list that is a well known fighter that Erislandy could get in the ring with?
Ronnie Shields: I think all the guys are somebody who people would want to see Erislandy in with, but not everybody wants to fight Lara because Lara is so awkward and he’s such a hard guy to fight and people don’t know how to deal with him. That’s why you don’t hear anybody calling him out, because they don’t want to deal with Erislandy Lara.
Jenna J: I want to ask you about Manny Pacquiao because they’re talking about him returning in February or March against Amir Khan. Stylistically, what kind of a fight do you think that will be?
Ronnie Shields: I think it’s a good fight. It’s a good fight because Pacquiao knows Amir Khan. I know the guys were training together and you hear so many different stories out there, but only those guys really know what happened. I think Manny Pacquiao, with his style and with the power that he possesses, I think he really feels he can probably hurt Amir, maybe even knock him out.
On the other hand, Amir probably feels the same way, he probably feels Manny is the older guy, he’s slipping. You just gotta look at his last couple of fights and you can see he’s not the same Manny Pacquiao of old. He’s slipping a little bit because of his age. Amir probably thinks he can capitalize on that and with his power, he may feel he could do the same thing that Juan Manuel Marquez did, knock Manny Pacquiao out.
I think Ronnie is one of the best trainers out there and the work he has done with Charlo and Lara shows it. People don’t speak about him like hes one of the best, but he is.