Marc Farrait is the trainer of Najee Lopez, but he’s made it clear he’s not the light heavyweight's glorified waterboy. Lopez had to find that out the hard way.

Lopez, 13-0 (10 KOs), returns May 10 on the undercard of Erickson Lubin-Ardreal Holmes at Silver Spurs Arena, Kissimmee, Florida.

The 25-year-old from Ellenwood, Georgia, turned professional in 2021 at cruiserweight before working his way down to 175. For the self-described “hard-headed” fighter it was Farrait’s lessons in the gym that molded him into the professional fighter he is today. 

Lopez recalled one memory in particular. 

“It was the sixth round of a hard sparring session and I wasn't listening,” he told BoxingScene. “Marc didn’t give me water for four rounds. And then after the sparring session, Marc asks me, ‘Why the fuck do I got to do that for you to listen?’”

The no nonsense approach from Farrait might seem harsh, but it sent a message. Farrait remembers that day as well. 

“That is a fact because I told Najee that I'm not his waterboy,” Farrait told BoxingScene. “If you're not going to follow my instructions, then I become [just] a waterboy and he doesn't pay me to be [just] a waterboy.”

Lopez is on a two-fight knockout streak and stopped veteran Gilbert “Lenin” Castillo in January. He’s come a long way from the fighter who didn’t listen. The fighter and coach now joke about Lopez getting left in the ring until he got it right. 

“I'm not a typical trainer,” Faraitt said. “I’ve got to have the right guy that will heed my process and listen to what I want to do.”

Lopez is now looking forward to negotiating the jump from being a prospect to a contender. 

“Naji has grown a lot,” Farrait said. “He has the understanding of how to put his punches together and when to throw them. He's growing in terms of his IQ in the ring. He is learning when to throw a punch, when not to throw a punch and how to set big shots up with small shots.”