Coronavirus: Boxing Champ-Turned-Nurse Reveals How He's Been Dealing With COVID-19 Pandemic In US

A former world champion revealed how he has been dealing with the coronavirus crisis as a nurse in U.S.

Retired Filipino boxer Rodel Mayol is now working as a caregiver in the U.S. And unlike other blue-collared employees who have been having trouble finding ways to make some money during the coronavirus pandemic, Mayol isn’t struggling to make a living in a foreign land even in these hard and trying times.

Mayol briefly held the World Boxing Council (WBC) light-flyweight belt in the late 2000s. And before finding himself a nursing job miles away from his homeland, the former champ was already a fast-rising boxing trainer.

The 38-year-old is now based in Los Angeles, and before the lockdown, Mayol was the lead trainer of some of the Philippines’ most promising boxers, including fellow former world champion Marlon Tapales, lightweight sensation Romero Duno and an American pupil practicing mixed martial arts. With boxing on hiatus, Mayol has found another way to earn money. He has secured a job as caregiver in a facility owned and operated by someone who has close ties with Manny Pacquiao.

“He (the founder) is from Sarangani and is a friend of Sen. Manny and he has given me the chance to work in a nursing home,” Mayol recently told Tempo.

Mayol is diligently working “graveyard shifts” from Monday to Friday. Admittedly, Mayol said that he never expected that he would wind up in this line of work. He also revealed that being an aid to elderly people with the mind of a child is not easy. Mayol even said that there were times when his patients would hit him. However, being a professional boxer for 12 years makes it a bit easier to deal with.

“I look after five patients who are not elderly but males who have the level of intelligence of two-year olds. My main duty is to watch over them. They are like little kids and sometimes they hit me with punches when they are getting frustrated. I am used to getting hit so it doesn’t bother me at all,” Mayol revealed.

Aside from working as a caregiver, Mayol also invested in four vending machines that churn out $1,200 a month. According to him, “the profit from these machines goes a long way.”

After the lockdown, Mayol is looking forward to reaching out to Pacquiao to fulfill his dream of operating a gym that will aim to help fighters from the Philippines.

“I would love to run a gym that will become the home of Filipino boxers, those who won’t have a place to stay but are determined to make it big in America,” Mayol said.