ITโS in the blood. Tevin Farmer is a direct descendant of Joe Gans, one of the greatest fighters in the history of the sport. In 1902 Gans became the first native-born black American to win a world title. He is the great great uncle of the new IBF super-featherweight world champion Tevin Farmer.
โI didnโt always, always know but Iโve known for a long time. I just never brought it up because I felt it wasnโt going to help me, it wasnโt going to make or break me. Now that Iโve made a name I guess it was okay for me to say it,โ Farmer said.
Now he has won a world title himself. โI feel itโs part of my destiny. Thatโs exactly what I feel like.โ
But achieving that destiny was far from inevitable. Farmer had to rally from defeats, face contentious decisions and come through a long career to reach his championship.
It began inauspiciously with a loss, a stoppage loss no less, in his first fight. โI was beating the guy [Oscar Santana]. I beat the guy every round. The fourth round came, he threw a couple of punches and I didnโt throw back and they stopped me,โ Tevin lamented.
Farmer, whoโd had only 16 amateur bouts after beginning boxing at 19, received an early introduction to the harsh realities of boxing. โI didnโt have a team behind me, I didnโt have a promoter, I didnโt have a manager,โ he said. โI was just taking fights… One day I said damn Iโve got to step it up.โ
His last loss, of four, came against Jose Pedraza, now the WBO lightweight champion, back in 2012. โThatโs a fight I would definitely like to have again. I would move up to 135lbs to fight him,โ Farmer adds.
After Pedraza, he would then go on a winning running run that carried him to a world title fight with Kenichi Ogawa, only for the latter to receive a contentious decision. โThere was a lot of disappointment. What can you really do? I just knew that I had to get back in the gym and give it my all. I knew that I would become a world champion if I did that and I did that and became world champion,โ Tevin said.
Itย would emerge that Ogawa failed a drug test. Farmer had to turn this to his advantage. โThis is my opportunity,โ he thought. โI can get another chance at the world title. This time Iโm going to give it my all.”
โI was always the B side fighter, I was never the A side fighter. The cards have always been stacked against me,” he explained.
โIโve always been determined. Thatโs why I was able to deal with it. I was determined to be the best.โ
He had to travel to Australia to fight Billy Dib for the vacant belt. He could not let this slip. โI was comfortable the whole way through. He tried to make it uncomfortable for me but Iโm a veteran. I know what needs to be done to win fights,โ Farmer said.
He received a wide unanimous decision, this time in his favour. โI was happy inside but I had this feeling like it was overdue. I knew that I deserved it. It wasnโt as happy as it would have been if Iโd have got it the night I fought Kenichi Ogawa,โ Tevin said. โItโs feels good. Iโm feeling good, ready to make my defence.โ
He will make his first world title defence against Northern Irelandโs James Tennyson in Boston on October 20. โIโm going to make him look stupid like I do everyone else. Make him look stupid, make him look dumb,โ he said. โItโs no different.
โI want to fight everybody. However they come. However they come, Iโm taking them.โ
Farmer concluded, โItโs been hard, it definitely has. A lot of people donโt understand how I did it. I really didnโt think too much of it. I just put the work in.
โI never thought about quitting. I never thought about quitting in my life. I would never quit. If Iโm going to stop doing something or go out, Iโm going to go out on top.โ