Chordale Booker’s Rise Fueled by Friendship with Manager Paul Guarino

At the time Booker, of Stamford, Connecticut, remembered having a few offers on the table and, more importantly, a burning desire to compete. Guarino didn’t have a lot of marquee fighters outside of middleweight contender Ian “Him” Green, but the fresh-faced, barely 30-year-old Guarino, who also lived in Connecticut, piqued Booker’s interest.