Nick Casal wasn’t your average toddler.
While most of the other children his age were crowded around the television set watching cartoons — Nick used to watch tapes of Mike Tyson fights.
And considering that his father owns and operates a gym, there wasn’t much doubt that Nick was going to pursue a career in boxing.
“I’ve been a gym rat all my life, really,” said Casal earlier this week, while taking a break during training at Casal’s School of Fighting Arts on Hyde Park Boulevard. “I started training in my dad’s garage when I was two or three. I’ve been doing this for a long time — it’s in my blood.”
And he has a plan.
The Niagara Falls boxer, 19, already has 11 professional bouts — and 11 wins by knockout — under his belt.
By the time he turns 20 in December, he wants to be nationally ranked.
By the time he turns 21, he wants to own a world title.
“I want to be a world champion, and I’m on my way to that right now,” Nick said. “I’m not going to give up until I get that one, and I want to get it within two years. All along, I said I wanted a title by the time I was 21.”
His father, Ray — a former kickboxer and now a successful trainer — says that Nick has been focused from the start.
“Ever since he was 2 years old, he wanted to fight,” Ray said. “I never pushed him — but growing up in a gym, it was almost inevitable. When he was a little boy, I knew that he was going to go somewhere if he could keep his focus. He was always single-minded. He’s always been an exceptional athlete, but he really excelled in boxing.”
Nick never had the opportunity to see his father fight professionally, although he has sparred with him a few times — “He’s good,” Nick said. “I don’t think I’ll do that again.”
But he adamantly won’t go into the ring without his father at his side.
“He’s always been there for me,” Nick said. “He’s never not going to be my trainer. He’s going to be my trainer until the day I retire. I won’t fight without him — he’s gotten me this far, there’s no reason for anybody else to come in. If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.”
Ray says he’d be the first to step aside, if he thought another trainer could better prepare his son.
In the meantime, he has no difficulty separating the sometimes conflicting roles of father and trainer.
“My father taught me this: Because you’re his father, don’t look at your son with your heart,” Ray said. “You have to look at him realistically and with open eyes. So when I’m training Nick — he’s not my son, he’s my boxer.”
And he’s had extraordinary success.
After a tremendous amateur career, Nick went pro last June, signing with promoter Gary Shaw and manager Shelley Finkel.
Eleven fights later, the light welterweight Casal has yet to taste defeat — although he’s dealt out plenty of headaches while earning the nickname “Hands of Gold.”
“I have a lot of power,” Nick said. “At any time, I can knock you out. That’s my key — I like to go to the body and wear you down. And I have confidence in myself, every time I step into the ring. You have to be 100 percent focused, and my family really helps me to do that. They give me the support that I need. You’re nothing without your family and your fans.”
Casal runs six miles every morning, and then works in the gym every day from 3:30 to 7:30 p.m.
It’s a full-time job — he can’t take time off.
“At age 19 and with one year of boxing, we’ve had 11 fights,” Ray said. “We would have had 14, but a few guys pulled out. It’s getting hard because a lot of people don’t want to fight him now. He’ll be a young veteran by the time he turns 20.”
Both men are aware of the dangers inherent in the profession.
Because of the nature of the sport, a boxer is always one punch away from a career-ending injury — just ask Joe Mesi.
“That’s the risk you take every time you step into the ring,” Nick said. “Anybody that steps into the ring is man enough, in my book. You always have it in the back of your mind, but you can’t go in there dwelling on it. I work all the time on my defense, because I don’t like to get hit. I want my career to last — and the less I get hit now, the longer it will last.”
Nick’s next fight is July 22 in Santa Barbara, Calif., followed by an Aug. 6 bout in Tampa, Fla.
After that, he is expected to land his first pro fight in New York state with a Buffalo bout in late August.
His next step is to fight for a minor title as a stepping stone and become ranked. The plan is to fight for a world title next fall, because the meter’s running.
“I plan to retire in my late 20s — I don’t want to be doing this in my 30s,” Nick said. “I want to make a few paydays so I can take care of my family — that’s all I really need.
After his career in the ring comes to an end, Nick doesn’t plan on straying far from boxing — perhaps with an eye on announcing or promoting.
But first, he has plenty of business to take care of in the ring.
“Nick’s perfecting how to knock men out,” Ray said. “Can he go the distance? Absolutely — he trains like an animal. Will he be tested? Sure. He’s not going to knock everybody out, and we know that. But we’re prepared, and that’s critical. All of the work is done in the gym — the fights are easy." |
