 Retooling ‘The Dream’
 By Thomas Gerbasi (October 4. 2005) Photo © Tom Casino/SHOWTIME
 Send this page to friend Give us your feedback
It was something out of a dream, pardon the pun - the unsung prodigy from across the world walking into a gym to face one of boxing’s rising stars, and impressing a hardened trainer so much that he anointed the youngster a future world champion.
But this scene in 1998 was real, one that played out as trainer Ronnie Shields prepared Zab Judah for battle, and needed sparring partners for the current welterweight king.
“When he got off the plane he went to Washington DC, and I called up for sparring partners for Zab Judah, and they sent Kassim down,” recalled Shields during a media teleconference Monday afternoon. Ouma, a former child soldier in his native Uganda, defected to the States to not only escape the war-torn nation, but to launch a pro boxing career. He was just 20.
“The first day I put him in sparring with Zab Judah, I couldn’t believe what I saw,” said Shields. “I said ‘this guy’s gonna be champion of the world.’ We sat and talked for a while, and he told me that his dream was to be the champion of the world, and I said, ‘well, that’s your nickname, ‘The Dream’, and that’s when I started calling him ‘The Dream.’”
Ouma and Shields would part ways - Shields to work with world-class fighters out of his Houston gym, and Ouma to settle in on the east coast as he chased after a world championship with former champ Johnny Bumphus in his corner. Ouma reached the top of the mountain in 2004 when he outpointed Verno Phillips for the IBF junior middleweight crown, and coupled with his engaging personality and harrowing back story, stardom was pretty much guaranteed.
Then Russian spoiler Roman Karmazin threw a wrench into the star-making machine when he took the title from a sluggish Ouma via decision in July. Rumors flew of Ouma entering the fight while suffering from a stomach virus – which would explain his less than energetic performance – but the 26-year-old isn’t one for excuses, he’s just eager to get back in the win column, starting with and October 13 bout with Freddie Cuevas in Atlantic City, New Jersey.
“Maybe I woke up on the wrong side of the bed,” said Ouma of the Karmazin fight. “But I’m ready to do it again – no complaints, no excuses.”
To ensure a successful future, Ouma’s gone back to the past, bringing in Shields to replace Bumphus. For Shields, who also works with current WBA lightweight champ Juan Diaz, it’s a matter of retooling, not rebuilding, ‘The Dream.
“It’s hard to change a guy in four weeks, so basically I’m just trying to add to what he’s already doing, and that’s what we’ve been working on,” said Shields. “I saw the last fight and it seemed like he had an off night. He wasn’t punching the way he usually punches. But he’s really training hard, I’m proud that he came down here to Houston, and I really like his work ethic. He’s giving me everything he has and I’m showing him a few things that he kinda forgot a little bit, and we’re just working hard.”
Against the rugged Cuevas, Ouma should get some rounds, but shouldn’t be pushed too hard in his return, as he’ll be facing a fighter who won’t be too hard to find. But it’s what happens after October 13th that interests fight fans, as well as his promoter, Bernard Hopkins.
“My advice to not only Kassim, but to any Golden Boy East and West fighter, is that this is what makes champions,” said Hopkins, the former undisputed middleweight champion and current president of Golden Boy East. “They come back. That’s what I’ve shown in my career and that’s what Kassim is going to show in his career. Great fighters and potentially great fighters come back. This is another test of building character, building a championship, and building a legacy. There are a lot of champions, but there are very few legends, and this is what separates fighters from just being talked about as a guy that had a belt. Kassim Ouma has an opportunity, and I believe strongly that he will show the world that yes, he fell, but he’s gonna come back and show the championship heart and leave a legacy when it’s time for to go from the sport of the boxing.”
Hopkins can relate to what Ouma is going through as well, as he was on the verge of stardom before losing to Roy Jones Jr. in 1993. But while Ouma was a champion before his fall from grace, he thinks this will even help him more, the idea of knowing what he lost in July.
“Kassim was the champion when he lost, I was the number one contender when I lost, and I didn’t have the taste in my mouth of being a world champion who lost his belt,” said Hopkins, who is preparing for his own redemption song against Jermain Taylor in December. “Kassim Ouma understands what a championship feels like, what being considered the best in the world at 154 pounds feels like. He’s thirsty for that again, and in his training and his tone, I’m pretty sure that he wants that feeling again.”
A 12-year unbeaten streak and a record 20 successful middleweight title defenses followed for Hopkins, so needless to say, Ouma can take solace in the fact that a fistic resurrection is possible for anyone willing to do the work. And if there’s one thing the life of Kassim Ouma illustrates – it’s that he’s not afraid of putting in some hard work.
“You won, you lost, you were a champion, you were an ex-champion – now you have the opportunity to get back and redeem yourself,” explains Hopkins. “If it’s got to do with trainers, conditioning, not being prepared mentally – all of that has to be checked and corrected to be able to go forward and become the champ of the world. I think that’s where he’s at – as a matter of fact, I know that’s where his mind is at right now, and you’re gonna see a different Kassim Ouma, in his demeanor, his work habits, his training, and his lifestyle. He’s gonna make sure that he never gets in that situation again. That’s the same blood I had; that’s the same feeling I had when I lost to Roy Jones Jr. in ’93. I went over a decade without losing, without even coming close to losing. And Kassim Ouma has the same opportunity and I think that’s the same thing he’s gonna do.”
It all starts on October 13th.
Discuss this Topic - Go to the forums
E-Mail Thomas Gerbasi at tgerbasi@mindspring.com
|
