13th Round: OK Tarick, lets start with your last fight fight back in 2005, I guess the first question is are you retired or just taking some time off?
Tarick: I'm done fighting Diamond. Unless, of course, a good money fight is offered. Money talks. Otherwise, I'm done with the fight game. I've boxed all my life. Since I was 8 years old. I'm 34 now and its time to do other things. I've gotten my Bachelor's Degree from the University of Michigan and I am now working in real estate. I do investments, rehabs on homes, and even sales. I work with Remax Team 2000 in Dearborn, Mi, which is in the Detroit area.
13th Round: Do you still get recognized from your appearances on "The Contender TV Show"? How much of an impact has the show had on your boxing career?
Tarick: I get recognized everywhere I go. It's crazy. Much more than I anticipated. I get fan mail from around the world. So many people watched season one. We were each assigned a security guard at the finale in Vegas because it was so crazy with fans. Being on the Contender would have had a huge impact on my boxing career if I had decided to continue boxing. I was more popular to the public than many world champions. But it also had a huge impact on my real estate career. So it benefited me all around.
Most importantly it gave me the shot I never had. I was rated in the top 10 by both the W.B.C. and the W.B.O. at one time, and I was in those rankings for almost two years. I won the W.B.O.- N.A.B.O. championship, but never got a shot at the world championship. I even had a signed contract at one time to fight Joe Calzaghe way back in 1997. The fight never went through and I was never given the opportunity again. So the Contender kind of brought closure to my career. Yes, it was a little late, and I would have probably faired better if the Contender happened earlier in my career. But better late than never, right?
13th Round: What kind of impact do you think The Contender has on boxing as a whole? Is their extra added pressure to perform, since you are being watched by millions of viewers?
Tarick: The Contender made fans out of non-boxing fans. People approach me all the time and say that they were never boxing fans until the Contender. The reason why, I believe, is because the public got to see the human side of us. Not just the fighting side. People got to know us personally before we fought, and that made a huge difference. So the Contender kind of brought boxing back to the limelight again, especially by being on NBC.
Of course the pressure is there by having to perform in front of millions of people. You know its your opportunity and you want to look good. But you have to block all the fans and do your job. I think the most pressure comes from what is at stake. Winning the tournament could set your life and allow your dreams to come true. We knew that going in. So fighting with that pressure, and the pressure of living and getting to know these guys was a little tough. It was different. But a true champion rises to the pressure and even performs better than usual. I think Sergio Mora showed this. He is a true champion. He showed a lot of will and determination, and deserved to win that championship. I know I rose to the occasion, except the 3 1/2 year layoff played a big factor in my fight. I lost a very close decision, but I know that was only a glimpse of my former self on The Contender. But again, I'm going to say, better late than never. Some people deserve their shot and never get it. At least I got it.
But I am also going to say that luck came into play fighting only five rounds. There were so many fights that could have gone either way. The results would have different on any given day. As a matter of fact, I can guarantee that if the show was done over again with the same guys, that the results would be totally different. I am going to use Sergio Mora as an example because he won the whole tournament. He had a very close fight in his first fight against Najai Turpin. The fight could have gone either way. Sergio got the decision, and look where he is now. Had Najai gotten that decision, where would Sergio be today?
He would have went home the 4th episode. I'm sure he would have rebounded, but my point is, look at the impact that show had on each of us. Very close decision losses happened to a lot of the guys. It just came down to the judges and the way they seen it, and the way they seen it changed your life because there was so much at stake. Take nothing away from Sergio, I'm not knocking him in any way. He deserved to win that tournament because he earned it. Ill give you another example. Miguel Espino probably had the closest fight of the whole tournament against Peter Manfredo. Peter got the nod, and Miguel was gone early in the show. Look at the difference in popularity between the two now.
13th Round: What was it like when you first started training at the world famous Kronk Gym? who were some of your sparring partners?
Tarick: I started training at the Kronk gym when I was like 11 years old. That place has so many memories. I always said, they can do a Contender show based on what goes on it that gym itself. I learned so much growing up there. I was an amateur, 16-18 years old, sparring with a young Oba Carr, world champion Gerald McClellan , Mark Breland, even Tommy Hearns. The Kronk gym was the best learning experience of my career and I would never have been the fighter I am without that gym. It made you tough. The fights in there were tougher than the actual fights. There was no light work. And it was like 90 degrees. You even had guys instigating the sparring session, screaming all kinds of things at you while sparring. And then you had Emanuel Steward working with me since I was 11 years old. I was just a kid, yet Emanuel would give me pad work and advice. He would even attend my fights. Ill never forget all the help Emanuel gave me as a kid, and I will always appreciate it. Thanks Emanuel. Where else in the world could I get better training? Nowhere, except the Kronk gym.
13th Round: Are you still working with Jackie kallen? also what was it like being manage by "The First lady of Boxing"?
Tarick: Jackie is like a second mom to me. She is awesome. A really caring individual. She honestly would make a guy who was down and out smile, and feel positive about life. That's the kind of aura she carries around. She make a room light up when she walks in and says only positive things about people. Her whole family is awesome. I'm still great friends with her son Brad. Actually, he's one of my best friends. She is the same way managing you. She cares not only about your boxing career, but also about your well being. She does not look at you as just a meal ticket. When Jackie manages you, you are family. That's important. We have talked about possibly getting into managing fighters together. That would be great.
13th Round: When did you first get involved with boxing? Who was your first trainer? Did you ever think you would achieve the fame that you now have today?
Tarick: I started boxing at the age of 8 at a recreation center in the Detroit, Mi area. I used to go there while my parents ran the family business. It kept us kids off the streets. We would go there and play pool, table tennis, do our homework, and just hangout. One day they brought in boxing as an activity. Like 30 of my friends, along with myself, joined the boxing team. I started winning state and national titles. Soon everyone quit, and I was the last one there. I then moved on to the Kronk gym.
From the first day I laced up gloves, I had in my mind that I wanted to be world champion. I didn't just do it because everybody else did it. I really wanted to do it. I loved it. You have to love it to succeed, and you have to aim high. So I'm not surprised by the fame I have today. Actually, when I was a kid, I expected to be even more famous than I am today. Like I said, you have to aim high.
13th Round: Do you feel like a role model when young fans meet you in public? How important are good leaders in the community?
Tarick: Of course I sometimes feel like a role model because its only natural for young kids to look up to you when you are on TV or a professional athlete. So I feel that because of this, you should do your best to be a good role model for these kids. Some of them do not have parents or good role models around to teach them. They sometimes need somebody as an influence and to show them right from wrong. Not everybody is fortunate enough to have good influences in their life. So I take pride in it and try to help these kids as much as possible. I always tell them that nobody is perfect and you are going to make mistakes. The most important thing is to learn from your mistakes. Most importantly, I tell these kids to stay in school and stay away from drugs. If I can influence even a few of them to stay in school and stay away from drugs, then I feel I've done my job as a role model.
13th Round: Do you have any advice for kids wanted to get involved with the sport? also can you give any advice on hanging around bad influences in life, what does it take to be a champion?
Tarick: I always say its not how good you are, its how hard you work. There is a lot of wasted talent out there. I'm sure everybody knows someone who was a great athlete growing up, and for whatever reason they didn't succeed. That is because the easy part is having the talent. The hard part is doing something with it. The hard part is sticking to your dream, working hard at it day in and day out. People are going to laugh and hate on you for trying to achieve your dream. Let that motivate you. Kids should set goals for themselves at a young age, and stick to those goals. Whether its being an athlete, a doctor, or a teacher. Whatever it is, stick to it. There is no such thing as, I cant do it. I'm telling you that you don't even have to have all the talent in the world. Hard work makes up for that missing talent, and you will improve in time. There are lots of people with all the talent in the world and do nothing with it because they are lazy, or start hanging out with the wrong crows and not focusing anymore. Stay focused, train hard, and as I said earlier, always aim high.
You are who you hangout with. That is very important to remember. If you are a boxer and you hangout with boxers that always lose fights, then it is going to rub off on you, and you will do the same. Hangout with champions and you will be a champion. Hangout with educated people and you will be educated. Hangout with bums, and you will be a bum. Its human nature. You will do it without even realizing it. That is how strong the mind is.
13th Round: What have you been doing with your time off from boxing?
Tarick: I went to school and received my Bachelor's degree from the University of Michigan. I started working in real estate. I hangout with my wife and daughter. I like going to Vegas and attending the fights. I'm enjoying life and I thank God everyday for it. My 30's have been the best time of my life.
13th Round: Are you following other fighters like Joey Gilbert who is fighting next week? Do you watch boxing in your free time?
Tarick: I watch the other fighters from the show. We kind of have a brotherhood. We got close on that show. To know someone as well as we got to know each other in that Contender house would take at least 5 years if we were outside the show. You get to know somebody very good living with them day in and day out for 2 months. You are with them 24 hrs a day, 7 days a week. You see things in people that you wouldn't normally see if you are not living with them and spending every minute with them for 24 hrs a day. It was like we knew each other for years after filming. So I watch them fight and I wish them the best.
13th Round: Do you still keep in touch with anybody from the show?
Tarick: I still talk to almost all the guys. Some more than others, but I am always in contact with them. I talk to Peter and Sergio a lot. Ahmed keeps in touch a lot also. I speak to some of the other guys off and on. So we all keep in touch. I even keep in contact with some of the producers from the show. They are my boys. Producers Adam Briles and Eric Van Wagner...those are my dawgs...I even keep in touch with the casting director Michelle McNulty. We all became friends on that show. It was the best time of my life.
13th Round: In your own opinion who do you think is the best middleweight fighting today?
Tarick: Jermaine Taylor. He is the future. Underneath him, its an open field with up and comers and the veterans. Don't count Sergio Mora out of the picture. Sergio may not look like a Jermaine Taylor yet, but he will rise to that occasion when it approaches. Sergio is a difficult guy to fight, and people underestimate him. That is going to be an advantage for him.
13th Round: What do you think of MMA Events and the UFC? Are you a fan of the sport?
Tarick: I can't really say I'm big fan, but I do enjoy it when I watch it. I give those guys credit. Even more credit than boxers. Those guys are nuts...lol. I don't know, people say we risk our lives as boxers when we step foot in that ring. That is true, but if that's the case, than what do say about a guy who gets in that UFC ring? I say crazy, because I would never get in there...lol
13th Round: What do you think boxing needs to get back the world wide following it once had?
Tarick: Its simple, boxing need a national commission overseeing it and a union to protect the fighters. Every other major professional sport has this except boxing. Once boxing gets this, it will be well respected by the general public like it used to be. But its going to be a tough thing to do because of the big promoters who are running boxing. They do not want this to happen, because it would mean less control and less money for their pockets at the end of the day
13th Round: do you have any last comment for your fans out here?
Tarick: It was a great time being a boxer. There were good times and bad times, but the good outweighed the bad. Boxing changed my life and made me the person I am today. It gave me discipline and motivation to succeed in other things in life. I just hope other fighters learn when to quit. Of course there are dangers to boxing as there is to many other things we do in life, but when you look at the statistics, boxing doesn't hurt you...not knowing when to quit does...
For more details regarding Tarick visit his official site: www.tarick.com
