07.12.06 – Michael Cassell, The Philadelphia Boxing Report – PHILADELPHIA – What is it with these tough African fighters? Last week, two African fighters lost on television, Joshua Clottey and Ike Quartey. One thing that resonated in both losses was that both of these men fought like true warriors. They never gave in, and they dug as deep as possible, to fight the best fight. Joshua Clottey, a rugged fighter from the village of Bokum in Ghana, and a member of the Ga-Adangbe tribe, showed the world, that even with an obviously broken hand, he would fight until the end against a rugged Margarito..
A fellow member of the Ga-Adangbe people, Ike Quartey, slugged it out, toe to toe, with one of my favorite pound for pound best fighters in the world, Ronald “Winky” Wright. Guys like Clottey and Quartey, will fight anyone, anywhere, anytime. Jermain Taylor 25-0 (17KO’s) is said to be taking this fight with Kassim “The Dream” Ouma 28-2 -1 (15 KO’s), as a “rest” or a “break” from all the recent tough battles he has had. If that is the case, I hope he does not forget exactly the kind of man he is fighting. He will be making a very big mistake, if he takes Ouma lightly.
Kassim carries a very heavy load on his small frame. At the age of six he was kidnapped and forced to join the National Resistance Army and consequently did not see his family for five years. Ouma is the 7th of 13 children, which include 7 brothers and 5 sisters. Only 4 brothers are still alive. His father was beaten to death by the Ugandan Goverment as punishment for Ouma leaving Uganda. His family lives under constant threats, and like it used to be for him, anyday could be their last day on earth. Talk about swimming faster when there is a shark chasing you. I have to be honest, when I first heard of this fight, I thought it was a major mismatch. Then I got to know Ouma, as he trained in Philly. I spoke with his sparring partners, who are close friends of mine, and they all told me the same thing, “this guy is one of the toughest guys, I have ever seen.” A local Light Heavyweight told me after sparring with him that, it was really hard to keep Ouma back. He is a very determined figher. “He fights a whole lot bigger than he is”. I caught up with Ouma last month, and asked him about this opportunity. He had this to say.
“I know that no one is giving me a shot to win this fight, but I am not afraid. I can beat Taylor, I believe that. This is only a fight on one night, I have been fighting my whole life. I will not be defeated. He will have to kill me, and that is not easy to do.”
It is pretty damn sobering, and quite frankly, a bit scary to hear a man say, he is hard to kill, and really mean it. I am not saying that Taylor is not the best Middleweight in the world right now, because he certainly is. I am however saying, that Ouma is a man that looks at the world in the context of “Life and Death”, as opposed to “Win or Lose”. That is very distant place, from Jermain Taylor’s ranch In Arkansas.
Mike Cassell “The Philadelphia Boxing Report”
www.philaboxingreport.com