On “Q” Sports had the pleasure of recently speaking with Daniel “Twitch” Franco, who is quickly making a name for himself inside the ring. The soft-spoken 22-year-old talked about his future plans inside the ring, his dreams of becoming a world champ and his secret post-bout drink.
Rich: Daniel, thanks so much for taking time to speak with me. I know you do not have an opponent right now for your July 11th bout, but how are things going?
Daniel: “No, thank you, this is great. Yeah, right now no opponent for me that I know of. But, that is ok, I am training hard, we got some sparring in last week or so. I did about six sparring sessions with Vic Darchinyan to help with his preparation for Saturday (Darchinyan is fighting Nicholas Walters for the WBA World Featherweight title). For my upcoming fight I will be having local fighter Andrew Cancio helping me out. He is another upcoming fighter with a lot of talent.”
Rich: You doing more road work or strength conditioning?
Daniel: “In the morning my training is running and bag work and in the evening I work on some strength.”
Rich: Do you ever study or watch film on an upcoming opponent, or do you leave that up to your management team?
Daniel “We watch together, I pick up on stuff, they pick up on stuff, I see punches that I want to throw and openings that I would go for and they see things that they want me to go for, it works well and it is good how we approach the situation. My dad (Al) is one of my trainers, we have a great relationship and I trust him along with my trainer Mario Aquiniga.”
Rich: Being a young boxer sometimes you can get antsy in the ring, especially boxing four round fights. Do you even believe in a feeling out process when you step into the ring, or are you just an aggressive boxer from the get go? Or does it have to do with your opponent?
Daniel: “I believe that plays a big role in the way I am able to dictate my fight, knowing who my opponent is, but I am not just a pressure fighter. I can be that guy that can put someone down with one punch, stun them, now they might have a plan, but once they get hit they start to second guess themselves.”
Rich: You turned pro in 2010 you are currently 8-0-2, with 5 Ko’s. What was your amateur record?
Daniel: ”I was 67-12, I was in the Silver Gloves when I was younger, I was in Golden Gloves but did not get to far, but they were great learning experiences.”
Rich: How did you get started in boxing?
Daniel: ”When I was 11, is when I first started boxing, right away, I was around pro boxers, I was around guys like Chris Arreloa and others and I looked up to them. They were great boxers, but I believe I am on my way to being above their level and hopefully, that will happen, I grew up watching by brother Michael fight and looked up to him. I always wanted to be a world champion.”
Rich: You mentioned your brother Michael, who is a vey talented boxer in his own right. You guys will be fighting on the same card, that has to be pretty cool for you.
Daniel: “It has been really cool, he is coming off a loss, 2011, I believe, and I think seeing me doing well, pushed him and kind of got him going, maybe we can be the smaller version of the Klitschko brothers (laughing) maybe the two Franco brothers, it is just really cool to be on the same card.”
Rich: Do you try to emulate any other boxers, or pick up things as you go?
Daniel: “I try to take things away from everyone and even the guys I spar with. I love Guillermo Rigondeaux, he has amazing footwork. Mikey Garcia has a great style, very calm and keeps his hands up, and Vasyl Lomachenko he is pretty good.”
Rich: I believe the key to a young boxer’s growth is consistency, but also to move them along the right away. How active would you like to be this year?
Daniel: “I agree, I want to be as busy as possible, maybe 5 or 6 more by end of the year. I rather stay busy, it feels better to be busy and go from one fight and then get back in the gym and go to the next fight. It is a lot easier.”
Rich: With that pace you will get another 18-20 fights over the next three years, do you have a five-year plan or so from now?
Daniel: “The plan by 25 is simple, we want a world title, maybe in a year or year and a half a regional belt and build our way up, there is no rush, we want to build me right, make sure I am ready for it.”
Rich: Sounds like you are in good hands, what is it like to have your father as a trainer, more pressure on you?
Daniel: “No, he is great, my father has been there from the start, it is pretty cool. He has kind of been like my main trainer. I had him with me several years as an amateur. Mario has been great as well. I have taken a bit of knowledge from all of them, we have been a team from the first day. I live at home so trust me there is no messing around, it is all business, my family has been great. I am very blessed to have them in my corner. My father saw I was serious and he wanted to make sure he had my best interest at heart. It is strictly business, we want to get to that world title shot.”
Rich: You have a pretty strong team and I know you have a bright mind in Ray Chaparro in your corner as well.
Daniel: “Ray and his family they are amazing, they are really good people. he is cool, I think I got lucky to be able to pair up with him, we have a great team, between my father, family, Mario and Ray and his connections it is great and we are going to go straight to the top.”
Rich: Ok, you know I have to ask, tell me about your nickname. It is unique but does not sound tough (Chuckling).
Daniel: (Laughing) “Twitch, yeah, all about squaring up on my shoulders, when I twitch I tap my shoulder against my chin to make sure I was in the right position. Check your chin, check your chin, and it became a habit and everyone thought I was twitching in the ring.”
Rich: You are a full-time boxer, but still young want do you do for fun?
Daniel: “I like to go to the beach, hang out with my friends and girlfriend during down time, watch movies. I like to draw and paint, play guitar and do things that are not to dangerous (Chuckling).”
Rich: Tell me about the post game meal and drink.
Daniel: “Chocolate milk, can of coke, just my thing. I always down chocolate milk after a fight.”
Rich: Any special home-made dishes you like to enjoy after a bout?
Daniel: ”My mom is a great cook, I love her pasta and I love chicken tacos.”
Rich: Any words you want to share with your fans and maybe those who have not heard of you just yet, but will?
Daniel: “I appreciate everyone that supports and believes in me, I am blessed to be in this position and build my record and take a swing at the dream, and with the people I have behind me we are going to take a swing at that dream.”
Rich: Daniel, it was a pleasure thanks for the time.
Daniel: “Rich, this was awesome, thanks so much for speaking with me and taking the time to talk. I really appreciate everything.”
Check out Daniel on F/Book and follow him on twitter @DanielTwitch
Rich Quiñones is an award winning broadcaster and journalist. He is the lead blow-by-blow Boxing voice for GFL.tv and Go Fight Live’s Boxing on Comcast. He has sat ringside calling the action with Monte Barrett, Brian Adams, Amir Mansour, Danny Garcia, James Kirkland, Mark Breland, Ronnie Shields, Teddy Atlas and Lou DiBella, while broadcasting over 125 bouts for GFL in 2013-2014.
Rich is also a contributor to Ringnews24.com and he has also handled calling the action for Muay Thai and is exclusive lead blow-by-blow voice for CFFC MMA.
You can follow Rich on twitter @ https://twitter.com/RichQonQ and Tumblr.com @ http://onqsports.tumblr.com as well as LinkedIn.
