JCTV: I see you are referred to as Dr. Mango. What is your medical background?

DDM: I am a Doctor of Chiropractic. I graduated from Palmer Chiropractic College in San Jose, CA in 1996.

JCTV: Boxing seems like the opposite end of the spectrum than Chiropractic, so what is your interest and background in boxing?

DDM: I began taking Karate as a late teenager. I met a man at work who was an old timer boxing guy. He told me karate was “bull s**t” basically. I told him he wouldn’t be able to block my kicks. He then invited me to a sparring session.

JCTV: What was the outcome?

DDM: He beat me pretty bad.

JCTV: Were you convinced to start boxing or discouraged from the experience?

DDM: I was defiantly convinced that boxing had a big advantage over traditional Karate.

JCTV: What was next for the soon to be Dr.?

DDM: Began boxing right away. I fought as an amateur for a while until I got married. It ended up putting boxing on the back burner for sure. Marriage, school and a full-time job was a bit too much to juggle.

JCTV: What made you decide to make a comeback into the boxing world?

DDM: I never wanted to leave first of all. I just made a bad choice (laughs). I kept a little side training going during this time, don’t get me wrong, but I reached point where my life opened up a little more and allowed me more time in the gym. I moved to San Jose, CA from Chicago when I was 27.

JCTV: What were your plans for moving out west?

DDM: I was divorced by this time and I needed to clear my head. My sister was living there at the time so it made sense.

JCTV: Then what?

DDM: I was working with some fighters out of the San Jose Thai Academy for a while. I was beginning to notice my coaching ability in helping some of the fighters there.

JCTV: Who are some of the fighters that you remember most working with?

DDM: Danny Kelly was a stand-out. He was a Thai Boxing Champion. He fought a few times for Strikeforce. Kelly Dulante who is a KOTC and a UFC veteran. I spent a little time working with Dave Camarillo as well.

JCTV: What brought you back to Chicago?

DDM: Missed my parents first of all. I also was looking to get work with Chiropractic on my own and the industry is swamped in California that it would be a real rough place to start my practice. So I headed back to Chi-Town.

JCTV: How and when did you meet Jeff Curran.

DDM: I was first introduced to Jeff from a student of his that was taking some boxing lessons on the side with me at another gym nearby. It was the summer of 2001 when I first worked with Jeff. My student at the time was insisting I meet this kid Jeff, so I decided it was worth looking into.

JCTV: After meeting Jeff, what was your initial thought on this “kid” that your student wanted you to meet?

DDM: His boxing was rough around the edges for sure. But, I saw he had a natural power that most fighters don’t have or ever get for that matter. Jeff’s boxing background comes from Thai Boxing and Thai Boxers are more known for the kicks, knees and elbows than they are as technical boxers with their hand techniques.

JCTV: Now that you met Jeff, were you planning on training him full-time or just giving him extra help?

DDM: I was concerned to make the commitment to Jeff because he was very involved in Jiu-Jitsu and running his school and that we wouldn’t be able to accomplish what I wanted out of his boxing. Jeff’s a busy guy!

JCTV: What made you and Jeff decide that you should work together and make the commitment between the two of you?

DDM: Well, when I met Jeff he reminded me a lot of my brother. My brother is a champion Gymnast who sets his mind to achieve something and he does it. I decided to take a chance with Jeff because he gave me that same feeling from the start. I learned fast that Jeff keeps his word and goes after what he wants.

JCTV: On a personal level, did you and Jeff hit it off as friends or was it only a student/trainer relationship?

DDM: It was a student/trainer relationship at first due to travel distance I think. The drive between us seemed to get shorter as we became closer during training. Now, we are great friends. More like big brother, little brother type stuff.

JCTV: What did you think you could do with Jeff’s fight career that he wasn’t already doing?

DDM: First of all, let me say that I feel I have a very good understanding about the overall fight game in general. I have seen a lot of great fighters. Boxers, Thai Fighters and MMA guys, it doesn’t matter. I saw Jeff training and fighting and his Jiu-Jitsu stands out because he has such a high level. So, I figured why not bring his Boxing skills up with the BJJ.

JCTV: Present day, what do you feel the outcome to that plan has been?

DDM: Jeff’s boxing is always a working progress, but with every fight he improves in the right direction towards our goal.

JCTV: What about the rest of Team Curran? Are you training them too?

DDM: The deal Jeff and I have is perfect for everyone. I run my Chiropractic business full-time out of the Academy. In return for Jeff letting me do this, I have agreed to train his pro fighters who are up and coming for free. I charge amateurs until they reach a point where they are fighting for money. Sounds backwards, but when a fighter makes the decision to fight in the sport of Boxing or MMA, to make it far they need to spend more time in the gym and less time at a job. I like to make that decision of cutting back on work more feasible for an aspiring fighter.

JCTV: What does the future hold for you, your fighters and your business?

DDM: My business continues to grow slowly but surely. I treat all the students of Curran Martial Arts for a very fair discounted rate. My future has basically began to be shared with the Team’s future for the most part. I have a big dream to see Jeff make his mark in the boxing world for sure.

JCTV: Does Jeff have what it takes to make a mark that you would be proud of in Pro Boxing?

DDM: I am proud of Jeff regardless, but yes. Jeff has what it takes. He is a very hard puncher and a natural fighter. We just continue to clean up his technical errors during training sessions. It’s a working progress like I said early.

JCTV: Any other prospects floating around the gym?

DDM: Well, Bart Palaszewski, in my opinion, is very close to being one of the top 10 lightweights in the world of MMA. His boxing is superior to most fighters in the sport of MMA as it is. He is 21 years old, learned all his BJJ and wrestling from Jeff and started fighting at a very young age. Bart will be another guy who turns Pro very soon in Boxing. The kid is crazy!

JCTV: Do you have a highlight moment you would like to share since joining full force with Team Curran?

DDM: I have plenty of highlight moments. A couple stand-out though. One would have to be Jeff’s fight on the XFO 1 against Dan Swift. It was the first time I felt that Jeff let himself go outside his Jiu-Jitsu. He through punches, ground-n-pound etc. He was just a different fighter at that point. Another one would be when Bart won by KO for the LW XFO title. He KO’ed Virgel Strzlecki in :51 seconds. I finally saw my coaching making a huge difference in their game.

JCTV: Any closing comments you would like to add?

DDM: I want to thank Jeff and our team for all the hard work and effort that is given every day at the gym. I want to thank all the members of Curran Martial Arts for helping make all of our dreams come true… in and out of the ring!