Boxing Patrick Finley: Eloy coach preparing boxers for Olympics

The Eloy native knocked out one fellow soldier in 20 seconds at an intra-Army tournament meant to keep morale up while fighting in Iraq, and how hardcore is that?

The heavyweight was an All-Army boxing champion from 2005 to 2008 and the All-Armed Forces champ in 2005, 2007 and 2008. The year he didn't win, he was the runner-up.

In a world filled with big, tough guys, Staff Sgt. Guzman was the biggest, and toughest.

For the next week, he'll help prepare America's boxers for the rest of the world.

Now a coach, corner man and trainer, the 32-year-old is part of the staff giving final instruction to the nine men and three women of Team USA in Colorado Springs, Colo.

The final Olympic training camp caps a promising four years for the Americans, who qualified all but one of their 13 boxing hopefuls through international events after flopping at the Beijing Olympics.

"It's definitely rewarding," Guzman said. "As an athlete myself, I can kinda see how hard it is, and all the work you have to put in.

"As a coach, you can relate. It feels good to give back, especially when you have some athletes on the medal podium, and they play the national anthem.

"I'm getting goose bumps just talking about it."

The married father of an 11-year-old son has been coaching for only four years, since he gave up fighting after failing to make the 2008 Olympic team.

"I'm one of those guys that's made it this far," he said. "The more work you put into it, it pays off in the end."

Here's how naïve Guzman was when he started: Right around the time he graduated Santa Cruz Valley Union High School, he decided he wanted to join the Navy. A friend had joined and had told stories of seeing the world by boat.

Guzman remembered the phone number for the national Army recruitment office from a television commercial.

He called it and asked, innocently, if they could give him the number for the Navy.

"The recruiter was like, 'How you gonna call the Army and ask for the Navy?'" he said, laughing.

I know more about A&E's "Storage Wars" than I do about actual war, but even I guessed the recruiter would seize the opportunity.

"Ten or 15 minutes later, " he said, "the Army recruiter is knocking on my door."

He was shipped to Fort Knox for training, and then to Fort Polk in Louisiana.

Having grown up fighting in Eloy - he boxed for the first time around 12 - Guzman entered "smokers" around his base, and usually won.

His streak continued in Sadr City, where he was deployed for a year.

When he was reassigned to Fort Carson, Colo., about 20 miles south of Colorado Springs, Guzman recognized it as the home of the Army World Class Athlete Program.

The WCAP gives financial support and trains stars in Olympic sports, in exchange for positive public relations across the globe.

While he was checking into his new base, he started talking boxing with a soldier who had just left the team.

Guzman had about 70 fights under his belt already and wanted a chance to fight for the Army. He asked for an assistant coach's phone number.

Within hours, he was sparring - albeit at a sloppy 218 pounds. He was welcomed onto the team in 2005.

He traveled to South Africa, Azerbaijan and India to box.

"Being able to do what I love," he said. "It was being in the army, representing not only yourself, but your country."

As a WCAP coach and trainer the past four years, Guzman has seen other corners of the world.

This week, he's driving up the freeway to Colorado Springs to help U.S. coach Basheer Abdullah, also the WCAP boss, train Olympians.

He can't chew out the civilians the way he did Army guys - "It's, um, different," he said - but he'll be sure to watch them, even if it's on his television.

"There's that time difference, so I might have to wake up real early in the morning," Guzman said. "Make a big pot of coffee."

For months Guzman was told he would likely not travel to London. On Wednesday, he said his odds had improved. He could punch his ticket - no pun intended - as early as today.

"It's really exciting," he said.