In this Business Blast Podcast episode, host Tyler Wagner interviews New York City boxing trainer Ricky Ray Taylor, president of Boxer Drills Corporation and author of the memoir Punches and Prayers. Ricky shares a pivotal story from 1982 when a denied baseball tryout forced him into a boxing ring, setting him on a path that led to a full‑ride boxing scholarship funded by the U.S. Olympic Training Center and his father’s invention of the modern boxing time‑clock. He emphasizes the central role of faith, hope, and prayer in his life, offering universal advice to “keep praying” and reminding listeners of the economic principle “there ain’t no free lunch.” When asked for personal counsel, he urges his younger self to believe in God, stop fighting, and repent. He links happiness to faith in Jesus and an anticipated eternal treasure. Ricky recommends two books for aspiring boxers—The Gloves by Anassi and Teddy Atlas’s autobiography—highlighting the mental challenges of the sport. His favorite quote, “Preach the gospel at all times, use words when necessary,” reflects his worldview. The episode concludes with promotional details for his brand, directing listeners to BoxerDrills.com and to purchase or review Punches and Prayers on major retailers.
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Welcome to the Business Blast Podcast. I'm your host, Tyler Wagner. This episode is brought to you by Authors Unite. Authors Unite provides you with the support you need to finish your book. Best part is, after you finish your book, they take care of the entire publishing and marketing process 100% for you. So if you want to become a successful author, make sure to check out authorsunite.com. Now let's jump into the episode.
All right everyone, welcome back to another episode of the Business Blast Podcast. I'm your host Tyler Wagner. Today I have a New York City boxing trainer named Ricky Ray Taylor who is the president of Boxer Drills Corporation and author of Punches and Prayers, which is a colorful memoir about his crazy life. So welcome to the show, man.
All right. Thanks for having me, Tyler.
Of course. Grateful to have you on. So, Ricky, the first one I got for you is what is the best story from your life that has an underlying valuable message?
You know, Tyler, it's funny how trivial acts by people, people will probably only meet once in our lives, can be so significant. I mean, look, here's my neighbor friend and I. We're a week late. Just a week late for baseball tryouts. They haven't even played a game yet. At the local JCs back in '82, the old boy sitting behind the desk with his baseball cap pulled down over his face, he wouldn't budge, period. He just would not budge. So no matter how much the three of us pleaded with him, we weren't going to play baseball that summer. So 15 minutes later, Plan B emerged from my dad's head, and I'm in a boxing ring 5 miles away fighting for my life in my first ever sparring session. I had no idea. This is funny because I had no idea that the guy sitting behind that desk at the baseball field who kept shaking his head no was unknowingly catapulting me, realigning things, if you will, exactly where God wanted me to be. So then I'd ultimately become the second person in America to graduate college on a full-ride boxing scholarship funded entirely by the U.S. Olympic Training Center. And my dad would end up inventing the boxing time clock that's used in boxing gyms on fight cards all over the world. All from this stranger's decision not to let me play baseball. But, but you know, Tyler, sometimes tragedies are really just God's hands maneuvering pieces into place within our lives.
Very cool story. Thank you, dude. That's interesting. I like that.
It's crazy.
Uh, the next one I have for you is, what is the most valuable piece of information we should know that's within your expertise or industry?
Man, you know, just keep having hope. I mean, it's so universal, but don't lose hope. Keep praying, keep praying. I mean, it's on every field, man.
And what is your best piece of overall business advice and not necessarily industry-specific?
Keep praying, keep praying. It's just, but probably really I'd say, look, in my very first college class, Jeff Davis Junior College in Gulfport, freshman year, The very first thing that came out of my economic professor's mouth, this is a class that I very soon dropped afterwards, by the way, but the first thing he said is, it's him standing before the class, he said, "There ain't no free lunch." And he was right on time with those words. Now, you know, when he first said it, it sounded like a bunch of hot air, but man, you know, it's 30 years later and he's right on time with that. There ain't no free lunch, man.
And if you could give your younger self one piece of advice, what would that be?
Believe in God. Stop fighting. Repent and be saved. It's really that easy. I mean, I made it hard by my enormous amount of time that I'd invested fighting against that advice, I guess.
And then kind of going, well, not really down a different path, but in your opinion, what is the key to happiness?
This is on the same path, man. Yeah, it's faith in Jesus, man. I have an incredible treasure awaiting me, Tyler, when I get to the other side. And it makes me happy each time I think about it.
Ah, I see. Okay. And then I think I might know, but what is the best book that you've read and what was the number one thing you learned from it?
What's that? Probably a book called The Gloves by a guy, his last name was Anassi. And we exchanged emails many years ago right after I'd read it. He probably doesn't even remember, but I point all my white-collar boxers to this book. Because the people that may want to consider becoming a competitive amateur boxer. And Nasty did a really great job at unveiling a lot of the twisted mentality in this crazy sport. Teddy Atlas autobiography, that's also a great read as well.
And what is your favorite quote and why?
Preach the gospel at all times, use words when necessary. I think this pertains to anyone at any time who's ever done or said anything. I love that.
That's cool, man. Dude, thank you so much for coming on. The last one I have for you before we let you go is where can our audience best find you online?
Boxerdrills.com, Ricky Ray Taylor on Facebook, Instagram, or better yet, better yet, search Punches and Prayers on Barnes Noble, iTunes, preferably on Amazon.com so you can write and leave a review. Again, that's Punches and Prayers. That's the name of the book.
Thank you again.
Thank you, sir. You're a legend.
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