The Triangle Choke: Rob Radford Interview

Rob Radford has been at the fight game for a long time. He is an established trainer in the boxing rich Cincinnati, OH. He has trained several well known boxers and brought conditioning and fitness to thousands of others. Then, destiny brought Rob to the world of MMA via UFC Superstar and former UFC Middleweight Champion Rich Franklin. Rob now trains mixed-martial artists to help them improve their stand up/striking game. I’ve watched Rob in action and can only describe it in this manner; watching Rob train is equivalent to watching Bob Knight run a basketball practice. He brings the same attention to detail, the same passion and a masterful control of what he is teaching not to mention a few one-liners that would compare to even the General Bobby Knight. You may not recognize Rob’s name at first glance, but he is in Rich’s corner for every fight. I hope you enjoy my conversation with one of the best trainers in all of MMA.

SD- Speak about your history and how long you have been in the boxing game.

RR- I started taking an interest in boxing in 1976. During the '76 Olympics my brother kept telling me about a guy named Sugar Ray Leonard. I didn’t have any idea who that was. The only guys I knew from being a kid was Muhammad Ali and Smoking Joe Frazier. Really it was more for Frazier’s name than what he brought to the ring that attracted me to him. The Rocky movie came out in 1976. I remember at the end looking up at my dad and saying I want to be a boxer. He told me you don’t want to do that, it’s a rough sport. I proceeded to make a heavy bag out of a duffle bag and hung it in my back yard. For boxing gloves I used my mom’s cooking mitts. I would go outside and beat the crap out of that thing but really had no idea what I was doing. I moved to Washington D.C. and started taking Tae Kwon Do at one of June Reeves schools for about six months. I took the classes with a friend who had either a brother or uncle who boxed at a gym in Georgetown. A friend of mine went to VMI (Virginia Military Institute), he was about 5-6 years older than me, and did combative training at VMI. He would come home on weekends and beat me up and teach me stuff. That is really what got me into it.

Rich Franklin with Rob Radford at UFC 99.

SD- How many fights did you have in your career?

RR- All of my fights were lower level stuff; Mean Man, Smokers, Tough Man etc. I fought 64 times with a record of 54-10. I had around thirty KO’s. I had two detached retina surgeries in my left eye. I was blind in my left eye and advised strongly by my doctors to not fight anymore especially since I was competing with 8 oz gloves due to fighting in the middleweight division. I loved to fight, loved the competition and the science and art of boxing but had to quit.

SD- How did you transition into the role of a trainer and when did you come to Cincinnati which has a very good reputation in the world of boxing?

RR- I moved back to Cincinnati for good in about 1984. I had kind of hung it for 4-5 years and didn’t really do much in terms of boxing. So in the 1984-85 time frame I kind of picked it up again and started going to several gyms in the area. I was one of the only white guys in the gym. I basically looked like a piece of meat in front of a pack of lions. I took a bunch of beatings but kept coming back which helped me get better and make some friends. I opened up a gym, Boxing4Fitness and started training there. I had the gym open for about 17 years and just closed it this year. I trained some local boxers Dale Crow, Cornell Shinholster, Rob Dula, Ravea Springs, Ron Mitchell and James “The Vanilla Gorilla” Smith. I stopped fighting myself because it was too hard to run a business and fight plus I was getting a little bit older and my eye situation. I did straight boxing training with boxers up until I started training Rich Franklin about 7½ years ago.

SD- You incorporated fitness into your gym where the average Joe or average Sally could come in and get a work out. Talk about that experience.

RR- It was great. My motto was train like the pros without the blows. The boxing workout is phenomenal. The boxing workout was becoming pretty main stream in the bigger cities such as New York and LA. I remember doing some small bodybuilding and fitness events where I did sponsorships. I passed out flyers I made at Kinkos and remember people laughing saying this will never go. It took me a long time to really get the business going. I was the only guy in town doing it this style. People were coming in and getting their hands wrapped it wasn’t anything like Tae Bo. Cincinnati Magazine, I believe around 2000, published something stating Cincinnati’s Tae Bo antidote referring to me. There were a lot of health clubs doing boxing fitness type classes but I was the only person taking a true boxing workout and teaching it to the average person; doctors, lawyers, housewives, gas station attendants, and kids you name it. I had a lot of success with it and it grew.

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SD- You transitioned into the world of Mixed Martial Arts, talk about that and how you got involved with Rich Franklin.

RR- I had some good success with local boxers on a national level with TV appearances etc which always gives credibility. Some of the guys who were in the area such as Kerry Schall and Josh Rafferty were fighting and training with Rich; Rich got my name from one of those guys and wanted to come down to the gym to meet me. He didn’t feel that where he was, he was improving on his stand up. He walked into my gym about 7½ years ago and the rest is really history; I’ve been with him ever since. I believe that was around the time of his 5th pro fight.

SD- You have been to a number of UFC events including in Germany where Rich made you do pushups in front of thousands in attendance and the millions watching at home, talk about the experience of being at some major UFC events with Rich.

RR- It is really exciting. It’s a privilege to be able to work with a guy like Rich. Not just by what he has accomplished but by how he has accomplished it. He is the epitome of class and working hard. He has been really good to me and treats me very well. It is a pleasure to work with someone who you don’t have to babysit or pull teeth to get to work. He wants to be great and works hard which is how it should be. A fighter has to want it 10 times more than the trainer which is how it should be. I want it very badly for him and he wants it 10 times more. It shows in the way he trains. Going to the events and being there with him, after awhile it doesn’t really faze you. I don’t mean to sound unappreciative or like it is no big deal but it is a job. It is a pleasure to know that the guy I’m there with is a MMA superstar. More than all that, I have an extremely close friendship with Rich outside of MMA, he is truly one of my best friends.

SD- It was just announced that Rich will battle Vitor Belfort at UFC 103. Talk about this matchup?

RR- Vitor has been out of the limelight for a couple of years. He is a very athletic and skilled fighter with a lot of experience. A lot depends on what type of fighter shows up that night, Vitor has been hot and cold. We are planning on a hot Vitor who will be ready to roll. We will be training for the old Vitor. As far as preparation, this matchup is still pretty new. I talked to Matt Hume this morning (August 2nd) and we both agreed, without specifics, we are going to be aggressive with him. We are not going to let him get into his rhythm and unleash a flurry of fists. We will pressure him a lot which is what Rich does in most of his fights. Rich is a pressure guy. Rich has excellent stand up skills and footwork but he doesn’t use it to get away from people. He uses it to work his way around people and dissect them. That is pretty much what we are going to do.

SD- What weight is the fight going to take place at?

RR- It’s going to be at a catch weight again of 195lbs which is kind of surprising to me. I talked to Joe Silva (UFC matchmaker) at the last fight and I told him I thought 195lbs would be a good division to add. I really don’t know why they would do this without adding a division. I’m not sure why they didn’t make it at 185, which I don’t believe we would have taken as we are really only looking at 205 or the catch weight of 195lbs.

SD- It should be a great matchup. Even with the recent closing of your gym, you are still very active in training. Talk about where you are training and how people can get in contact with you.

RR- I shut my gym down because I was on the road so much traveling. The financial dynamics of my gym were not working the same with me on the road. It was a business decision for me. If I was a smarter businessman I would have done a year or so earlier. On Tuesday nights I do a pro fighter training at Son of Siam. I also do a Boxing4Fitness style training at Son of Siam. I do the majority of my training at CPG Personal Training on Pleasure Ridge. They do a lot of strength and conditioning. I’ve got heavy bags, thai bag etc there. I’m going as strong as I ever was I just don’t have the overhead now. I’m doing small groups and private training as well.

For information please visit www.boxing4fitness.com - to contact Rob via email info@boxing4fitness.com

By Scott Dryden
ProFighting-fans.com Staff Writer & Editor-in-Chief

Photo courtesy of Rob Radford