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 Org Hall of Fame Member of, MMM Elite Pro, Sauna Fights, EMPIRE, EFFA
"The Godfather" Don Marciano has been around the block a few times. A former #1 P4P ranked fighter in both MMA and Kickboxing, he was a legendary Mixed Martial Artist who was one of the best strikers ever in the game.
He knows a thing or two about experience and fighting the best of the best. Of his 55 professional MMA fights 38 of them were against opponents who broke the top 100 p4p rankings. He had 24 fights vs top 10 ranked opponents and beat several former #1 P4P fighters including Dustin Douglas, Afro Samurai, Alistair Overoid, and Travis Reed. He also beaten #1 KT P4P fighters in Garson DeBramalo, Lorenzo Von Matterhorn, Sergei Dimitrovich, and Sher Sha Suri.
"It was a helluva ride."
At 48 years old, the intimidating Italian is now a full-time boxing coach at Convicted Fight Club. With 50 career knockouts under his belt he specializes in punch technique. Once an undersized fighter in his weight class, he's now a giant of a coach.
"We don't get a lot of Heavyweights in here. The only two we've got are Kajun Puno and my son Rocky."
It was hard to believe that there were only two heavyweight fighters actively training, but it was true. Kajun Puno and Rocco Marciano were the only two heavyweights registered to the gym that were active fighters.
"The other big guys that come in here and visit and train for a bit - they don't last very long. Kajun-boy's has been beating the tar out of em for years."
The oldest son of Fidel has been training at the facility since he was 16 years old. Don Marciano has been teaching him the art of boxing ever since he entered the building and has witnessed the transformation of a teenager with a Purple Belt in BJJ turn into a full-grown 'Pinoy Savage' that's dished out some brutal sparring sessions.
"He was mellow when he got here. Y'know, calm and passive, a good kid. It took a while for the dog to come out. He was 6-5 and getting bigger and that's when I realized he's turnin' into one cold mother fucker. I think he had a chip on his shoulder cuz the kid took a lot of shit and his share of beatings from the media, and he started to take it out on a lot of these guys in the gym."
Marciano witnessed a lot of beatdowns over fighters with experienced records that left their previous manager to sign with Convicted.
"He knocked out Daniel Speed, Ikki (De Fenix), Strategos (Themistokles), Arthur Halo a bunch of these guys that came in here with experience. Hell I even seen him beat up on some of the little guys like (Zachary) Finyyard, Paul Green, and Kasey Scorpion."
We were curious if his coach thought it was personal, just business, or if he was out-right being a bully.
"They had to earn their stripes."
He pointed out Convicted Fight Club's policy and how the fighters competitive nature pushes them to elite levels of success.
"You can't just walk in here and expect not to bang it out. It's full-contact sparring. We work our way up to 100% at least once a week. We're fighters. We're not trainin' no bitches in here. If it's your first day at Convicted Fight Club, you fight."
'The Godfather' was quick to testify to the knockout power behind Kajun Puno's punches.
"Heavy hands. He aint the most technical guy in here but those hands are heavy. I've seen him knockdown just about every in here. He's a tough S.O.B. too - boy can take a whuppin'. I seen his old man light his ass up back in the day. Now they spend most of their time swinging hammers and doing cardio."
We asked what influence did he think Fidel's presence in the gym had on his son?
"It was big. It still is. His old man's a legend and everybody expects you to honor the family name. He can't give up and has to take the good with the bad. A lot of these guys can just walk out, disappear, and never be seen again and you would never hear a damn thing about it. If he walks out and quits he disgraces the Puno legacy and family name."
He was brutally honest that such a prestigious background in MMA could lead to inflated self-esteem and an egotistical personality.
"That boy's as stubborn as his old man too. He once told me 'Puno's don't need fancy boxing coach or hitting little mits; we have doctrine and PhD in fist-fighting and ass-kickin' dating back to primitive days of cave-man'. Hahaha."
At 31 years old, Kajun Puno won his first major title in EVOLUTION when he avenged his only Heavyweight loss by knocking out Jordi Joestar from Whymer Von Mastodon's camp. His next bout is a scheduled title fight for the Syn' Heavyweight championship. His opponent is current champ Obelix De Gaul. Marciano thinks Puno is entering prime, stating he hasn't peaked yet and has a lot of room for improvement.
"I fought til I was 41, I should of retired at 31, I peaked in my 20's. I'm training some guys like Kajun and A.D. (Abraham Donowitz) that are hittin' their prime in their 30's. A fighter like Kajun-boy, he's got by his whole career on talent, he's a natural fighter. There's still so much room for him to refine his technique. If he can stay healthy he can live up to the family name."
The only thing standing in between Kajun and the same belt his father once were around his waist is a heavy-hitting Frenchmen who's earned a reputation as one of the scariest guys in the heavyweight division that will wear you down, beat you up, and knock you senseless. His coach offered us some insight on his prediction for the upcoming fight.
"First or second round finish. Knockout or Submission. As deadly of a puncher as (Kajun) is, this kid was a Tycoon World Grappling Championship finalist. He might be better on the ground than he is standing up."
With 7 submission victories and a silver medal in the TWGC Division 1 competition, Kajun's track record backs up his coaches claims. This will be a fight for the ages.
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