Exclusive Boxing Interview: Yusaf Mack

Philadelphia born super middleweight Yusaf Mack entered the sport in the year 2000 and started out full throttle. He built up his resume to 17-0-2 (11) and had earned himself a shot at capturing the vacant USBA Super Middleweight title October of 2004 when he faced Shannon Miller at Philly’s legendary venue, the Blue Horizon.

Mack showed his potential at becoming a future star of the sport when the referee was forced to halt the action after the eighth round, earning Mack not only his first title but putting the division on notice that there’s a new force to be reckoned with and his name is Yusaf Mack!

Since that time, Mack made four defenses of his title and during a bout to decide the #2 ranked IBF Super Middleweight in the world in May of 2006 against Alejandro Berrio, Mack suffered his first career loss, sixth round TKO that caused Yusaf to take a step back in his progress towards a world title.

Just a little over year later, Mack returned to the ring with an impressive unanimous decision win over Jose Juan Vasquez. Feeling rejuvenated, Mack faced the tough iron chinned Librado Andrade in October of 2007. After dropping Andrade in the first round, Mack had things going his way, until the seventh when a combination of Andrade, frustration and anxiety caused Mack to hit the canvas three times and gave him his second career loss.

Since the Andrade bout, Mack has decided that he will campaign at 175 lb, a division where he has fought before and feels more comfortable at. In Mack’s first act as an official light heavyweight, he has called out none other then former undisputed division champion Antonio Tarver, as Tarver/s dance card has become free after former super middleweight title holder Jeff Lacy pulled out of a proposed bout between the two scheduled for this April. Mack feels this was a great way to start things off.

I caught up with Yusaf recently and had the chance to talk with the fighter about his decision to move up in weight, his recent change in head trainers and plans for the future even if the Tarver bout does not materialize. Here is what he had to say, exclusively to SaddoBoxing.

SaddoBoxing: You and your camp are going through some big changes right now, such as a new head trainer and the decision to campaign at light heavyweight full time. How is it all coming together?

Yusaf Mack: ” It’s going good, everything is working out. I am going to be fighting at my natural weight from now on. John Tandy has some new methods for me and has a strength coach for me to work with. I’m happy with everything.”

SB: How did you and John hook up? Was it by chance or was he someone that had been suggested to you?

YM: “Actually, John had seen me fight in the past and had his eye on me. So when the choice came to change trainers, I was connected with John and it has worked out well so far.”

SB: What were some of the reasons that you split with Tommy Gallagher? If I am not mistaken, it was a separation on good terms? I read somewhere Tommy is still part of your team.

YM: “Absolutely. Tommy and I are on good terms and we will still be working together, there is no bad blood there. We just were not connecting on certain things when it came to fights and workouts. After my manager connected me with John, we started doing some different things in my workout, changing things and taking some needed steps in my training.”

SB: You have fought a number of contests at light heavyweight in the past but campaigned as a super middleweight; were you having problems making the 168 lb limit all along, or just recently?

YM: “I was able to make 168 but I am more comfortable at light heavyweight, it is more my natural weight class and I don’t have to work as hard to make it.”

SB: Since you have campaigned at super middleweight and are just now officially making the jump into the light heavyweight division, do you think that calling out Antonio Tarver right off is a wise choice? Wouldn’t it be better to take a few fights with some lesser names first to adjust?

YM: “No, not at all, like I said I have fought a lot of bouts at light heavyweight. I have even fought at cruiserweight, not officially, but my opponent was not who I was supposed to fight originally and was a cruiserweight so came in at 176 or 178. Fighting guys at light heavyweight is nothing new to me. Tarver is not a great fighter, he is B level. He has some power, but nothing special.”

SB: He is a natural light heavyweight and has campaigned at the weight officially longer then you have. Also, you were KO’d twice at 168, so you don’t think that Tarver will be much of a factor whatsoever? Considering the combination of the two?

YM: “My loss to Alejandro Berrio wasn’t like I was at my best and just went in and got knocked out, there were other things involved and I was not fully prepared for the fight, but it happened. In my next fight though against Jose Juan Vasquez, I came back and did what I had to do, I felt good, I had enough time to prepare.”

SB: After that though you faced Librado Andrade and were TKO’d again. What happened there?

YM: “In the fight I felt good and at first everything was going good, but then I became frustrated…”

SB: I have to ask you before you go on, is Andrade’s jaw as tough as it appears? I have seen him fight about four or five times and even in the Kessler bout when Mikkel was catching him flush with hard shots, Andrade just kept coming forward, almost unfazed.

YM: “That was a big part of it. In the first round, he went down and I thought this was going to go my way but after that he just kept coming forward. Nothing seemed to faze him. I kept boxing though, then in the seventh when I went down the first time, I started thinking about the Vazquez fight. Then I became more frustrated. A combination of the two caused me to end up losing after I went down the third time.”

SB: Were you overly hurt in the fight or was it just more of the frustration then anything?

YM: “More of me being frustrated then anything that caused it all. After that fight, I decided it was time to move out of the 168 lb weight class and up to light heavyweight. No more worrying about making weight, having to fight for a position in the top rankings when I should not have, considering I had the USBA title. Now I will be able to just focus on the fights themselves and not everything else.”

SB: Back to Antonio Tarver; why do you feel he is the one to call out?

YM: “Since Jeff Lacy pulled out and Tarver has no opponent, why not? Tarver’s whole reputation is based on his wins over Roy Jones Jr., nothing else. Jones was not at his best then but Tarver is pretty much based off those wins anyway. He has what, 30 fights after 10 years in the sport? I have 27 and have been in the sport three years less then he has. So it is not like he has that much more pro experience then me.

“Like I said, he is not that good. He has some power, yes, but I have better foot work then him and I am faster. Light heavyweight is more my natural division, so I will be more comfortable. I watched many of his fights; Bernard Hopkins laid out exactly how to beat Tarver. All he has to do is accept the fight.”

SB: Speaking of Bernard Hopkins, he and Joe Calzaghe are finally going to meet this spring after all these years. If Calzaghe should beat Hopkins and decide to stay in the light heavyweight division, do you think that is going to stir things up and change the whole scene?

YM: “No not really, I don’t think Calzaghe will stay in the division even if he wins, so it won’t matter much at all.”

SB: Yusaf, out of all the current champions in the light heavyweight division, Chad Dawson, Clinton Woods, Danny Green or Zsolt Erdei, in your opinion, who is the best out of the lot and will end up being the most dominant?

YM: “I would have to say Chad Dawson is the best out of all of them and has the most to offer in the future.”

SB: Before we go, Yusaf, is there anything that you would like to say to the supporters out there?

YM: “Just that I am back and I will be a new man the next time I step into the ring.”

SB: Yusaf, on behalf of SaddoBoxing and myself, thanks for your time and good luck in the future.

YM: “Thank you.”