Put ‘em up: bartenders across the country have been trading shots at the bar for a shot in the boxing ring, all in the name of charity. The Bartender Boxing Organization is a charitable non-profit exhibitionist sporting organization that aims to promote healthy lifestyles for bartenders. Sponsored exclusively by Tequila CAZADORES®, the BBO asks bartenders to stretch their limits through a 90 day training program under professional boxing tutelage before taking part in a sanctioned amateur fight against one of their peers in the same weight category. The winner of the fight goes on to represent their hometown in a final fight against an opposing city.

Below, Josue Gonzalez of Miami shares his journey to boxing greatness—and recommends a great CAZADORES cocktail.

Walk us through a typical day.Typically, I wake up early—around 9:00 AM—and get ready for the day. We start boxing at 11:00 AM. Sometimes we’ll go for a 5 mile run on South Beach (on the sand!) right before class as a warm up, and finish the day with some intense bag work. Some days well do a short 2 mile run, do drills going up and down the hill, and come back to the gym to practice boxing technique.

We are required to train 3 times a week, but some of us like myself sometimes went 4, 5, even 6 days. Typically after my training session I would go home, grab a huge lunch, and start my work day around 4:00 PM or 6:00 PM. I finish around 12:00 AM or 3:00 AM, just to wake up and do it all over again.

What does training look like?The boxing training program is rigorous. Every day brings new challenges. Just when you think you have the hang of it you’ll come in and the class gets harder. You are doing new drills and new exercise. Then at least once a week we’ll do some live sparring sessions where we take turns fighting each other. This helps us get used to being in the ring and controlling our pace.

At the end of every practice, we finish with some crazy number of sit ups, leg flutters and bicycles. Our coach Romeo will throw out a random number, like: “Today we are doing 462 crunches, 349 sit ups, and 227 bicycles.” And the next day he’ll change it up with some other obscure and random numbers. I like this because it keeps things challenging and unorthodox.

What advice do you have for anyone who might be embarking on a similar journey?Stick with it. Eat clean (but allow yourself cheat days). Make sure that you are happy and have an attainable goal. Have a little discipline. Hard work pays off.

One thing I told myself every time things got tough was: “Do the things you don’t wanna do today so that you can do the things no one else can do tomorrow.”

Mark Tomaras

Cocktail: Spring Dove

Creator: Josue Gonzalez (Miami)

Ingredients:1 part CAZADORES Blanco Tequila¾ part St-Germain® Ederflower liqueur¾ part fresh grapefruit juice2 parts Martini & Rossi® Rose sparking roséGrapefruit twist, for garnish

Add tequila, St-Germain, and grapefruit juice in a cocktail shaker with ice and shake until thoroughly chilled, about 10 seconds. Add rose to the shaker and strain the drink into a chilled champagne flute. Express the oils from the grapefruit twist into the drink and garnish.

LOS CAZADORES® TOMAN CON RESPONSABILIDAD. DRINK RESPONSIBLY.©2018. CAZADORES®, ITS TRADE DRESS AND THE DEER LOGO ARE TRADEMARKS. IMPORTED BY TEQUILA CAZADORES® U.S.A., SEAL BEACH, CA. TEQUILAS EACH – 40% ALC. BY VOL.

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