Germaine ?Silky Smooth? Sanders is in a similar situation to Bravo?s. On Friday, he?ll be stepping into the ring against former USBA champ Teddy Reid for the vacant NABF superwelterweight title.
Unlike Bravo and Hernandez, who were born in Mexico, then relocating to and adopting Chicago as their hometown, Sanders was born and raised in Chi-Town.
Growing up in K-Town on the Westside and also living for a time in the Cabrini Green projects, Sanders started boxing at the age of 10 as a means of self-defense.
?Gangbangers would chase me home and beat me up all the time,? Sanders recalls. ?So I thought I might as well take up boxing. I got into the gyms and it just grew on me. It was a natural thing.?
Sanders had an incredible 200 amateur fights, winning three-quarters of them. He is a state Golden Gloves champion and in 1998, lost to Anthony Hanshaw (who went on to win Nationals that year,) although he felt he'd won the fight.
?I?d established my discipline by that time and thought I should just turn pro,? says Sanders. ?I didn?t want to turn pro and be like some of these pro fighters who take a year off here, a half-year there . . . I wanted to give it my all.?
Sanders was also going through a divorce that had him ?big-time hurt.?
?I took all the negativity in my life and turned it out positive. Everything happens for a reason, and it helped me to establish more discipline and ordain myself as a fighter.?
Since turning pro, Sanders has fought consistently?3 times in ?98, 8 times in ?99; 5 times in ?00; 4 times in ?01; and twice, so far, in ?02?winning all his fights but one. In 1999, Del Matchett was able to decision Sanders; it was a fight that Sanders says he compromised his weight as a welter, dieting down to 142 and losing energy as the fight progressed.
?It was a fight I felt in my heart I could?ve won, so I wasn?t that upset,? says ?Silky Smooth,? nicknamed for his laid back lifestyle and complementing fighting methods.
Just three weeks later, Sanders was back in the ring, beating ranked fighter Imauri Paul in a six-rounder.
Like Bravo, Sanders has all of his fights within driving distance of his hometown. Some see his fight against Reid as a giant leap in competition:
?To me, it?s not a giant step,? says Sanders. ?It?s just a step.
?I?m not taking Reid lightly. He?s a great boxer with a great punch. He?s good?but I?m better. I?m going to put on a good boxing exhibition, and outbox him. When he makes a mistake, I?ll make him pay.
?Underdog? I can accept that. But I?m gonna change that after the fight when I?m wearing that NABF belt around my waist . . . .?
# # #
I don't understand why he would be the favorite. He has fought nobody. And he lost to a nobody. Reid has fought contenders like Golden Johnson, Emmanuel Burton, Joe Hutchinson, and Ben Tackie.
Unlike Bravo and Hernandez, who were born in Mexico, then relocating to and adopting Chicago as their hometown, Sanders was born and raised in Chi-Town.
Growing up in K-Town on the Westside and also living for a time in the Cabrini Green projects, Sanders started boxing at the age of 10 as a means of self-defense.
?Gangbangers would chase me home and beat me up all the time,? Sanders recalls. ?So I thought I might as well take up boxing. I got into the gyms and it just grew on me. It was a natural thing.?
Sanders had an incredible 200 amateur fights, winning three-quarters of them. He is a state Golden Gloves champion and in 1998, lost to Anthony Hanshaw (who went on to win Nationals that year,) although he felt he'd won the fight.
?I?d established my discipline by that time and thought I should just turn pro,? says Sanders. ?I didn?t want to turn pro and be like some of these pro fighters who take a year off here, a half-year there . . . I wanted to give it my all.?
Sanders was also going through a divorce that had him ?big-time hurt.?
?I took all the negativity in my life and turned it out positive. Everything happens for a reason, and it helped me to establish more discipline and ordain myself as a fighter.?
Since turning pro, Sanders has fought consistently?3 times in ?98, 8 times in ?99; 5 times in ?00; 4 times in ?01; and twice, so far, in ?02?winning all his fights but one. In 1999, Del Matchett was able to decision Sanders; it was a fight that Sanders says he compromised his weight as a welter, dieting down to 142 and losing energy as the fight progressed.
?It was a fight I felt in my heart I could?ve won, so I wasn?t that upset,? says ?Silky Smooth,? nicknamed for his laid back lifestyle and complementing fighting methods.
Just three weeks later, Sanders was back in the ring, beating ranked fighter Imauri Paul in a six-rounder.
Like Bravo, Sanders has all of his fights within driving distance of his hometown. Some see his fight against Reid as a giant leap in competition:
?To me, it?s not a giant step,? says Sanders. ?It?s just a step.
?I?m not taking Reid lightly. He?s a great boxer with a great punch. He?s good?but I?m better. I?m going to put on a good boxing exhibition, and outbox him. When he makes a mistake, I?ll make him pay.
?Underdog? I can accept that. But I?m gonna change that after the fight when I?m wearing that NABF belt around my waist . . . .?
# # #
I don't understand why he would be the favorite. He has fought nobody. And he lost to a nobody. Reid has fought contenders like Golden Johnson, Emmanuel Burton, Joe Hutchinson, and Ben Tackie.
