Super Featherweight Champ Tevin Farmer is Proof it’s Never Too Late to be Great

Published

5 years ago

March 13, 2019

The story of Tevin Farmer’s career – his whole life, really – is printed in black letters on the front of his white T-shirt. The three-word message of hope it conveys, Never Too Late, applies to the late-blooming IBF super featherweight champion, of course, but it could apply to anyone who’s ever been rejected, disrespected, kicked when they’re down or told they’re not good enough to ever amount to anything.

Farmer (28-4-1, 6 KOs), who defends his 130-pound title against Ireland’s Jono Carroll (16-0-1, 3 KOs) in the DAZN-streamed main event Friday night at Philadelphia’s Liacouras Center, now knows what it’s like to be on top and it’s clear he enjoys the view. But his memories of the bad old days, which weren’t so very long ago, are still fresh enough to keep him from ever making the mistake of believing that the good times will last forever.

“I’m Never Too Late,” Farmer, from the hardscrabble North Philly neighborhood that has spawned so many great and might-have-been great fighters, said after a brief workout session at the Everybody Fights Gym on Tuesday afternoon that mostly served as a meet-and-greet with the media. “That’s what I stand for. That’s my slogan.”

Farmer’s slogan of choice is on the front, his autograph printed on the back of T-shirts that will be available to the public beginning on March 15, the day before he swaps punches with fellow southpaw Carroll, the IBF’s No. 4 super featherweight contender. Sales of the shirts in Farmer’s hometown and its surrounding areas aren’t apt to result in the same sort of mad rush by Phillies fans to purchase No. 3 jerseys that marked the team’s signing of high-priced free agent Bryce Harper, but he figures if somebody wants something bad enough and long enough, anything is possible.

“What I stand for is not only boxing,” the 28-year-old Farmer continued. “It could be for anything or anybody. You been in jail, or had a bad start in your career or life? You’re older, you’re 40, you ain’t where you want to be? Well, it’s never too late to make things right.

“I got my opportunity and I took advantage. That’s what can happen in life. It’s all about opportunity and timing. When your time comes, you got to take advantage because you never know if or when it’s gonna come again. Where I’m from, we face a lot of obstacles. That was nothing I wasn’t used to. I had a horrible start to my career. But I knew if I could get over that hump, I could get over anything. And you know what? I’m happy I went through that. It just made me better. Everything happens for a reason.

“I can’t complain or cry about it because what’s done is done. You got to move forward. That’s it. I’m blessed to have that mentality. I’m saying that like it’s really easy; I know it’s not easy. You got to build yourself up mentally to make it easy.”

Farmer’s tale of multiple travails faced and overcome would be fairly standard if all that it involved was the halting start of a pro career that saw him go 4-3-1 and be regarded, if he was regarded at all, as an “opponent.” He had a certain amount of natural talent, that much was obvious, but Farmer – who didn’t start boxing until he was 19 — was being paired with more experienced fighters for short money, a dead-end street from which there often is no escape to something better. Worse, Farmer was beginning to think of himself as a perpetual victim of circumstance, which caused him to do something he would never do today: take shortcuts in training because, hey, once you’re designated for the scrap heap, why dare to believe you can rise above all the negative perceptions?

But early defeats were not the worst of it. In March 2017 he nearly drowned while vacationing in Puerto Rico. A month later, he tore his right biceps, which required surgery, taking much of the luster off the 10-round unanimous decision he scored over Arturo Santos while basically fighting with one good arm. And if all that weren’t enough, in July he was shot through his right hand and was told by a doctor that it was inadvisable that he ever fight again.

The tsunami of misfortune in and out of the ring was compounded when a refocused and fully committed Farmer, who had begun to live the slogan he would turn into a personal mantra, took on Japan’s Kenichi Ogawa for the vacant IBF super featherweight title in Las Vegas on Dec. 9, 2017. The split decision awarded Ogawa was roundly criticized as a great injustice, still another slap to Farmer’s face and an outcome that might have crushed the spirit of a less resilient sort. It hardly seems to matter that the disputed victory for Ogawa was changed to a no-contest after he failed a drug test.

Promoter Lou DiBella, who by that time had taken a flier on Farmer in much the same way that a racetrack bettor plunks money down on a longshot he has a good feeling about, marvels at the way the recent addition to his stable of fighters stared down more disappointment with the same positive attitude that suggested he would again bear down and find a way to overcome.

“I love this kid,” DiBella said of Farmer. “He’s one of the best kids I’ve ever worked with. He has an incredible never-say-die attitude. I would never have believed in Tevin if he hadn’t believed so much in himself.”

Farmer didn’t have to wait long for a chance to make amends for the Ogawa debacle. He journeyed to Sydney, Australia, to take on popular Aussie Billy Dib for the IBF title Ogawa had been obliged to vacate. This time there would be no controversy as Farmer won a one-sided unanimous decision, by scores of 120-107, 119-108 and 118-109. Beaten in his home country from Sydney to Melbourne, Dib promptly announced his retirement.

After successful defenses against James Tennyson (KO5) and Francisco Fonseca (UD12), Farmer again will attempt to hold onto the world title he so cherishes against fellow lefthander Carroll, who claims he will have greater crowd support than the Philly fighter on a St. Patrick’s Day weekend card that is liberally dotted with Irish fighters, most notably 2012 Olympic gold medalist Katie Taylor (12-0, 5 KOs), the women’s WBA and IBF lightweight champion who takes on WBO titlist Rose Volante (14-0, 8 KOs) of Brazil in a unification matchup.

Carroll, whose black beard extends nearly down to his chest and might require a trim before he is allowed into the ring, claims to be unimpressed by Farmer’s inspirational back story or his overwhelming favoritism.

“I feel very confident about this fight,” Carroll said. “Tevin Farmer is a great champion but I’m ready to take that belt off him and be a great champion myself. I want to be Ireland’s next superstar. Winning this fight is what I need to do, and it’s exactly what I will do.”

Farmer smiles at Carroll’s brashness and expressions of confidence. He knows what it’s like to be the underdog, going into another fighter’s backyard to do what a lot of people say can’t be done. But now that he’s reversed that role, he has no intention of switching back again.

“Everybody’s gunning for him,” DiBella said of Farmer-the-target. “He represents their Super Bowl. They’re where he was a year and a half ago, and he knows it.”

So, does Farmer worry that Carroll will go all Never Too Late himself and pull off the upset?

“He can’t beat me, no way, shape or form,” Farmer said. “He’s no competition. I’m just hoping he comes in the best shape possible and gives me a good fight ’cause I’m beating guys too easy and I’m able to get back in the ring two months later. I want to be tested. I called all the champs (other titleholders at 130 are the WBC’s Miguel Berchelt, WBA’s Gervonta Davis and WBO’s Masayuki Ito) and I can’t get a fight with them, so I got to fight the people that’s next.”

Asked what it’s like to now be swimming with the sharks, a brimming-with-confidence Farmer said, “I am the shark.”

What he is, without question, is the busiest world champion in some time, the Carroll bout being his third title contest in four months. Nor is that hectic schedule apt to subside any time soon; Farmer says he hopes to fight six times in 2019, and DiBella and co-promoter Eddie Hearn of Matchroom Sport hope to provide him with a steady stream of challengers.

Interestingly, Farmer has never heard of another Philly guy, Freddie Pendleton, who traveled a similarly bumpy road from non-relevance to a world title. “Fearless” Freddie was a piddling 12-12-1 through the first 25 fights of his pro career, but he drew the attention of millionaire manager Edward Gersh and he continued to persevere until he won the vacant IBF lightweight title by outpointing Tracy Spann on Jan. 10, 1993.

“I should think there’s a lot of fighters like that,” Hearn said of Pendleton and the more accomplished Farmer, gifted fighters who needed to catch the kind of break that doesn’t always come along. “When Tevin started out, he wasn’t quite the fighter that he turned out to be, but he learned from those early losses and was clever enough to adapt. He obviously had natural ability. It’s really about mindset. His mindset now is phenomenal. A lot of fighters, if they went through what he went through, would have just packed it in or settled for being a journeyman. But Tevin knew he had more to give, and the turnaround has been massive.”

Another fact of the Tevin Farmer story is that, well, it’s such a great story. As is the case with Matchroom America stablemate Daniel “Miracle Man” Jacobs (35-2, 29 KOs), the IBF middleweight champion who overcame cancer and takes on WBA/WBC titlist Canelo Alvarez (51-1-2, 35 KOs) on May 4 in Las Vegas’ T-Mobile Arena, Farmer is a survivor who fans find it easy to root for.

“He has a brilliant story and it’s going to get better,” Hearn said. “He’s just scratching the surface right now, as far as where he can be and where he’s going to be. I’m very excited about him. I think he’s an outstanding fighter.”

Bernard Fernandez is the retired boxing writer for the Philadelphia Daily News. He is a five-term former president of the Boxing Writers Association of America, an inductee into the Pennsylvania, New Jersey and Atlantic City Boxing Halls of Fame and the recipient of the Nat Fleischer Award for Excellence in Boxing Journalism and the Barney Nagler Award for Long and Meritorious Service to Boxing.

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Bernard Fernandez

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Seasons Beatings from Philly where Local Fighters of Note are in Action This Weekend

Published

7 hours ago

December 7, 2023

Luis A. Cortes III

Seasons Beatings from Philly where Local Fighters of Note are in Action This Weekend

Tomorrow night (Friday, Dec. 8) begins a nice stretch of live boxing in the Philadelphia area after a relatively quiet fall schedule. These shows will wrap a bow on the 2023 fight schedule for the Delaware Valley with a slate of shows already scheduled for the early part of the upcoming new year.

This sudden boom, well overdue, is good for the Delaware Valley, for its fighters and its fight fans. So, while these shows aren’t large-scale, they are a great way for fight fans to learn about fighters they may see competing on those larger shows in the future.

Let’s look at what exactly fans are in for with the final shows of 2023.

Friday, December 8^th – Wind Creek Events Center, Bethlehem, PA (Kings Promotions)

Jesse Hart (29-3) vs. Jeyson Minda (14-7-1) tops a massive 11-fight card. For years now, Marshall Kauffman’s Kings Promotions has put on successful shows in the Philadelphia region. Not only do they hit the mark from a commercial standpoint, but his shows always have entertaining fights where the result could go either way and this show should be no different.

Jesse Hart (pictured with Jarrett Hurd) finds himself somewhat in limbo in the sport. Staying active and keeping his tools sharp is crucial for Hart to continue to keep his name out there and work his way back into the rankings.

A powerful fighter who often finds himself in engaging battles, Hart’s three defeats happened against only two fighters — Gilberto Ramirez (twice) and Joe Smith, both former world champions. Since his last setback in 2020, Hart has won three fights on the local scene while enduring some setbacks outside of the ring due to hand injuries. Released from his contract with Top Rank, Hart finds himself in the position where his name and pedigree (he’s the son of former middleweight standout Eugene “Cyclone” Hart) coupled with a string of quality victories could open the door to another crack at a marquee name in the super middleweight or light heavyweight division.

Former super welterweight king Jarrett Hurd (24-3) takes on Tyi Edmonds (14-5). In his most recent fight back in March, Hurd returned to the ring after a long absence and was shockingly stopped in the tenth round by Armando Resendiz. Against Edmonds, Hurd looks to prove that he still has elite-level abilities as he too tries to work his way back to the top. A much-needed victory would start that process while a third defeat in a row, especially if it’s physically taxing, would all but mark the end of having his name mentioned anywhere near the division’s best.

Julian Gonzalez (11-0-1) is a talented Kings Promotions fighter who packs a punch, especially for a super featherweight. The 22-year-old Reading, PA native continues his growth against Texas journeyman Juan Antonio Lopez (17-15-1). If successful, Gonzalez will set himself up for a bright 2024 that should see him face quality fringe contenders as well as other prospects which will lead to bigger fights down the road.

Saturday, December 9^th – Showboat Hotel, Atlantic City, NJ (Champions Sports and Entertainment)

Philadelphia fan favorite Joey “The Tank” Dawejko (26-10-4, 14 KOs) is staying busy in the twilight of his career. He’s 3-0 thus far in 2023 which includes two exciting victories over Colby Madison (their first fight, a bruising tiff, will most likely be the 2023 Philadelphia Fight of the Year). On Saturday he returns to the ring to defend his WBC USA heavyweight title in an 8-round battle vs. Jesse Bryan (21-7-2, 16 KOs) of Jefferson City, Missouri. This fight headlines a nine-bout show by CSE which is trying to revive boxing on the boardwalk.

In the co-main, Glassboro, NJ native Derrick Webster (29-4-1) will take on the always durable Cleotis Pendarvis (22-19-2) in an 8-round battle of super middleweights.

Liverpool, NY super lightweight Bryce Mills (13-1, 4 KO) looks to add to his 7-fight winning streak when he battles the durable Tackie Annan (15-10) in a fight scheduled for six rounds. Mills has continued to grow his fan base in the northeast by taking part in action-packed fights from the opening bell. His fans tend to travel well and Saturday looks to be no different as a large contingent of his fans are expected to turn up in Atlantic City to support their young charge. It also helps that Mills, like Dawejko, has teamed up with Hall-of-Fame promoter J. Russell Peltz to help guide his professional career.

Edward Donovan (7-0), a super welterweight prospect from Limerick, Ireland, puts his undefeated record on the line when he battles tough Jetter Burgos (6-1, 5 KO) from the Bronx, NY. Puerto Rican lightweight Joey Borrero (11-1, 9 KO), along with super middleweight prospect Cali Box (2-0) from Franklin Township, NJ, will appear in separate fights.

Date TBD– 2300 Arena, Philadelphia, PA (R&B Promotions)

Tevin Farmer (32-5-1) and Patrick Okine (21-6-2) were slated to meet in the main event last Friday, Dec. 1, on a show at the always-fun 2300 Arena. At the last minute, the show was postponed. An e-mail announcing the unfortunate postponement stated that the show would be rescheduled soon. While a new date has yet to be locked in, all signs point toward the show coming to fruition at the close of 2023 or early in 2024.

A former IBF world super featherweight champion, Tevin Farmer was set to make his third appearance of 2023 as he continues to shake off the ring rust that formed after a much-needed break and continue his push toward becoming a two-time world title-holder. It’s crazy to think, but it’s already been more than three full years since Farmer lost his title to Jojo Diaz in January of 2020.

Farmer, who had a late start in the sport, turned pro without the glitz and glamour that accompanies a highly decorated amateur, but fought his way to the top, beating the odds to achieve his life’s dream of championship glory. His break from the sport following his defeat to Diaz was needed to reenergize him from both a physical and mental standpoint.

In Okine he will find himself in the ring with a sturdy opponent that has faced some of the top contenders in and around the lightweight division. “I wanted Tevin [Farmer] to stay active and keep sharpening his tools and Okine provides that opportunity for him,” stated Alex Barbosa, the promoter/matchmaker. “Okine is always tough and comes to win, which is just what Tevin needs at this point of his career.”

With the lightweight division having had a changing of the guard at the top in terms of the championships, Farmer, 33, just may get that second chance at the top of the mountain. And if he continues to stay active while racking up solid victories, it may come sooner rather than later.

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The IBHOF Class of 2024 includes Ricky Hatton, Michael Moorer, and Ivan Calderon

Published

14 hours ago

December 7, 2023

TSS Press

The IBHOF Class of 2024 includes Ricky Hatton, Michael Moorer, and Ivan Calderon

The International Boxing Hall of Fame and Museum in Canastota, New York, has unveiled its newest class of inductees. The Class of 2024 includes Ricky “The Hitman” Hatton, Michael “Double M” Moorer, Ivan “Iron Boy” Calderon and Diego “Chico” Corrales (posthumous) in the men’s Modern category; Jane “The Fleetwood Assassin” Couch and “La Guerrera” Ana Maria Torres in the Women’s modern category; trainer Kenny Adams, manager Jackie Kallen, and publicist Fred Sternburg in the Non-Participant category; journalist Wallace Matthews and broadcaster Nick Charles (posthumous) in the Observer category; Luis Angel Firpo (posthumous) in the Old Timer category and Theresa Kibby (posthumous) in the women’s Trailblazer category.

The inductees will be formally enshrined during the annual Hall of Fame Induction Weekend. The 2024 event, a four-day jamboree, commences on Thursday, June 6.

The IBHOF is located at Exit 34 of the New York Thruway. Hours of operation are Monday-Sunday 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.

Biographies on the Class of 2024 can be found on www.ibhof.com

Fred Sternburg was previously honored with the Marvin Kohn Good Guy Award by the Boxing Writers Association of America, an honor bestowed upon him in 2004. Rick Folstad interviewed Sternburg for a story that appeared on these pages in December of 2005.

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Ebanie Bridges Poised to Defend Her Title and Boost Her Brand in SanFran This Weekend

Published

2 days ago

December 6, 2023

Arne K. Lang

Ebanie Bridges opposes late sub Miyo Yoshida on the undercard of Saturday’s Matchroom card in San Francisco featuring the WBC lightweight title fight between Regis Prograis and Devin Haney. It’s doubtful that Bridges vs. Yoshida will steal the show (Prograis vs Haney is a compelling match-up), but it’s a stone-cold lock that Bridges vs. Yoshida will steal the weigh-in. It goes at 1 pm Friday at the Chase Center and is open to the public.

This is all Bridges’ doing. She can fight more than a little, as Damon Runyon would have phrased it, but is best known for turning up at weigh-ins in lingerie so sexy that Matchroom honcho Eddie Hearn averts his eyes to keep from blushing. Others can’t keep their eyes off the 37-year-old, well-endowed Australian and on Friday the paparazzi will crash the scene to capture images that will be all over the internet within hours.

This doesn’t sit well with a lot of people. Former opponent Shannon Courtenay, who saddled Bridges (9-1, 4 KOs) with her only defeat, chastised her for selling their fight for the wrong reasons and disrespecting the sport. Her most recent opponent, Shannon O’Connell, called her a skank and other terms of derision unfit for a family newspaper.

Bridges stopped her in the eighth round in what is her most gratifying win to date. “She made it personal,” says Ebanie. “It felt good to make her eat her words.”

Bridges, who set a withering pace, was making the first defense of the IBF bantamweight title she won with a comprehensive 10-round decision over Argentina’s long-reigning Maria Cecilia Roman. Shannon O’Connell, a fellow Aussie, entered that bout on an 8-fight winning streak that included hard-earned decisions over Australian standouts Taylah Robertson and Cherneka Johnson.

So, although Bridges vs O’Connell was contested in Leeds, England, it was something of the culmination of an Australian round-robin tournament, and it would be Ebanie Bridges that emerged as the Queen Bee.

Bridges has a platform on Only Fans. Known for its “adult” content, the web site is also a place where B-list celebrities go to monetize their fan base by promising a closer look into their personal lives. For attractive female celebs, that usually means displaying more skin that can be found in generic publicity photos, but well short of hard-core. Current Only Fans performers include recording artist Cardi B, actress Denise Richards, the former spouse of Charlie Sheen, actress Drea de Matteo, best known for portraying Adriana on “The Sopranos,” former “Baywatch” sex symbol Carmen Electra, boxer Mikaela Mayer, and former Miss USA Shanna Moakler who shares a daughter with Oscar de la Hoya.

Women that profit from cheesecake, to use an old word for racy photos, aren’t known for having the brightest bulbs between their ears but Bridges, despite embracing her nickname, the Blonde Bomber, doesn’t fit the stereotype. She’s no bimbo.

Ms. Bridges has two college degrees, an undergraduate degree in math and a master’s in secondary education. In her spare time, she finds solace in playing the piano and in drawing, a skill that she inherited from her father, a painter and commercial artist.

In her drawings, she is partial to British soccer coaches and athletes, in particular boxers. Some of her photos are embedded in her smart phone. These, I can attest, are very good. There was no mistaking her drawing of Sugar Ray Robinson. It ranked right up there with Stanley Weston whose illustrations adorned the covers of 57 issues of The Ring magazine.

Bridges is her own best publicist. It’s an attribute she shares with UFC superstar Conor McGregor.

It comes as no surprise to learn that they are well-acquainted. Bridges and McGregor sat together at the first fight between Katie Taylor and Chantelle Cameron. She is a spokesperson for the latest product that McGregor is pushing, Forged Irish Stout, a brand of beer that debuted at the Black Forge Inn, the Dublin pub that McGregor owns.

“I love Conor,” she says, “he’s lovely,” a rather odd adjective to apply to a man who once attacked a bus with a metal barricade at a UFC media event in Brooklyn, injuring three people.

“He’s great for my brand,” says Bridges of McGregor, “and I’m great for his brand.”

Like it or not, this is the new world order. This reporter is old enough to remember when colleges and universities had football teams. Now they have football franchises, which isn’t quite the same. A franchise requires a well-oiled marketing department to enhance the value of the brand.

Bridges got her first crack at a world title (the WBA version held by Shannon Courtenay) after only five pro fights against opponents who were collectively 12-25-5. Her opponent on Saturday, Miyo Yoshida, sports a 16-4 record and is coming off a loss.

This is fodder for critics of female boxing but, make no mistake, Bridges would be a tough out for any female bantamweight in the world and she has paid her dues. She had 30 amateur fights after previously training in karate, kickboxing, and Muay Thai. (In fairness to Matchroom’s matchmaker, he salvaged Saturday’s date for her, securing Yoshida after three previous opponents fell out.)

Looking ahead to 2024, Bridges envisions fighting England’s Nina Hughes, the WBA belt-holder, and then Denmark’s Dina Thorslund who owns the other two meaningful pieces of the bantamweight title. A match with Thorslund (currently 20-0, 8 KOs) with all four belts on the line would be a blockbuster and, by then, should it transpire, the Blonde Bombshell would undoubtedly be one of the most well-known boxers in the world.

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