Boxing Edmonton brothers learn former world champion is distant relative

Edmonton brothers Carlietto and Raffeal Santoro will have boxing royalty in their corner when they fight Friday at Shaw Conference Centre.

Former lightweight and light-middleweight world champion Vinny Pazienza, who they recently learned is a distant relative, is in town to help support the boys at the KO Boxing event.

Third Cousins

It turns out Pazienza,who now goes by the name VinnyPaz,is their father's third cousin.

"It's very cool, very interesting, because we almost couldn't believe it at first," said Raffeal, 20, the eldest of the boxing Santoro brothers.

"When I first found out, I was kinda like, 'Whatever,' "saidRaffeal,who will be inhis second pro fight on Friday evening.

"But with Vinny and my dad actually having a relationship right out of literally nowhere, talking about family history and stuff, you're like, 'Wow, it's legit.' "

Carlietto, 17,saidhaving a legend like Paz in his corner will be surreal.

'I gotta see these boys'

"Then next thing you know, my dad calls him up and shows him some clips of us. He's like, 'I gotta see these boys, I gotta see them.' He comes down here and is cornering us."

Growing up, theSantorobrothers were heavily into soccer butswitched to boxing in their teens.

Paz said he was intrigued right away as soon as their father,LinoSantoro, sent avideo of the boys' fights.

He didn't hesitate to come when Lino invited him to Edmonton.

"I've watched the kids fight," said Paz, who turned pro when he as 21 and fought some of boxing's greatest, including Roberto Duran, Roy Jones Jr. and Hector "Macho" Camacho.

"They're good, they're tough, they're badasses," he said of the boys. "They want it badly. And the greatest thing about them is that they're great guys."

Paz, 54, said he isn't getting too involved with the boys' training.

Instead, he'sjust talking about his journey in the boxing world and what it took for him to become one of the best.

'It's pretty sick, I won't lie'

For Carlietto, the reality of having Paz in his cornerFriday night is slowly starting to sink in.

"It's pretty sick, I won't lie," Carliettosaid.

"This is probably the most I've been nervous. With Vinny here, I want to do a little bit more for him. I'm also doing it for myself, don't get me wrong. But having him here is special. It's an honour."

KO Boxing's event at the Shaw Conference Centre begins Friday at 7 p.m.