-Shane Mercer
Bruce “Shu Shu” Carrington Jr. appears on the Front Row Seat podcast and chats about his upcoming Top Rank bout on June 18th at Madison Square Garden. He also talks about growing up in the Brownsville neighborhood in Brooklyn, New York and his early days in boxing including his time with Team USA. Plus, the benefits of a plant-based diet.
Watch the full episode:
Episode # 5
Episode Description: Gearing to put his name on the list of the 8 great champions of Brownsville, Bruce "Shu Shu" Carrington talks about his quick rise to heights fame in the boxing world despite the heartbreaks and experiences that almost led him to quit boxing. Listen how his solid family discipline built his strong commitment to the sport at age 7.
Guest Information: Bruce Carrington Jr. is an amateur boxer fighting in the featherweight division. He has 69 bouts with a record of 44-25-0. He placed first in the 2020 U.S. Olympic Team Trials for Boxing. He placed second in the 2019 Pan American Games Qualifier and in the 2018 Eastern Elite Qualifier. He placed third in the 2017 National Golden Gloves competition. And he placed third at the 2016 Elite National Championships.
Show Summary
Episode Links
Transcript:
Shane: Hello and welcome. I'm your host, Shane Mercer and this is Front Row Seat part of the MILLIONS Podcast Network. My guest today, none other than Bruce “Shu Shu” Carrington, a rising star in the world of boxing. Welcome Bruce. Thanks for joining me man.
Bruce: Thank you for having me man. Thank you for having me.
Shane: Hey, it's pretty exciting stuff. So, you've got a really big fight coming up June 18th. How are you feeling, man? How's your training going?
Bruce: Training's going great. This is my second week in training camp and I'm feeling great. I'm running up these mountains. I'm training in this 100-degree weather. I'm going to always train this way just so I can be ready for anything that comes inside that ring and most definitely will be ready June 18th.
Shane: Awesome, man. Well we'll be looking forward to seeing you back in the ring and we'll talk a little bit more about your fight that's coming up on June 18th. But first I want to take a little bit of a look back at your last fight back in March because this was pretty awesome, man. Alright, I am going to have to play here. Well, let's take a look at this.
[Video playing]
Shane: This was just posted by Top Rank just the other day trying to hype up your fight coming up because this is what the fans are going to be able to see. This is one that you just posted.
[Video playing]
Bruce: The slow-mo is sick.
Shane: Wow! You watch it in slow-mo, your post was perfect. You're like savage.
Bruce: And then then the beat drops exactly when the punch lands and everything.
Shane: Yeah, it's great man. Great.
Bruce: It was super, super exciting and I was really, I couldn't wait for that fight to be honest because that was my first fight back home. That was my first fight back home as a pro. And it was like, all right, now like I got to make sure I put on a good show. And it wasn't even like really like I was just trying to prolong the fight in terms of like just wasting time. But no, I really wanted to showcase my talent and hopefully impress everybody that came there to watch. And the crowd was electric. Mind you, I was thinking also like I was the third bout of the night, so which is relatively early when it comes to Fight Nights and it was probably about like 10 fights ago that went on that night. And being on the third bout usually there's not a lot of people that's in the crowd and stuff like that. I always just hoping that I would get some type of eyes, but when I went out there and I fought the whole place was just like crowded, the whole place was just like, you know, full of people.
And I was like, okay, all right, all my people came out to show some love. Like it was just so exciting. So I was like yeah, now they gave me even more motivation to do what I had to do. And the guy was tough, the guy was definitely tough, man. He was not there to lay down and it was scheduled for six rounds, but he's still for five and I was breaking them down and everything but he was still like fighting like he had a lot of will and I respect him a lot for that to be honest. But, he gave me the opportunity to do what I needed to do in that fight and I got him out of here.
Shane: That is on the charts for possible knockout of the year and it came early, it came in March, but people are talking about it in that ranking because I mean you know people are still talking about it and you saw Top Rank posting it.
Bruce: Man, hey, I think Nico Ali got me at this point right now to be honest because that knockout he had probably the month after, woof, that was crazy. Like that was a mean hook right hand, and I don't know this is close, but you know, I like his. I like his right now as well.
Shane: So you talked about that fight being your first one back home Madison Square Garden, I mean what a huge venue to be at and you've got all of that love,
Bruce: Yeah.
Shane: You’re from Brownsville, an area that's part of Brooklyn, New York for those who don't know. Talk to me about your time growing up in Brownsville.
Bruce: My parents made sure they kept me out of trouble for the most part and they made sure like my day to day was school, homework, gym, school, homework gym every single day. But living in Brownsville was like, you can't help but to go through certain things, you can't help but to see certain things. Like I've seen people get shot and killed at the age of six and over time it just kept happening as I got older and it became like a norm to like, you just see certain things happen that's supposed to be so traumatic, but you just see it every day. So it was like… like my friend like to make jokes like, “Oh we wake up to the smell of gun smoke,” you know what I mean?
So it's kind of like really reckless when I was coming up definitely. But at the same time it's like everybody showed me a lot of love because they respected the fact that I wasn't trying to get into all of that mix and I had a mom and dad that -- and that's another thing that's like very rare. Like you don't find like a lot of mom and dad families in Brownsville just either they have a fatherless child or a motherless child and I was blessed to have both my mom and my dad. So I got a lot of respect just because of that, the type of parents that I have, I had a lot of respect to that.
And because I box, like you're going to get so much love from boxing all in Brownsville because we have about seven world champions that come out of Brownsville. You have Mike Tyson, Zab Judah, Riddick Bowe, Shannon Briggs, Daniel Jacobs, Eddie Mustafa Muhammad, Alabama Davis, and I'm trying to be the number eight at this point. I definitely want to be able to put my name on the list of great champions that came out of Brownsville and I really want to be able to put Brownsville on my back and show the world that there is something that comes great out of Brownsville, not just good, great out of Brownsville and I want to be that example.
Shane: You mentioned seeing your first murder at the age of 6.
Bruce: Yes.
Shane: That must stay with you for a long time.
Bruce: You know, it's funny. I would have thought that it would have if I probably wouldn't have seen it again. But you see it again, and again, you adapt to that environment. It's kind of something that is not traumatic anymore. Like yeah, I'll always remember the first time I saw something like that, but I've seen it happen plenty of other times to where it's like, I don't remember the other times. Like if I think about them, it's a blur. The main one I remember is the first one, but I've grown immune to that feeling of, oh my goodness, it's like a traumatic feeling. No, it's weird though, but it's just something that you have to adapt. Like you have to adapt to like it forces you to build tough skin coming out of that neighborhood.
Shane: So then how do you put all of that to the side, the violence and everything else that sort of comes with it, the neighborhood, the drugs, the gangs, all that? How do you put that all to the side and focus on your sport?
Bruce: Like I said, my parents did a great job at that. It wasn't really more so me because kids we can't really have a mind of their own on so many things. We don't really know what we want sometimes. So it's just like, yeah, like I love boxing, but sometimes I wanted to like hang out with my friends and go out and do other things, but my parents were like really strict on me in terms of boxing. So in school, it was like really, it was like, no, we're going to keep you focused on what you need to do, the things that's really important. I didn't understand it at the time. I used to cry about it and stuff like that of course. But I'm grateful that they made sure that I was really focused on the important things in life and built up great values and I got ahead of a lot of people that I grew up with. Like at the age of 25 now I was ahead of a lot of guys that's a little older than me. At the age of 18 or 17, I was ahead of the guys, that's my age now.
I appreciate my parents for that and that was kind of the reasons why I was able to dodge all that and you know, get away from all of the negativity. I also want to give credit and credibility to the people in Brownsville because like I said, they respected my family a lot and they always say it takes a neighborhood to raise a child. And in a way that's what they did. They made sure also like, “If the lights come on up, go inside the house. Go inside your mother's house, go inside grandma's house.” It was kind of like they helped with that as well. So it was not just like -- I never felt like there was a crabs in a barrel situation. They always make sure that I stayed out of trouble as well too.
Shane: Were your parents the ones that originally sort of pushed you towards boxing?
Bruce: Yeah, my dad. My dad was. I was getting into fights in school when I was younger, but I was a good kid. I was a really good kid. I got good grades, but I had to get picked on a lot from kids that was like two years older than me. Like I was about 7 years old when a kid is two years older than you that makes a big difference, like their size and the age makes a big difference at that age. So, but at the same time I would beat the bullies that tried to bully me. I would beat them up. Like I had like this hidden little rage or something like that my dad had never seen because I was not that aggressive kid inside the house.
So he put me in the gym, he's like, “Let me see what you could do. Let me see what you could do.” And I was just immediately drawn to just the sweet science to fighting and punching and the technique. And I learned, I noticed how fast I was learning and how fast I was catching on everything. And what sealed the deal for me into knowing that I was going to be a boxer forever was when I sparred the first time and I beat the kid up so bad that he never came back to the gym ever again. So I was just like, all right, yeah, no, yeah, this is what I'm going to do for the rest of my life. And to think about it at the age of 7, I made such a mature decision. It's kind of crazy.
Shane: That's wild to think that, one, not a lot of parents are pushing their kids towards combat sports. Usually it's soccer or basketball or something like team sports or something. But to push your child at the age of 7 into combat sports, your dad must have really seen something in you.
Bruce: My dad, he always want to say, he's like, “Listen, I'm not telling you this because you're my son, but you do certain things in the ring that I've never seen before.” I'll be sitting there like, “Come on dad, like, oh, you see guys like Muhammad Ali, Sugar Ray Leonard, Mayweather doing crazy stuff.” And I do things that you've ever seen before but he had that belief in me when I didn't have it to myself at the point at a certain point in time.
And now when I'm fighting the pros and well even before the pros when I started becoming number one ranked in the nation and got qualified for the Olympic team and went to the Pan American Games, like on the USA team and everything like, that's when I really started to believe in myself, I'm like, okay I see what dad is seeing now. So I feel like also boxing, he saw that he didn't want to put me in a team sport because boxing teaches you a lot of humility and gives you a lot of personality in terms of being independent. Like, if I lose a fight I can't blame it on coach, I can't blame it on this team mate, I can't blame it on you know… I blame it on myself, like I can't cut corners and pass the ball. I can't have a bad game and then just depend on somebody else. Like, no, I'm the dependent one. I'm the independent guy. I'm dependent on myself. If I screw up, it's on me. If I win, it's on me. I feel like that's what my dad put me in this world.
Shane: You mentioned going to the Pan American Games, I wanted to ask you about your time with Team USA. How did that happen? Did they approach you and did they spot you?
Bruce: Well I actually had to fight to get on the team. They had a qualifying tournament from my weight class specifically. Well two different weight classes specifically and there was like the top 4 guys in the nation and which is including me and we fought and I won the whole thing and then that's when I began to start training in Colorado Springs with Team USA. I went to the Pan American qualifiers in Nicaragua and my first fight I beat the guy and it was unanimous decision. And then the next the next fight I fought Cuba. It was a good fight, I lost the fight but it was enough for me to qualify for the Pan American Games.
And then when I went back in the camp with Team USA, I'm just learning more and more and getting better. And then that's when we finally went to Lima, Peru and that was like a beautiful experience alone, like a dope experience where I will never forget it again. Just learning all the different styles and picking it up certain things and implementing it into my style. Like it definitely changed the game for me forever.
Shane: You mentioned taking a loss there but still being able to qualify. You currently have a clean record as a pro
Bruce: Yes.
Shane: Three and 0, you got your 4th professional fight coming up and as I mentioned, we'll talk more about that in a sec. But I wanted to ask you, your amateur record though, you certainly have smells on there.
Bruce: Definitely. You got to look at the amateurs like school. I'm happy that I lost to one of the best Cuban in the world. I'm happy that I lost in certain tournaments to certain guys and stuff like that because it made me to a better fighter and made me to the fighter I am today. And guys like Mayweather took losses in the amateurs. Mohammad Ali, all the best of the best. Andre Ward, everybody take a loss in the amateurs, that's the learning process so that we can have the best career that we have going into the pros.
Shane: What's one of the biggest lessons or the single biggest lesson that you took away from a loss?
Bruce: Being very patient and letting certain things come to you. I used to try to rush certain things to come to me, like I used to try to throw a jab and or throw a certain punch or whatever when it wasn't there just to make the guy open up just to make something happen. Certain things weren't there and it would make me end up losing the fight. Certain things like that it takes a lot of patience for you to do like just wait until your time comes, your punch will come, your punch will come.
Also conditioning. Like, I remember when I first started, my skills were always like, up there with the elite guys, but I remember I wasn't always that well-conditioned because I used to feel like my skills was enough to pay the bills. No, you got to push it that hard work behind the skills and then that's when you become unbeatable. And I didn't understand that for a long period of time until I took a loss from this guy that I had way better skills then, but he would beat me just because I would get tired and I would hate that. So I would have nightmares about that fight and actually about to quit boxing around that time too to be honest. It was back in 2018 I was about to quit boxing. And I was like, you know what? No, I got to surrender to the spar. I got to take this thing serious and I got to feel like I need to win just like as I need to breathe. And I started to wake up 4 o'clock in the morning, going running and finish my work before the sun comes up and work out three times a day and take boxing into a different level. So yeah, those are the kind of the lessons that helped me become the boxer I am today. at him today.
Shane: So he turned pro last October, how did you know that that was the time?
Bruce: Back in 2016, I was contemplating on turning pro because I already had a decent amateur record, decent fan base. I was the Olympic alternate for the 2016 Olympic team, but I did not want to turn pro because I didn't have enough amateur experience. I realized I was too young. I feel a lot of like a young guys turning pro now and everybody's route is different. You know what I mean? And I don't knock anybody for turning pro early. They’re just people have certain decisions that they want to make and feel like that's their time.
But I just didn't feel like it was my time because I noticed that I wasn't developed yet and I didn't have enough international experience, like I had none. I had no international experience. I remember I went to London for the first time in 2016 because it’s around the time I was still contemplating on turning pro. And I'm like, okay, I want to go to this tournament. At the time, it was the World Series of boxing. I'm going to go to this tournament and I'm going to fight and I'm going to see how I do. I went out there and I got out boxed to the point where I was like puzzled and I haven't felt like that since I was like a little kid at that point and I'm just like, wow, like no, I need to sit back and make sure everything is right before I even go into the pro ranks because what if I run into a dude like him again. Like, no, there's going to be some big trouble.
So I used the following years until the next Olympics for me to polish myself, get stronger, fight the same type of guy again and learn those type of European styles, the Asian styles, the Mexican and all different international styles, Cuban and whatnot. Like I had to learn all of those things before I realized that before I was really confident in turning pro.
So I was going to do the 2020 Olympics, the pandemic happened, pushed it back to 2021. And I still was like, yeah I'm going to still stick it out. I'm on the US team. I still got my spot to qualify, what can happen? The IOC decided to use the rankings from 2017 to 2019 and around that time I wasn't at the weight class that are qualified for the Olympics for at the time. So I don't have any rankings there and that's why he took Duke Ragan, he went out there and he got on the team USA for the Olympics and I was sitting at home just the heartbroken, you know. And to – great too. He won't give up the silver medal and everything, he did his thing. But yeah me, I was sick. I was upset.
And I was offered the opportunity to fight for my first pro fight on the Deontay Wilder Tyson Fury 3 card and that was initially in July but then that got postponed all the way to October. Mind you, I was already out here in training camp working out. When I got postponed I had to go back home and I'm watching the Olympics, watching the opening ceremony, watching these guys fighting, I'm just crying my eyes. It was like such a bittersweet moment because those are my friends and I'm happy to see them do what they're doing their thing. But I wanted to be there. I worked for that spot. I did everything I was supposed to do to be able to fight in the Olympics and go to Tokyo and have that Olympic experience that I dreamed of.
Shane: Is that one of the moments of heartbreak or regret in your career thus far?
Bruce: I wouldn't say regret, but heartbreak definitely. I don't regret it whatsoever. It wasn't much to regret because it wasn't nothing that I did. I had no power over me not going into the Olympics. That was the International Olympic Committee’s choosing. They chose Duke Ragan to go and not me, even though I qualified for the spot. It was nothing that I could regret. It was just like I just felt helpless. I felt like I couldn't control what was happening. And usually when you lose something, when you win something in boxing it's because of what you did or did not do. I did everything I was supposed to do and I just wasn't given an opportunity that I felt like that I earned. But you know it was what it was. One door closes, another door opens. October comes, pro debut, I won my fight and people were impressed and the next step was me signing with Top Rank.
Shane: Your 4th fight coming up and you're already with Top Rank, this is going to be your 2nd fight in Madison Square Garden, I mean the arena of all arenas, venue of all venues in sports and this is your 2nd competition there. How did you rise to such heights so quickly?
Bruce: Highlight real knockouts. I mean, I don't know. No, what I think it is, honestly, I hope I have a fan friendly boxing style. Like I hope that my boxing style is what it makes people notice me and get excited to see me and watch me fight for time and time again because I put my all into the ring. Like I make sure every little thing that we worked on in camp implemented into the fight and I put it into the fight.
My first fight was great, even though I didn't get the knockout, I got a lot of guys that hit me up and said that they were impressed. The second fight, I got a 2nd round knockout and that got my popularity up a little bit. And then the third fight in Madison Square Garden, that one really pushed my popularity up a lot. Like I was on SportsCenter Top 10, I was on different Instagram comedians, pages and whatnot and they were making like a little videos and it was really entertaining and nice to see that. I was catching people's eye. So I think that's probably what helped out in terms of my popularity and just the push that I've been getting so far.
Shane: What comes next? What can we expect on June 18th?
Bruce: Man, you're just going to see a boxing clinic. I'm going to go in there and do what I got to do, man. I'm going there and giving my all each and every time and I just hope to continue to give them the fans, a pleasing fight.
Shane: Can you promise another highlight real knockout like what we saw the last time?
Bruce: I can't promise I'll get a win. I'm not a guy that to be honest, I'm not a guy that goes out and look for a knockout. What if it happens? It happens. I just, I'm a guy that just like to perfect his craft and I like to beat guys down. That's really my thing. I like to really beat guys down and make them break down mentally, that type of fighter that I am. But if the knockout comes, it's going to come and I'm going to land the big one, if it happens. But I will promise that I'll put on the boxing clinic. That's one thing I will promise.
Shane: Alright, well, we're definitely going to be looking forward to watching you compete and doing your thing in the ring come June 18th. There's a couple other things that I wanted to talk about, just about your training and that kind of thing. And another screen share I wanted to bring up here that I thought was kind of funny.
[Video playing]
Shane: Alright, so let me just kill that. Will stop the screen share. So yeah, this guy's like, “Hey, I'll take you to the steakhouse after your win.” But what? So you're a vegan, is that right?
Bruce: I've adopted the vegan diet. I'm plant-based diet, yeah. I won't say that I'm vegan because that's more of a culture if I wouldn't say that I follow in terms of like I still wear leather belts, I still wear coats. I still do a lot of stuff, so this is a really anti-animal. So I want to respect that culture and just call myself a plant-based. I've been on a plant-based diet and I've been on a plant based diet for about 4 years, 4.5 years now.
Shane: How does that factor into your training? Because you know, a lot of people think that you need to get some of your protein and you need to make sure that you're getting certain nutrients and that kind of thing. So how does that factor into your training?
Bruce: Well, a lot of people don't really realize, but peanut butter has more protein than a steak. Like peanut butter, your beans, you double up on your greens. That's your protein. Like honestly, the real reason why you get your protein is because of the animals that you eat is what they eat to put in their body and what do cows eat. Cows eat plants. It's like that’s your protein right there. So why eat the meat and stuff like that when you can go straight to the source and that's what I do. And it's helped me out so much in terms of my energy and my strength –
Shane: Really?
Bruce: -- in my last couple of fights. As you see like I got the knockouts and whatnot. But when in terms of like my energy, it definitely enhances that tenfold because I remember before then I used to always feel very heavy and I had a lot of like acid back up and I used to feel really sluggish and it was like a lot of things that I felt like that was going on my body I thought that was regular until adopted a vegan diet and it was like, okay, so all of this stuff wasn't regular. Wow, I feel so much better now and I hated how I was feeling before. It just helped me out so much, especially with losing weight. Like I fight at 126 now and I could have never done it if I didn't turn vegan, honestly.
Shane: If I wanted to go vegan, what brands would you turn me on to or what direction would you point me in? Like, oh, you've got to make this a staple of your diet.
Bruce: Definitely I would like start off slow in terms of like the regular go to’s. You can't go on like to any supermarket into the frozen vegetable aisle. They have like these, it's called the Gardein, Gardein brand and they have all different types of stuff. Like they have like fish cutlets, they have mandarin orange chicken. That's actually my favorite thing. They have beefless tips, they have ribs, beefless ribs. They have all different types of stuff that you can eat and different types of dishes and pasta Alfredo. Man, it's so good and it's something so easy to make. And it's one thing that I would say it's something to start off with in terms of trying the vegan stuff because it's really good.
People think that, oh man, the vegan stuff is like, I don't know, I don't want to taste any grainy stuff in my food. Like, no, like they got this food down to a science to where it's like, yeah, like this thing tastes very similar to me. They make this mushroom tastes very similar to chicken. It's crazy. Like it's really incredible how they make certain foods taste like something else. It's not like it's fake food, you're eating something that's actually natural and it's good for you. It's better for you. You know, people are just like, “Oh, I don't know. I don't want it.” But no, you just got to be open-minded and if it tastes good, why not continue to try it and eat it?
Shane: So you're promising me that if I go and switch over to, what was it? Gardein?
Bruce: Yes. Gardein.
Shane: Gardein, it's going to taste like chicken.
Bruce: It's similar to chicken. I would say. I'm not going to be one of those guys like oh it tastes just like -- it's just like that. No, it has similarities. Textures might be slightly off but no. Certain things like the Gardein the mandarin orange chicken, no it definitely has the consistency of meat and I think you would like it.
Shane: We'll I have to check it out sometime and give it give it a taste test.
Bruce: Yeah. Yeah.
Shane: See if I could hold it down.
Bruce: Yeah.
Shane: All right, so I want to have a little bit of fun with you here man and you brought up one of these topics but we're going to do a little rapid fire session here. I'm just going to throw a few questions at you. You know, they're like yes or no's or this or that kind of questions. All right? You ready for it?
Bruce: Yes sir.
Shane: Okay. Peanut butter, crunchy or smooth?
Bruce: Smooth.
Shane: Phone in the bathroom or not?
Bruce: Phone in the bathroom, definitely.
Shane: Fair enough. Socks with sandals or no?
Bruce: Socks and sandals, definitely.
Shane: Definitely. Shower or bath?
Bruce: Shower.
Shane: TV series or movies?
Bruce: Tough, tough, tough, tough, tough, tough, tough. I got to go with movies. I like movies but it all depends on the TV series. That's actually a tough one but I'm going movies.
Shane: You're going with movies, movies noted. All right, last on. This one is even tougher. Xbox or PlayStation and why?
Bruce: Not tough at all. PlayStation. Not at all. That's like you're asking me iPhone on Android. iPhone, what are you talking about? That's the same thing. That's how I feel.
Shane: What makes that so easy? Why PlayStation?
Bruce: I don't know, I just feel like the compatibility with certain games and stuff like that and how the way like the current controller is. Like why is like the analog stick’s up here on the Xbox controller here and down here? Like no, I like them keep them right here, it's simple, fits my hand, find it comfortable. And like it's just like I said, they have certain games that I like. I haven't played video games in a while. But when I did I always played PlayStation. I had Xbox as well too. But once I converted over to PlayStation it was no turning back.
Shane: Alright. Well hey man, everybody's got their preferences and if that's what it is, you’re PlayStation guy. There you go. Full disclosure, I also grew up as a PlayStation guy.
Bruce: Yeah, yeah, good, cool. I actually grew up Xbox first. I had Xbox, Xbox 360. I had Xbox 1 and after that that's when I made that transition.
Shane: And then you made the switch over. Okay, well there you go. Hey, you know what, you got find what works for you. So something else that I think has been working for you is millions.co –
Bruce: Yes.
Shane: -- the platform.
Bruce: Definitely.
Shane: So I just want to do one last screen share here. Look at this guy. You look at a little younger in the picture there, but hey, just a little bit, not much, right? So here we go, we can check out, hey, we can book a personalized video from you, 30 bucks to ask you some questions, get some insight on boxing. And yo, check out the merch, man. I love it. You got the pose there and we got the Shu Shu hat, the Shu Shu hoodies. I mean, tell me about what your experience has been like on the MILLIONS platform so far?
Bruce: The MILLIONS platform I honestly recommend it to any athlete, any and all athletes. Like there's a perfect place for you to interact with your fans and for any time like you and your fans to interact with us, shoot us any questions and we will get directly to you in a matter of a day in less than a day even. And it's like, it's so cool to even have for the athletes to share their merch and MILLIONS help us with the design and everything like that and putting it out there and help promote us, even when we're not promoting ourselves. It's a great platform that I recommend for anybody to be a part of, to be honest. I'm super happy that I join the team.
Shane: 100% any athlete at any level, right? It doesn't matter whether you're amateur pro, you know, wherever you're competing at it, you might as well get on there and start building your brand and monetizing your fan base.
Bruce: Exactly.
Shane: Like it's been great chatting. But before we go, is there anything that you wanted to mention? Any shout outs? Anything you want to plug?
Bruce: My Instagram is bruce_carrington, you guys can follow me there. My Twitter is b_carrington1, hit me up on that, and brownsvilleborn.com you guys can hit me up and give me the feedback and let me know how you guys like it.
Shane: Alright, man. Well, hey, we're going to be rooting for you on June 18th and I just want to say thanks so much for joining me on the pod here, man. Good luck.
Bruce: Thank you so much. I appreciate you, man. Thank you for having me.
Shane: Thank you so much for joining me in the Front Row Seat with Bruce “Shu Shu” Carrington this week. Once again, I'm your host, Shane Mercer and this podcast is presented by million.co. If you want to support and interact with Bruce, visit millions.co to shop his merch and get personal videos, join him for exclusive live events. You can also find the Front Row Seat Podcast on MILLIONS to shop our merchandise. Don't forget to subscribe to this podcast on YouTube, Spotify, Apple, everywhere you get your podcast and follow us on all the socials at frontrow.pod. We'll see you next week with our next special guest as we dive deep and give you the Front Row Seat.
Bruce Carrington Jr.'s upbringing in Brownsville influenced his boxing career by instilling resilience and discipline, essential traits he developed in response to his challenging environment. His losses in amateur boxing taught him to handle adversity, focus, and continuously improve, shaping his professional career. His experience with Team USA and the Pan American Games enhanced his skills and confidence, exposing him to high-level competition and international experience, which refined his technique and broadened his understanding of the sport. For more details, you can read the full interview