Aiming for the Brass Ring without Brass Knuckles- Lateef Kayode Journey So Far

 

From the National Stadium in Surulere, Lagos, through the 9th All-African Games in Algiers, where he won silver medal in the -91kg category, undefeated heavyweight, Lateef ‘power’ Kayode, is long settled into the Wild Card Boxing Gym, Los Angeles, USA- a “home” away from home.
As faith will have it, Nigerians’ wait for another heavyweight champion since Samuel ‘the Nigerian nightmare’ Peter remains an open question, yet Kayode holds all the aces among a handful of candidates. On the back of his No-Contest bout with Luis Ortiz on 11 September, 2014, Power alighted the World Boxing Association (WBA) top-notch ladder but remains upbeat on realising the Nigerian Dream, which for him is “returning home as the Undisputed World Champion.”

And if at first you don’t succeed, it hurt not if you try again; food for thought for the champions of today and just about the one detail that cost losers dear no matter how hard they try hiding.

Lateef Kayode Having his Back Against the Ropes During the WBA Interim Heavyweight Title Fight With Luis Ortiz in Las Vegas Last September. Image: WBA/Sumio Yemada.

But this man is no one to cut corners. Reliving the horror of his bout with American Ed Perry for the WBO, NABO cruiserweight titles in December 2010, Kayode would just not forget in a flash how he came to terms with one of the widely used clichés in the world of contact sport: “there are no easy fights.” Indeed he recalled how award-winning trainer Freddie Roach (his coach) whispered those lines into his ears after posting a sixth round knockout win over Perry with some bouts of body shots and barrages. “My team kept telling me that this will be an easy fight for me. It was supposed to be a walk in the park,” Kayode, who turns 32, next week, told informationng.com in an exclusive interview. “Perry hit me with a hook so hard that I couldn’t hear Freddie speaking to me in the corner.

“I learned the hard way. All professional boxers are professional boxers for a reason. They’re not given the job because they know someone. Boxers are forced to earn their spot in the rankings”.

And then come about the question of credibility. How much are you willing to stake in pursuit of fame? Cheaters are to sports what terrorists are to the world today, one choice but affects far too many.
With the NABF, WBO and NABO titles under his belt in the cruiserweights category, Kayode moved up to heavyweight after an 18-month break- his longest so far as a pro- in December 2013. But the event which preceded that decision continues to amaze him as much as it had kept him in a complete daze on 2 June, 2012, in Carson, California.

Lateef Kakyode at the Weight-In Ahead of His Fight With Ortiz Last September. Image: Golden Boy Promo.

Kayode and his biggest critic at that time, Antonio Tarver, could not settle their grudge after a 12 round of contentious boxing at the Home Depot Centre, which was adjudged a No-Decision and then a No-Contest after his opponent- an American former light heavyweight champion- tested positive for the anabolic steroid drostanolone. All judges scored a split draw in a two facet main card sponsored by Showtime, with whom Tarver worked as an analyst.

Post fight, an animated Kayode and a frustrated Tarver made case for their claim to the International Boxing Organisation (IBO) world cruiserweight belt, which, in reality, accompanied neither man back home without a plans for a rematch, despite the former’s ‘now-recanted’ claim he had one comically turned down by HBO.
Over two and a half years since that draw, Kayode still feels cheated out of that title.
“There’s no way we tied. I beat him. I know it. He knows it. Our teams know it. The boxing world knows it,” he claimed. “This fight was ruled a No-Contest because Tarver was on steroids. He failed the drug test. He was on steroids and I still beat him.
“Immediately after the fight, I said some things that the network didn’t appreciate. At the time, I didn’t speak much English. I came to America with no knowledge of the language and I’ve been learning new words everyday since my arrival.
“The words that I said to the network didn’t express what I felt in my heart. I’ve apologised to the network, but haven’t fought on Showtime since. The fight’s decision hurt. I trained hard for that win and it was stolen from me.”
Cheaters WHY?

Lateef Kayode Taking Instructions from His Coach Freddie Roach. Image: Facebook via Lateef Kayode.

“I believe boxers don’t cheat to win, they cheat because they expect to lose and they don’t want to lose as bad as they believe they will,” Kayode replied when quizzed on the decades-long advent of performance enhancing drugs in sport. ‘Power’ has recorded 20 wins (16 knockouts), no draw nor loss but 2 No-Contests in the past six years, and both invalid results were- as you know it- after effects of failed drug test by an opponent- the latest of which involved Ortiz.
Ortiz (21 Wins, 0 loss, 0 draw) vacated the WBA interim heavyweight belt months after scoring a first round TKO against Kayode at the Hard Rock Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas, Nevada, having tested positive for banned steroid nandrolone post fight.
The Cuban also received a 10% prize money deduction, an eight-month suspension amongst other punishments by the Nevada State Boxing Commission (NSAC).
The findings nonetheless helped restore Kayode’s status as one of the undefeated heavyweights alive, meaning he has yet to lose a fight on a level-playing field, however, it cost him a place in the ranking table, plummeting down to 49th.
“I don’t blame Luis Ortiz for the drug use,” Kayode quipped. “Boxing is a one on one sport. He knew he needed help in the ring. If we fought again, I’m sure he’d use again. No one wants to get put to sleep by the underdog. This isn’t the first time we’ve encountered steroid abuse. The postfight tests are very sensitive.”
Ortiz knocked Kayode down in round one of their title fight before referee Robert Byrd called time on both fighters for the count of 2:55 in the same round while the Nigerian had his back against the rope in front of a rampant Ortiz.

Kayode Gesturing to the Referee He Wasn’t Hurt. Image. WBA/Sumio Yemada.

“I wasn’t hurt when the ref ended the fight. The World can see that I wasn’t hurt. I’m known for my stamina. I would’ve continued to let Ortiz tire himself out and then knocked his a*s out,” he explained. One thing is for sure, Kayode will not be back in the ring before the most eagerly anticipated fight in the last 39 years of boxing history between his “friend” Manny Pacquiao and fellow welterweight Floyd Mayweather on 2 May, but he will as expected “be rooting” for the Filipino- another boxer trained by Roach.

Future close to home

Lateef Kayode Getting Cleaned Up at the Wild Card Gym. Image: Facebook via Lateef Kayode.

Kayode is bracing himself for a possible return to the ring in April against an opponent to be confirmed any time from now. He also wants to stage a fight in front of his countrymen, who as much as his family has been his source of inspiration.
The orthodox, now blessed with 2 daughters and a son, has found comfort in the caressingly warm, dry and sometimes cold, hot weather of Hollywood since switching the streets of Surulere for the high brow neighbourhoods of the States in 2008.
“I’m scheduled to be back in the ring this spring. April 17th is the tentative date for the bout. I will be informing my fans of the future bout from my Instagram account @KAYOPOWER,” Kayode disclosed.

Kayode Lateef Making His Ring Walk During a WBA Interim Heavyweight Title Fight in September 2014. Image: WBA/ Sumio Yemada.

“We’re working on bringing a fight to Lagos. I haven’t been home in almost 7 years. I look forward to defending my undefeated record in my hometown in front of my family and friends.”
Kayode feels lucky to have six-time Boxing Writers Association of America (BWAA) Trainer of the Year, Freddie Roach, by his ringside, a man he described as “a walking legend.”
“He’s someone I can depend on and he always gives great ring and life advice,” he said.

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