"I think my heart will separate me from other fighters. I have a tremendous heart and I never give up. I'm not a slugger, but sometimes I will catch myself slugging. I got power and my quickness is getting there. I mainly adjust to any situation, man, and that's the type of style I have. If somebody is more powerful than me, I gotta out-quick them and if somebody is quicker than me, then I gotta get 'em outta there with power," stated future prospect Tony Mack, who talked about his decorated amateur career, his eagerness to get his pro career on track, and much more. Check out one of the future names of the sport.
PC: Give our readers some background info on you, both in and out of the ring, because I know you came from a tough place.
TM: I'm from Pleasant Grove in Dallas, Texas; it's a rough part. It's one of the roughest neighborhoods in Dallas. I had a troubled childhood. I moved out of Pleasant Grove, when I was 15 or 16, to Plano, Texas, which is a suburban area right outside of Dallas; basically an all-white neighborhood. I moved there and it was a change of environment, and next thing you know, I was at the top of everything. I succeeded in school and ended up being the first black class president from Plano West high school, the first black homecoming king, and coming from Pleasant Grove, which is a predominantly black neighborhood where I've witnessed all of my friends get murdered or in jail, I was terrible in school because the school district didn't really help us out. Then you move to an area like Plano and get an opportunity and look what can happen. I ended up graduating at the top of my class. I remember one of my teachers, when I was in 5th grade, said I was going to be drop-out material. I proved her wrong.
I played football all through high school and I wasn't that great in football. I went to Collin College and I would say I had just turned 20 when I first met my roommate and he was a boxer. He introduced me to the boxing gym because he used to always see me working out and running. He was like, "Yo man, I box. You should come to the gym and check it out." I went to the gym with him one day and worked out and fell in love immediately, man. I started boxing when I was 20 and I ended up accomplishing a lot in the boxing game, even starting late. I won Dallas Golden Gloves 6 years straight, 4-time Texas state champion, got ranked #3 in the nation in '09, made the USA National Team in 2010, and I fought on the World Series of boxing. So, you know, these 7 years in boxing, I have made some noise. I got runner-up in the Olympic Trial box-off in 2011 and made it to the quarter finals on the US Nationals this year. I've been ranked in the top 4 or 5 these past few years just learning the sport. And I didn't make the Olympic team like I had planned because I had been making some noise these last couple of years, but now I'm about to get ready and start up fresh with the pro game, man.
PC: It's like you got a late start in both life and as a boxer and now you're making the most of both. How much did your real life prepare you for the sport of boxing?
TM: Ah man, real life, I been fighting since I can talk. A lot of people doubted me. I used to be a little chubby kid, so my family and friends used to pick on me. You know, I was always a friendly guy and never confrontational. I always kept a smile on my face and being happy go lucky and growing up in the hood, people gonna pick on you and your cousins gonna pick on you. So I got picked on and then in school, I wasn't the smartest kid, so I had trouble in school and teachers not believing in me. The only people that believed in me was my family; my father and my aunt. Me and my mom never had a relationship. She was real young when she had me, so she basically left me to the side and let my father and my aunt raise me. That was always in my mind. You see other kids with their mom and stuff like that, and I know my mom right up the street and not around me. That kind of killed my self- esteem. Then I move to Plano and I see all of these rich kids getting new cars for their birthdays, and then you see them living in mansions, literally mansions, and you look at this and it's like, "If these kids could do this, then I can be the same way." I wanted to be on top of the world too, so I ended up with two sides to choose from. I had Pleasant Grove and Plano. I was like, "Which one is better?" I went ahead with the Plano life and tried to be the best I could be and go hard. That right there just gave me motivation for life to know that there was another world out there. That's how it all got started.
PC: What weight class do you compete at and who are some of your boxing influences?
TM: Yesterday, me and EJ Errol Spence, he is the #1 154-pounder in America and #2 in the world. He ain't nothing but 22 years old, man, and me and him sparred like 8 rounds yesterday. He inspires me. You know, he's a kid, but he dominates everybody and every time I spar with him, I learn. Who elseĀ
I look up to Andre Ward; he is one of my favorite fighters. I love to study his mental part of the game. He already wins mentally the way he prepares himself for fights. And my main fighter I look up to is Sergio Martinez because he started at the age of 20 and I'm like, "That's the guy to look up to right there." But I have many more. I like Paul Williams' work ethic and I hated to hear what happened to him.
PC: What's your style? What do you bring to the table?
TM: I think my heart will separate me from other fighters. I have a tremendous heart and I never give up. I'm not a slugger, but sometimes I will catch myself slugging. I got power and my quickness is getting there. I mainly adjust to any situation, man, and that's the type of style I have. If somebody is more powerful than me, I gotta out-quick them and if somebody is quicker than me, then I gotta get 'em outta there with power, but sometimes I be tripping and switch and go hard and go ham and just slug it out; just stand in the middle of the ring and box, man, and people love that (laughing).
PC: I appreciate your time, man. I expect to hear big things coming from Tony Mack. Is there anything else you want to say before I let you go?
TM: I appreciate you giving me the opportunity and interviewing me, man. I have a partner named Nathan Pipitone and he's made me part owner of the gym he has and that's what I do all day, train and teach classes for kids and stuff, so I'm boxing all day long and doing what I love. It's a real nice gym and they can check it out at http://www.f2lboxingclub.com/. We do a lot of great things there.
[ Follow Percy Crawford on Twitter @MrLouis1ana ]