Former heavyweight contender Jonathan Banks is now a renowned trainer following in the footsteps of the great Emmanuel Steward. Currently training with Badou Jack, Banks also talks about his professional career, his time sparring with the Klitschko brothers and the science of hard hitting.
BS: You coach Badu Jack. Do you think he's a future Hall of Fame player?
Bank: He's a three-division world champion, so you can't not have him in the Hall of Fame. That's enough history.
BS: What made Badu so good? She seemed to have a blue-collar style?
Bank: He didn't have the knockout power, he didn't have the big boost in terms of being popular enough to be successful at anything he did. He's worked hard to get there. He's worked hard to get there. I think the biggest thing he has is the respect of most people in the sport.
BS: Could a fighter like Jay Opetaia, Dmitry Bivol or Artur Beterbiev be in his future?
Bank: I think the possibilities are endless. If the fight is possible, why not? He has shown in his career that he is willing to fight anyone.
BS: What is your best boxing memory?
Bank: I have great memories of everything I have done, but especially the things I was able to do around the late, great Emanuel Steward, are some of my best memories.
BS: What stands out?
Bank: It was a special experience. It wasn't a situation that I look back on and think, “Oh, I wish I had done that.” I lived in the moment and extracted the best I could from it all and the greatness that I was able to be around.
Even when I was 16, he took me to Lennox Lewis' training camp. I found myself in the rare position of being able to attend this guy's training camp. So I was able to soak it all up. When I went to Wladimir Klitschko's training camp, Vitali Klitschko's training camp, I was all with Emmanuel. I was able to appreciate everything in those moments. So when I need something in those moments, I can relive it in my memory. When I need it during training, I can relive it in my memory.
BS: What's the difference between sparring with Wladimir Klitschko and Vitali Klitschko?
Bank: Day and night. Vladimir was a typical boxer. He was trying to outbox you or counter you. Vitali was just relentless. He just came to hit you. He didn't care where or how he hit you. There is no perfect punch. Whatever punch he hits, he feels it's the perfect punch. Vladimir is timing it and trying to hit you with the best punch. Vitali just wants to keep hitting you. He was much more active than Vladimir.
BS: What are your thoughts on power when boxing against great punchers like George Foreman, Deontay Wilder and Gennady Golovkin?
Bank: When George Foreman came in, and this is something that not many people know, the heavyweight rules came about because of George Foreman. The gloves changed because of him. The reason the gloves became 10 ounces was because George Foreman hit a guy so hard he broke his arm, so the heavyweights had to wear heavier gloves. Think about it: if you hit someone so hard you break their arm, that's that kind of power. [Mike] Tyson, that's a different vibe. When you get punched, the guy just goes to sleep. That's a different level of puncher. Look at their resumes, you see the resumes of the greatest punchers in history. They don't care about technique. Most guys might have more technique than the puncher. They go to sleep as soon as they get caught.
BS: Do you want to train a good puncher or a good boxer?
Bank: He's a strong puncher, because I can always teach a guy how to punch. But at the same time, you could flip a coin and hand it to me and you asked me what to choose. I can teach a boxer how to punch, and I can teach a puncher how to box. At the same time, what kind of punching power are you talking about? That Triple G, Deontay Wilder's power is something you're born with. You can't teach it.
BS: How important is it to maintain your fighter identity?
Bank: I think this is the key, because this is me. Personally, I was taught this way. I see myself as a tailor. Every fighter has a different style, and it is tailored just for you. Don't get me wrong. We might wear the same shoes, we might wear the same colors, but my clothes are tailored to my body, so you can change your clothes, but my clothes won't fit. So this style is tailored to that individual. So that's what I try to do when I work with fighters. When I train a fighter, I get to know who the fighter is, what their personality is, and I tailor the style to them personally. That way, the fighter doesn't have to remember anything, and all he has to do on the day of the fight is react.
BS: What is more important: motivation or direction in your corner?
Bank: Every fight is different. Certain instructions motivate. And some people motivate. It's like throwing a stone in water, it doesn't help anything. Every fighter is different. That's why it's important to know the guy you're with, the crowd, what they need in that moment. Sometimes they might need to swear. You have to learn what the fighter needs, what pushes the fighter's buttons.
BS: How important is a coach?
Bank: From what I've seen, from the environment I grew up in, it's just as important. Some people wear a coach's uniform, but they're actually teachers. Emanuel Steward was a teacher, and he knew exactly what to do and how to do it in that exact moment. He was one of those master keys that could open any door. You know when someone says, “This is the key to the city. It can open every gym in the city.” That was Emanuel Steward.
BS: How important is it to be a teacher?
Bank: Put a good teacher in the roughest, most underserved areas of your school and you go from having zero graduates to having graduates after graduates. That's why I say zero graduates. No Olympians, no gold medals going from amateur to pro and becoming world champion multiple times. How many coaches can actually do that?
That's one of the hardest things to do, to take someone from an amateur to a professional to a world champion, and once they become a world champion, that's how you know it. That's the sign of a teacher near you. Because a teacher can teach one kid a problem, but if you can't teach another kid the same problem, you're not that good of a teacher. If you can teach everybody, and you do it over and over again, that's the sign of a good teacher.
BS: That's why USA Boxing is so important.
Bank: I like USA Boxing, but I'm not a big fan of USA Boxing. This country is rich, but I don't think USA Boxing does enough. I'm not talking about Olympians, I'm talking about 9- and 10-year-old kids who can fight once or twice a year. Let's interact more with everyone who registers. You can access this registration. You must approve this registration. You can reply or register with an automated message.
If a lot of other countries are putting so much effort into their amateur programs, I think 2004 was the last fighter year that U.S. boxing really put a lot of effort into. Look at the legends of the sport. 95% of them are former Olympians. One of the greatest of all time is Muhammad Ali, the Rome 1960 Olympic gold medalist. There are so many great fighters. So how do you become a great fighter? You learn the method. You go through trials. You go through hard fights. Because that's your apprenticeship. That's what makes you. You learn how to move, you learn how to win, you learn how to fight back-to-back, you know how to fight different styles. I think there should be more awareness and personal growth in the amateur boxing program. [then] I think that in another five years we will see many more superstars being born one after the other.
