Raul "El Toro" Munoz Stops by RSR to Talk about his Upcoming Match against Jimmy Lange and his Career in Boxing

Exclusive Interview by Marc Anthony

“I am going to give a good fight and give him (Jimmy Lange) my best. Give the people their money’s worth.” – Raul Munoz

Having turned pro in 1995 Raul “El Toro” Munoz, 22-14-1, 16 KO’s, comes into his fight with Jimmy Lange on September 10th at the Patriot Center in Virginia with an extensive professional boxing background. If you look at his fight record, you see a virtual who’s who, with such notable names as Joel Casamayor, Julio Cesar Chavez, JR., Dmitriy Salita, Austin Trout and Hector Camacho. With that type of competition, Jimmy Lange should be in for a tough night.

MA: How did you get into boxing?

I started when I was 11 years old. I used to ride my bike and we used to train and I remember our first coach, he used to train us at a garage, that’s how we started training in the amateurs. From there we started working our way up to tournaments and so on.

MA: Did you have a pretty extensive amateur career?

Yes, I did

MA: Is boxing your full time gig?

Right now I have my own business which is a Mexican restaurant on top of my boxing careerl.

MA: What’s the name of the restaurant for people to check out?

Los Portales Mexican Restaurant and Cantina located in Topeka Kansas

MA: What are your expectations for your match with Jimmy Lange?

I know I am going in as an underdog, but I am going to give a good fight and give him my best. The people will get their money’s worth.

MA: How long did your training camp go?

I have been in the gym for 2 months now. As soon as we signed the contract to fight Jimmy Lange, we got really focused and speeded up a little bit, so about month and half to two months.

MA: What are your thoughts about your match with Julio Cesar Chavez, JR.?

Julio Cesar Chavez, JR. was a good fight. I could have done a lot better in it, but they gave me a two week notice about the fight. Then it was no, yes, no, yes. They were trying to confuse me a little bit where I wasn’t focused enough to train. But it was a great fight and I could have done a lot better with more time.

MA: Do you feel that it is a common practice to get the upper hand on a fighter?

Well, sometimes yes and sometimes no, but not all of them.

MA: What is the boxing scene like in Kansas?

You know over here it’s becoming more popular. The name of boxing is becoming better because now we have Victor Ortiz then you have my brother and I and other guys coming up in boxing, so we are bringing the name up in Kansas.

MA: Speaking of Victor Ortiz, how do you see his fight against Mayweather playing out?

Well, it’s a really an interesting fight that I want to see. I think a lot of people are saying the same thing. Floyd Mayweather, JR. is known as a really good boxer and his movement is really good, but Victor Ortiz is hungry and he just wants to snatch that and he is doing really well right now. It’s going to be a really interesting fight.

MA: Who do you feel will win it, if you had to pick one?

Well, I think right now I will go more for Victor Ortiz because he is hungrier and he wants to get that win so bad. I think he is going to go in there and try to smash that.
But then again Floyd Mayweather, JR. has really good movement skills and everything. I don’t know it’s a really hard fight to judge.

MA: That’s a sign of a good fight!

Exactly, it’s going be a good fight to watch.

MA: What is your favorite moment in your boxing career so far?

When I fought the son of my idol and legend Julio Cesar Chavez. When I fought his son and I couldn’t believe that I was fighting his son because he was my idol. That was a very special day. And then when I fought Hector Camacho and I did go the distance with him.

MA: What was it like to fight Hector Camacho?

It was a fight that he still had some very good boxing skills that he showed against me. I really learned so much from that fight. Things like how to box and get in there with boxers of that caliber. To me it was very special because those are the guys I used to watch when I was a kid on TV and know I had to box with him, I was like wow. I couldn’t believe I was in there with a World Champion Hector Camacho, but I didn’t let that get into my head especially walking into the ring and feeling all the adrenaline. I tried to stay focused.

MA: Any final words?

I am there to do my best and I hope the boxing fans have fun and enjoy the fight on September 10th against Jimmy Lange.

Raul Munoz
Nickname: “El Toro”
Division: Welterweight
Professional Record: 22-14-1, 16 KO’s

2011-06-25 Mike Jones Philadelphia, Pennsylvania L TKO 2 10
2011-04-23 John Hoffman Topeka, Kansas W TKO 2
2011-02-18 Keith Collins Overland Park, Kansas W UD 6 6

2009-08-29 Alfonso Gomez Honolulu, Hawaii L KO 1 10
2009-05-24 Dmitriy Salita Primm, Nevada L UD 10 10

2007-05-05 Mike McGuire Kansas City, Kansas W UD 4 4
2007-03-09 Julio Cesar Chavez Jr Hidalgo, Texas L TKO 3 10
2007-01-05 Austin Trout Las Cruces, New Mexico L KO 5 6

2006-08-18 Enrique Ornelas Temecula, California L TKO 1 8
2006-05-27 Fernando Chacon Topeka, Kansas D PTS 6 6
2006-03-03 Sam Soliman Temecula, California L TKO 6 10

2005-10-01 Daniel RussellTopeka, Kansas W TKO 1 6
2005-07-09 Hector CamachoTucson, Arizona L UD 10 10
2005-05-07 Ed Lee Humes Topeka, Kansas W TKO 3 4
2005-01-22 Marc Thompson Topeka, Kansas L DQ 6 8

2004-11-06 Luis Ramon Campas Phoenix, Arizona L UD 8 8
2004-09-11 Marc Thompson Topeka, Kansas L TKO 2 4
2004-04-10 Mark Suarez Las Vegas, Nevada L TKO 2 6
2004-03-20 Kenny Underhill Topeka, Kansas W TKO 1 6
2004-01-28 Todd Mansfield Kansas City, Missouri W TKO 2 4

2003-09-24 Ricky Repay Kansas City, Missouri W KO 2 4
2003-08-02 Stanley Jones Topeka, Kansas W TKO 2 8
2003-04-25 Keith Sims Kansas City, Missouri NC ND 6 6
2003-04-12 Timothy Crane Topeka, Kansas W TKO 2 4

1998-04-10 Mark Riggs Burlington, Iowa L TKO 7 12
1998-02-20 Lee Cargle Kansas City, Missouri W UD 4 4
1998-02-10 Lee Cargle Saint Joseph, Missouri W MD 4 4

1997-10-25 Michael Hawkins Saint Joseph, Missouri W TKO 2 4
1997-05-04 Joel Casamayor Atlantic City, New Jersey L TKO 1 6

1996-06-24 Mike Sanchez Topeka, Kansas W TKO 2
1996-04-29 Heath Todd Topeka, Kansas NC NC 5
1996-04-24 Ruben Cuevas Saint Joseph, Missouri W TKO 3 4
1996-04-08 Gary Hart Kansas City, Missouri W KO 2
1996-02-26 Cecil Warren Kansas City, Kansas W KO 1

1995-10-11 Stanley Jones Kansas City, Missouri W KO 5 6
1995-09-09 Terry Williamson Topeka, Kansas W PTS 4 4
1995-08-28 Derrick Williamson Topeka, Kansas W PTS 4 4
1995-08-03 Grover Wiley Omaha, Nebraska W KO 3 4