Junior lightweight contender Tevin Farmer returns to the ring on
Friday to conclude what has been a busy and eventful 2016. Notching the biggest
win of his career in July against Ivan Redkach, Farmer has announced his
presence as one of the top fighters in a blossoming division. Friday's bout against Dardan Zenunaj will be of the stay-busy variety but unlike most top
fighters of this era, Farmer insists on remaining active. Zenunaj will be Farmer's
fourth fight of the year.
Farmer, a southpaw from Philadelphia, didn't start boxing until he
was 19. After only 16 amateur fights, he turned pro in 2011. His beginnings in
the paid ranks had several rocky moments. At one point, he was just 7-4-1.
After his last defeat in 2012 to now-junior lightweight titlist Jose Pedraza,
Farmer rededicated himself to boxing and the results have been impressive, with
16 consecutive victories. Now in the prime boxing age of 26, his record
currently stands at 23-4-1.
Since aligning himself with trainers Raul "Chino" Rivas
and Rashiem Jefferson, Farmer has continued to develop in the ring technically
and he believes that he's a much stronger fighter mentally than he was earlier
in his career. Frequent sparring with stablemate and 130-lb. titlist Jason Sosa
hasn't hurt either as Farmer has learned some of the finer points of inside
fighting from the hard-charging boxer from Camden. Farmer's on the cusp of a
title shot and should he keep on his winning ways, big things could be in store
for him in 2017.
In the following interview, Farmer talks about his maturation in
the ring, what he's learned from his trainers and how his relationship with
Sosa has helped both fighters. He also admits some disappointment about the state
of boxing in that very few top fighters seem interested in taking on worthy
opponents. Despite the frustrating politics found in contemporary boxing,
Farmer maintains optimism regarding his future, having full confidence in his
abilities and the strength of his team.
Interview by Adam Abramowitz
This interview has been edited and condensed.
Tevin, this will be your fourth fight this year, what’s the
importance for you of staying active?
Staying sharp is the key for me. The more a fighter fights, and
specifically the more I fight, the sharper I am. The better conditioned I am
the more I can stay ready for the big fights in the future.
What type of guidance has Lou DiBella, your promoter, given you in
terms of staying active? Has he been supportive of you staying active?
Lou’s paying for the fight. He’s absolutely supportive. I just
told him how I felt. I’m not making crazy money but the time will come for
that. Right now it involves me staying active and I’m not just going to sit out
for money reasons.
On Friday, you’re facing Dardan Zenunaj. It’s a stay-busy fight.
What would be a successful night for you?
For one, I want to get the victory. That’s the key. If I can get
the victory, that’s O.K., and doing it in a spectacular way. I’m looking to
showcase power. A lot of people underestimate my power but if you look at Ivan
Redkach fight, he couldn’t stay on the inside with me and he was supposed to be the
bigger, stronger fighter. But he couldn’t stay in there. My style didn’t allow
him to do the things he wanted to do.
We’re working on slowing down a little more, sitting down on our
shots a little more. A lot of people that know boxing, they’d say that Tevin
Farmer is a puncher-boxer.
Have you had a chance to speak with Lou about some possible
opportunities for you next year?
No. It’s really hard. Nobody wants to fight a Tevin Farmer. Nobody wants
to lose to him. Nobody wants to fight a tough fight. That’s what boxing’s
laughing at. I wish I could say it better but I really can’t because nobody
wants to fight anybody else right now. I’m trying to set an example for the
boxing world. I’ve never turned down a fight. Or, I’m calling out the big
names. If anybody offers me a fight, I say c’mon. I’d love to fight a big name
but it’s not happening right now. If a fighter really has confidence in
himself, he doesn’t care who he fights. It’s the ones that aren’t confident in
themselves that pick-and-choose who they want to fight.
One of my favorite weight classes in boxing is the junior
lightweight division. There are a lot of knockout artists and some very good
boxers. Who are some fighters in the division that you have your eye on? Who
would you like to fight in a perfect world?
Well, I’ve called out every fighter in my division and I haven’t
really gotten a response. Nobody wants to take the fight with me. So I’m not
going to waste my breath saying who I’d like to fight or who I don’t because I
know for a fact it’s not going to happen. And anybody that follows me knows
that I’d fight anybody that they’d put in front of me. But the question is: are
they willing to fight me?
Another fighter in the 130-lb. division is your stablemate, Jason
Sosa. You went over to Monte Carlo to watch his fight against Stephen Smith and
stay in training camp with your team. What can you tell me about that
experience?
Oh man, it was a great experience. I got to see something totally
different. I went over there, met new people. We worked hard. It was a great
atmosphere. I got to see how business is done. I got to see a lot of
different things. It was a special moment for me.
Sosa-Smith was a very good fight with Sosa earning the unanimous
decision over Smith. What were your impressions of that fight and did you think
that Sosa would get the win at the end?
Oh yeah, absolutely. I think it was a hell of a fight. I think if
it was on [American] TV, it probably would get nominated for fight of the year.
Stephen Smith came to fight but Sosa was more of a dog that day. He was
hungrier. He landed cleaner shots. Sosa showed a lot in the fight. I
actually think Stephen Smith hurt him but you couldn’t even tell. Sosa showed
he could box a little bit. He even showed some good defense. He showed a lot.
Do you spar with Jason?
Oh yeah, we just sparred yesterday [last Thursday].
I wanted to ask you about your trainer, Raul “Chino” Rivas. I read
an old interview of yours where you said that he quadrupled your skill level.
What did you mean by that?
Raul Rivas and Rashiem Jefferson. There are two of them. A lot of
people leave one out but it’s a team. Both of them deserve credit and the both
play a big part in getting the best out of me in different areas.
Specifically, how have you seen improvement since you’ve been with
Rivas and Jefferson?
I always had the skills but they brought the skills out of me.
Mentally was the key. The mental side and conditioning. They were able to
tell me and show me... Most fighters are good but they’re not good mentally.
They were able to build me mentally and have me believe that I could beat any
fighter in the world. I can outbox anybody in the world. I can fight with
anybody in the world. My conditioning is amazing. When I’m tired, I keep going.
Back in the day, I could fight but mentally I wasn’t there. I would get tired
and then I just wouldn’t fight. Now, I rarely get tired, or, if I do, you
wouldn’t know because I’m mentally built for it.
You started your career off at 7-4-1 and you talked about how
after the Jose Pedraza fight, which you took on short notice and lost, that you
rededicated yourself to the sport. After that moment, what changed? How did you
go about your career in a different way?
I wasn’t really taking it serious. I didn’t have the right team
yet. I think I took the fight on three days’ notice. And even on three days’
notice, I still went the full eight [rounds]. And, on top of that, I beat him
the first two-and-a-half-rounds. I spanked him. Then, I got tired and he just
took over – what he was supposed to do. Even back then, if I had a
full training camp, I would’ve beat him, even with not knowing anything.
Pedraza is a champion now. Would you be willing to face him in a
re-match?
That would be too easy. Yeah, he told me... He and my trainer told
me that he’s not fighting me.
I’ve noticed from watching some of your fights that in addition to
your hand speed and defensive skills, you’re also very strong on the
inside. Have you always been comfortable with inside fighting or is
it something that has come to you more over the years?
No. I never could fight on the inside earlier in my career. But
over the years, “Chino” built that. This is where “Chino” played a part in it.
He built me to fight in that style, sparring with guys like Jason Sosa and a
lot of strong fighters. Sometimes when we spar, we do nothing but work on the
inside. And it’s so good that I’m a monster on the inside now. That’s where "Chino" comes in at. When it comes to boxing, that’s where Rashiem comes in. And
when it comes to my IQ, that’s where we all come in at. So we all play a
different role in me being what I am today.
And Jason Sosa, as far as my inside game, that’s one of the guys
that’s helped me build my inside game. He helped me mentally, knowing that if I
could take his shots I could take anybody’s shots. He helped me with a lot of
things, and vice versa. I think I’ve definitely helped him as a boxer.
One of the big fights in your career happened earlier this
year in the Barclays Center against Ivan Redkach. A number of boxing observers
thought that Redkach would be a very good test to see where you were at that
stage of your career. You wound up winning a wide unanimous decision. What are
your thoughts on that performance?
I trained a month for that fight. I was training for another
opponent in June so I was in camp. And Sosa and I were already banging out 10,
12 rounds in camp back in May. So I was ready and prepared to go. That performance,
I grade it a ‘B.” I haven’t really brought out my “A” game yet. No fighter has
brought it out of me yet. If I would’ve stopped him it would’ve been an “A” for
sure. I do think I could’ve stopped him but he came into the fight overweight.
I think those extra pounds held him up.
You know, I’m still learning as well. The more these guys wait to
fight me, the harder it’s going to get. They think that avoiding me now is the
best thing to do. But avoiding me now is the worst thing they could do because
I’m still getting better. Remember, just 16 amateur fights. Started out at 19.
Only been boxing for seven years. And I already have the experience. What do I
have…27, 28 fights? I’m already fighting with experience. It’s going to get
harder and harder for these guys.
Adam Abramowitz is the head writer and founder of saturdaynightboxing.com.
Adam Abramowitz is the head writer and founder of saturdaynightboxing.com.
He is also a member of the Transnational Boxing Rankings Board.
@snboxing on twitter
@snboxing on twitter
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Contact Adam at:
saturdaynightboxing@hotmail.com
Contact Adam at:
saturdaynightboxing@hotmail.com
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