Toronto boxer Phil Lo Greco takes low blow over Donald Trump support
By
Steve Buffery, Toronto Sun
First posted: Sunday, November 06, 2016 04:41 PM EST | Updated: Sunday, November 06, 2016 04:47 PM EST
Toronto fighter Phil Lo Greco has taken and delivered some heavy shots during his 30-fight professional boxing career.
But the ‘Italian Sensation’ took one on the chin outside the ring last week. A blow he is still having a hard time dealing with.
Following a routine workout, Lo Greco — who has fashioned an impressive 27-3 (15 KOs) pro record — called a friend who owns a physiotherapy clinic in the Toronto area and asked if he could get a massage from his regular therapist. Like many athletes, pro boxers get massages as part of their normal training regimen.
“It was towards the end of the day and I asked my buddy: ‘Can you give me an hour?’” said Lo Greco. “And he said: ‘She’s wrapping up with her last client, but she’ll get to you.’ So I was waiting, waiting and waiting, and finally I said: ‘Bro, where did she go?’ And he said: ‘She doesn’t want to massage you because she’s tired ... and because you support Donald Trump.’”
Talk about an unexpected blow to the mush. Lo Greco, a dual Canadian/Italian citizen who has a P-1 work visa that allows him to fight and live in the United States, had made his preference known on social media that he prefers Trump as the presidential candidate over Hillary Clinton, though he’s not a huge fan of either. Lo Greco said he leans towards Trump because of the New York businessman’s tough approach to illegal immigration. Lo Greco, the son of Italian immigrants who spends much of his time in Las Vegas, said he has seen how guys in his profession take advantage of the lax U.S. immigration system.
“I’m a foreign fighter. I worked my *** off to get a P-1 work visa,” he said. “But do you know how many fighters I know that have poured into the U.S., that don’t have that (status) and still fight and earn money? It’s not fair.”
Lo Greco said it isn’t right that he and his camp spent a lot of time and money to get the proper paperwork to live and fight in the U.S., and other fighters enter under the assumption that they’re heading to Vegas just to train, but then fight, get paid and leave.
“It costs a lot of money and you need good immigration lawyers to get this status,” said Lo Greco. “So the reason why I say I support Trump is that he’s right about these illegal (workers) coming into the U.S., and taking advantage of the system. Meanwhile, I have a working visa, I busted my *** getting it. I’ve earned my stripes to legally box in the United States and I have a soft spot for my country because it’s done me well. It’s opened up a lot of doors for me.”
Lo Greco also doesn’t believe that Trump is any less a person morally than Clinton (or her husband) and that the Republican candidate has been largely demonized by the media. That being said, Lo Greco was still floored that a massage therapist, whom he values professionally, refused him treatment because he posted that he supports Trump.
“I was like, are you kidding me?’” said Lo Greco. “So, I told her: ‘OK, but you’ve lost all my business because of that. I think the whole thing is absurd.”
Lo Greco tweeted that he was made to “feel like a criminal” because he expressed his support for Trump, adding that it’s wrong when people turn on each other because of their politics. The Toronto fighter said he feels bad for his buddy who is caught in the middle (and for that reason, doesn’t want to name his clinic). In any event, Lo Greco is waiting for his promoter, Al Haymon, to put together his next fight. After losing to American Joseph Elegele on June 12 in Elegele’s backyard, Lakeland, Fla. — a fight that saw Lo Greco floor the highly ranked Elegele in the second round and almost take him out — has decided to move up from the welterweight division (150 pounds) to super welterweight (154) because he was having too much trouble making weight. He feels the move will make him stronger.
“In the gym, I’m hurting guys terribly. People that spar with me know how strong I am,” said Lo Greco, who unfortunately has never fought as a pro in Toronto, his hometown. “When I lose that extra seven to eight pounds to make (150), I’m not the same guy. That 24-hour window I have to rehydrate is not enough for me. I don’t want to focus in the gym about weight loss anymore. I want to focus on my boxing.”
At 32, Lo Greco feels as strong as ever, though he acknowledges that his days as a prize fighter are closer to the end than the beginning. In that light, he’s starting to prepare for his post-fight career, which will include managing fighters and putting on fight cards in Niagara Falls, Ont.
“I want to make Niagara Falls the Las Vegas north for boxing,” he said. “And with all the hotels and casinos, there’s no reason why it shouldn’t be.”
sbuffery@postmedia.com
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