Exclusive Interview: Yuri Foreman.
“I’m very lucky that since a young age I knew what I wanted. I wanted to be world champion and I’m going to get my dream.â€-Yuri Foreman.
Time to Show the Boxing Public if He Has “It.”
There was a time about two-and-a-half years ago that, whenever anyone would talk about solid looking prospects, the name Yuri Foreman, a good looking junior middleweight, was always mentioned. The kid seemed to have what “it” takes to become a serious player in his division. If you added in the facts that he counted Lou DiBella as his promoter, and his fighting on Fox Sports Network what felt like every week, it seemed like only a matter of time until this Russian-born fighter, raised in Israel, would break onto the world stage. But then, just like that, Foreman disappeared, leaving some of us in the sport wondering what happened? “Well, like a year-and-a-half ago, my ex-manager, Gary Gittlesohn, had a problem with DiBella Entertainment, which lead to a split-up. I had one fight under the promotional company of “Sugar” Ray Leonard, but they put me in with a fighter that had like sixty-five losses, so that went nowhere. Then, I went with Cedric (Kushner) for a while, but I was just never given any good fights and they couldn’t do nothing for me. I just fought for them because I needed to pay rent. It was a rough time in my life because I couldn’t even pay rent or I didn’t have food in my refrigerator, so I’m glad I’m back with DiBella,” said Foreman (17-0-0 with 7 KOs) from his training camp in New York City, New York, where he is preparing for his next fight against the undefeated Kevin Cagle (16-0-0 with 12 KOs). It is a fight that Foreman really needs to win in impressive fashion, as it will be televised as part of Showtime’s “ShoBox” series. “I got to really show everyone out there if I have “it’ or not. I know that some people are going to be surprised, and I’m going to shut a lot of my critics up. This is a huge step since a lot of people watch ShoBox. I know that I’ve been forgotten, but, come May 6, my name is going to be remembered again. Cagle is an undefeated guy, someone I beat in the amateurs, but I’m sure he is a lot better now and I have a lot of respect for him.
And, although Foreman is still working with the respected Tommy Brooks, he is going to have a new face in his corner for the Cagle fight. “I am also working with Joe Greer,†said Foreman, “he is an ex-Vietnam veteran and one tough guy to be trained by (laughing). He has tremendous knowledge and he is the one that is training me right now. Both Brooks and Greer are going to work my corner, but Joe will be the main guy, but I think everyone will think it’s Brooks because he is better known. I have really been training hard for this fight and I’ve been sparring with Oscar Diaz, and Jerson Ravelo. Joe Greer is really working me and getting me ready for this fight.”
And should he be successful on May 6, Yuri wants to take that next step. “I’m not looking past this fight at all because Kevin is a guy with fast hands and is a good fighter. Should I win, I definitely want to continue to step up in class. I don’t have a particular guy in mind, but I definitely want to continue to fight the better guys out there. I want to realize my dream of being world champion.”
That pugilistic dream of becoming a world champion began at the tender age of six- years-old. At the time, Foreman lived in Russia, and remembers when “the Mike Tyson vs. Razor Ruddock fight was televised in Russia. I saw that fight and fell in love with boxing. Tyson is my favorite fighter. I started boxing soon after that fight and did it for a few years. Then, my family moved to Israel, and I did not pick up the sport again until I was fifteen. Boxing is what I want to be. I feel like, ah, how do you say? I feel like this is my dream. This is what I want to do in life. Boxing is my sport. There are so many people in the world that are trying to find what it is they want to do in life, and some never find it. I’m very lucky that since a young age I knew what I wanted. I wanted to be world champion and I’m going to get my dream.”
In closing, Yuri had this to say: “to all boxing fans, support boxing, watch it on TV as much as possible. And I love you critics. Thank you for criticizing, and come next week, I hope you all open your eyes. After May 6, I know everyone is going to be saying Yuri is good. He’s really good (laughing).”