Israil Madrimov’s Coach and Gym: Where Does the Boxing Star Train?

If you ask anyone about California’s Coachella Valley, its annual music and art festival will strike first and stir up memories. But the valley is proud of something else, too. It’s the beloved desert town of Indio’s boxing gym. Why is it famous? It molded a young Terence Crawford when he came to train with then champion and future Hall of Famer, Timothy Bradley Jr. Life will come a full circle, as the same boxing gym has aided the rise of Israil Madrimov, who defends his WBA crown against ‘Bud’ this coming Sunday.

So, who is the man behind Madrimov’s success—who helped him hone his boxing skills after the latter landed on American soil from Uzbekistan? The man who wanted to make millions fighting title fights but got his boxing career short- Joel Diaz.

All about Israil Madrimov’s gym and coach

The Uzbeki champion sharpened his skills inside the four walls of Joel Diaz Training Camp. Madrimov cuts himself from the world and finds refuge in the desert town, miles away from the hustle and noise of Los Angeles. This has worked wonders for him, as he has perfected his defensive skills and also added more weapons to his arsenal during the long association with Diaz, now 51.

Diaz himself didn’t know he would end up picking boxing when he shifted to Indio, along with his brothers. But he would soon find his calling in boxing, learning how to punch in the area’s lone boxing gym back then. While the Jiquilpan native racked up an impressive record, going 17-3-1, tragedy would strike him during one of his fights. His right eye paid the price of hardships of the sweet science and curtailed his career at 23. However, Diaz would then continue to stick to his younger brother, Julio Diaz‘s corner, and relieve the champion’s dream through him.

That slowly built his reputation and gained recognition as an assertive coach with a similar style of fighting. You can always spot him meticulously studying his students at Joel Diaz Training Camp with fellow trainer, Oscar Gracia. Diaz always leans forward, hands resting on the ring’s ropes, shouting instructions and pointing out corrections. Some of the notable names to come out of the shed recently are Dmitry Bivol, and 2020 Olympic gold medalist Bakhodir Jalolov.

At 29, Madrimov is the current A-lister from his camp, and the results show. That has only increased his faith in Diaz’s methods. “I am always very confident that Diaz will prepare me for whatever an opponent brings. All I need to do is execute,” ‘The Dream’ told Fight Site. But how did the successful partnership come to be?

How did Israil Madrimov meet his coach, Joel Diaz?

Madrimov, at 10-0-1, transitioned to pro boxing, and since the initial days of his moving to the USA, he has been attached to Diaz. Recalling the initial days of adjusting to the life of a pro-boxer, after amassing a splendid 350-20 amateur record, he declared, “The training sessions are much longer – 20 round drills, that sort of thing. But I trust in my coach. He made me feel welcome and treated me like family from the first day I arrived.”

What the Mexican trainer does is pit him against bigger sparring partners, such as light-heavyweights, to help him overcome power deficit and adjust to opponents with larger frames. Diaz puts him through a grueling training regime and Madrimov follows diligently. The WBA champion has a burning desire to learn new things and add more to his bag of tricks, and his coach never disappoints in improving his game with each time he steps into the ring. Madrimov has unwavering faith in Diaz’s methods and it was 2 years ago when was sure that his coach would take him to the top. Now that he is at the top of the welterweight division’s chain already, he will look to add to his resume as he fends off the attempts of Crawford and cements his authority.

“My own coach, Joel Diaz, is the best in the world! I don’t even know other coaches. Because I trust in him completely and am very happy in California,” the Khiva native declared. Will that trust give returns this time too, as it has in the past? The boxing community will find out on August 3.

What do you make of Israil Madrimov’s corner team? Do you think his coaching team will help him retain the WBA title? Let us know in the comments below.