Sugar Shane Mosely (46-6, 39 knockouts) will be in full training mode soon at his Big Bear gym. But he dropped by Westside Boxing Club yesterday to train while he was in LA doing press junkets for his upcoming fight against 29-year-old Sergio Mora (22-1-1, six KOs), a former WBC junior middleweight king at the Staples Center. As always, the Hall of Famer is as gracious out of the ring as he is savvy and tough in the ring. He took the time to sign pictures for the local kids and even donned a body pad and mitts to work with his son.
Westside Boxing Club | 4500 W Pico Blvd, Los Angeles, CA 90019 | T: 323 947-1306
If you’re not familiar with “Asian Conan” you might think that I’ve lost my marbles. By now, everyone is obviously caught up with the Late Night drama and is aware that The Tonight Show with Conan O’Brien was suddenly and dramatically removed from the NBC/Universal lineup.
So here is how and why Asian Conan started:
On January 18th, nationwide rallies were held in support of Conan O’Brien and Staff. The events were organized through artist Mike Mitchell’s “I’m with CoCo” Facebook page, and were covered by National news groups. TMZ ran live streaming footage of the Burbank rally throughout the day.
I’ve had the great honor of being a guest on The Tonight Show with Conan O’Brien three times in the short seven months of its history. During that time, I’ve grown very close to many of the staffers (big ups to my producer Rachel Witlieb-Bernstein) and wanted to do what I could to help and offer support for what was going on.
Not sure exactly how it happened, but Josh Simpson, Brad Schultz (from the humor websiteFunny or Die), Mike Mitchell, and I ended up with the fictitious character…“Asian Conan”.
[side note: Funny or Die is the humor website created by Will Farrell and Mike McKay - you should check out their celebrity-studded FOD Exclusives if you haven't yet]
The initial thought behind Asian Conan was to stage a mock street fight with “Asian Jay Leno” (played bySam “Smokey” Looc) at the Burbank rally to help keep spirits high during the torrential downpour that hit Los Angeles that week.
What we didn’t realize was the tremendous internet reception the character would receive. So now that all content from the Tonight Show with Conan O’Brien has been pulled from the internet and Conan may or may not be able to make appearances and may or may not be negotiating a deal with another network for a new show, we thought we’d take Asian Conan to the next level and create a comedy short to keep support going during this blackout time.
This time around Asian Conan is a little darker and a lot more brooding. We thought this would be the best approach to spare you guys of my horrible Conan O’Brien impersonations. Think of an urban Kwai Chang Kane in Kung Fu wearing a nice suit and red wig and you’ve got the concept. Episodes of Asian Conan will be shown exclusively on www.funnyordie.com
Former Tonight Show staffers showed up in droves for our first day of shooting to lend helping hands as background actors and crew for this no-budget shoot. Pierre Bernard (who has a tour de force comedy performance as the lead villain) plays the main heavy, and LaBamba and Aaron Bleyaert make memorable appearances.
[spoiler alert: Aaron entered the location with two arms, but leaves with only one]
Also look out for a special cameo appearance by Los Angeles news reporter Suzanne Marques playing herself.
You can keep updated on Asian Conan news on the Asian Conan facebook pag. For super up to date info on whose cynical, unkind, lazy ass Asian Conan is going to serve, follow him on Twitter.
CLICK INDIVIDUAL IMAGES BELOW TO ENLARGE:
Special Thanks:
Nick Petronzio (my brother-in-law) for playing a “heavy” and also doubling as a set photographer for the day.
Nacho and Jose Saucedo at the Westside Boxing Club in Los Angeles for generously allowing us to use their gym as our main location.
All the friends and families of Team Conan who came out to lend a hand, add some laughs, play parts, and even do some stunts.
It didn’t take me long to figure out why my blog was suddenly getting A LOT of referral hits from a website called “TV Anchor Babes” (I haven’t PG-13 checked it for content yet so I didn’t include a link - but I’m sure you can figure it out).
Apparently they liked the photos with Suzanne Marquesfrom our Fox Good Day LA news segments I did a few weeks ago with Paul-Brian McReynolds. Who can blame them? She is distractingly beautiful.
Here are some behind-the-scene photos with Suzanne Marquesfrom our stunt segments on FOX’s Good Day L.A. (Los Angeles #1 rated morning news show) that we shot at the Westside Boxing Club on December 23rd. It was fun to finally meet and talk to Steve Edwards and Lisa Breckenridge whom I watch every morning - a bit weird though just hearing their voices in my CIA ear a piece, but not actually seeing them. Now I understand why guests on location often look puzzled during their interviews.
Shooting live TV is always a bit tricky because you literally do not get a second chance. Even in live tapings like The Tonight Show with Conan O’Brien, what you shoot is what you get.
If you make a drastic mistake on a film shoot, you’ll typically get another take. But if you make a mistake in a live situation, your mistake will most likely be the brunt of a joke and immortalized on youtube forever.
So you really have to keep your head on a swivel, and watch what you say and where you itch when the cameras are rolling. Luckily Suzanne is the consummate professional, so all I really had to do was follow her lead and have a good time. I’ll try to get a vid up shortly.
You can also watch Suzanne covering for Jillian this coming week (starting December 28th) on FOX’s Good Day L.A.. 7-10am hour.
Thanks to Paul-Brian McReynolds for being a good sport and a human punching bag for me and Suzanne, and thanks to Jose and Nacho Saucedo for opening the gym early for us to shoot at.
As you may know, I train at the Westide Boxing Club and also volunteer with their after school kids program. Owners Jose and Nacho Saucedo are doing a stellar job instilling a sense of work ethic, teamwork, discipline, and respect to their kids. The students from Los Angeles High School created a great mural for the side of the gym’s build in appreciation to the Saucedos (once we get a clear day, I’ll take and post a pic). Whatever your sport interest may be, look into organizations and non-profits in your community that may benefit from your expertise. I really can’t think of a more rewarding way to train than to give back at the same time.
If you’re looking for professional boxing training….or even just to stay in shape, checkout Westside Boxing on the corner of West Pico and West Avenue (between Crenshaw and San Vicente).
Westside Boxing Club | 4500 W Pico Blvd, Los Angeles, CA 90019 | T: 323 947-1306
Here’s an interview segment I recently did with Steve Nguyen of Channel APA, featuring some of my boys from the after-school program at the Westside Boxing Club in Los Angeles. Steve wanted to experience a typical boxing workout that I do, so we put him through some circuits with the kids. Jose and Nacho Saucedo are the owners and head trainers of WSBC and I’m proud to be part of their all volunteer training team for their junior boxers.
Westside Boxing Club | 4500 W. Pico Blvd., Los Angeles, CA 90019| 323.947.1306
When I’m training a fighter or personal client, one of my favorite drills for increasing speed, timing, agility, and cardio is training with boxing mitts. I like to go 3-minute boxing rounds (1 minute rest between rounds). Every trainer has their own technique and philosophy when it comes to mitt training, and it takes years to learn proper holding technique.
Mitt training with James Franco
Here are five basic tips to help you get started…
1. Keep the mitts close to your face, so your fighter doesn’t develop horrible habits of hitting wide.
2. Vary your speed. Don’t be staccato. Mix in choreographed drills with pure reaction drills.
3. Incorporate footwork and evasive techniques.
4. Make your fighter “reach” for their punches.
5. During “rest” moments within a round, make sure your fighter is out of critical distance range and/or has his guard up.
6. Make your fighter move his position after every combination.
7. Do big cardio bursts the last 30 seconds of every round.
8. Fighters should train with mouthpieces if they are prepping for a fight.
9. Keep your fighters standing and moving in between rounds.
10. DON’T slap too hard…let the punches come to you.
Here’s a recent mitt workout with my boxing trainer, Nacho Sauceda at The Westside Boxing Club in Los Angeles.
Westside Boxing Club 4500 W. Pico Blvd., Los Angeles, CA 90019 | (323) 947-1306
Amateur Boxing Match at Westside Boxing Club in Los Angeles on September 20th. Small tournament if anyone is interested. Free for fighters, $10 admission for spectators. All proceeds towards WSBC’s after school kids program. I’ll be there doing a mediocre job as an MC.
Here are some photos from the Golden Boy Productions media workout with Marcos Maidana and Victor Ortiz at the WESTSIDE BOXING CLUB on June 24, 2009. I personally train there and also help out with the kids boxing program there and was happy that Oscar De La Hoya came there to promote the upcoming fight at the Staples Center fight (where Maidana became the WBA interim knockout by way of TKO).
Click images to enlarge
Westside Boxing Club | 4500 W Pico Blvd, Los Angeles, CA 90019 | T: 323 947-1306
