SSG Brown interview

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photo by Jeff Bera

The Legendary Blue Horizon is known around the world as the home of the boxing warrior. The old ballroom on the corner of Broad & Thompson Street is covered in DNA shed by some of the toughest fighters in the history of this great sport. Many of those who know the history of the building say it is a place where “only the strong survive”, a venue where “you better be ready for war”. Cincinnati born and Kentucky based Samuel Brown takes those sayings to a whole other level. He is a man who knows all about giving blood, sweat, and tears, about making major sacrifices in pursuit of goal. He is a family man, a gentleman and a professional prize fighter. In his short professional boxing career, you can point out that Sam Brown has backed down from no man, accepting the challenge of fighters who have combined for a record of 13 – 2 over the past year. You can even add on bonus points for him preferring to start his career in Philly, as an unknown with no promotional force to lean on and still earning the respect of a crowd that isn’t afraid to let an outsider know what they think. He is 33 years old and his record stands at 4 – 2 so the International Boxing Hall of Fame may not be knocking at his door, but that is just not what Philly boxing is all about. We appreciate the working man, the guy who will roll up his sleeves and get dirty and that is what I respect about Staff Sergeant Sam Brown, the war hero who has served two tours of duty in Iraq which highlight 14 years of active service in the United States Army. If two tours weren’t enough, SSG Brown is scheduled for a third shipment overseas in the winter, this time to Afghanistan, in the ongoing fight for freedom. While his deployment hangs in the balance, SSG Brown made a point of it to return to Philly to prepare for war when takes on the undefeated Ran Nakash (8-0, 5ko’s) of Haifa, Israel this Friday night. Many interesting people have come through the doors of “The Blue”, none have the story or credentials of Staff Sergeant Samuel Brown who took the time to speak with us before his upcoming fight.

PK: Staff Sergeant Brown, thanks for taking the time to speak with us. To start can you give a little background on where you are from and what it is you do outside of boxing?

SSG Brown: I am originally from Cincinnati, Ohio. I joined the Army when I was 17 years old, moved from place to place and I am currently based in Kentucky. I have over 14 years of active service in the United States Army. I am currently a Logistics Specialist. I track the movement of equipment and make sure it gets to the soldiers. I will soon be leaving for a third tour of duty to fight in war. This time I am being deployed to Afghanistan. Each tour lasts 15 months and I am set to leave sometime this winter.

PK: That’s an impressive resume. By no means am I asking if it will be easy but does having been there already make it a little easier to return or is it even harder knowing you are headed back?

SSG Brown: It is going to be harder. This time around now I have a 2 ½ month old little girl. I won’t be there to see her start walking or talking so what is going to be hard on me. My kids are the story of my life and my wife is more supportive than most.

PK: How does the Army feel about you being a pro boxer in the meantime?

SSG Brown: Oh they are supportive; I believe that I am the first to fight professionally while still an active member of the military. Others have turned pro once they left the military, actually a buddy of mine DeAndrey Abron just won NABO Light Heavyweight title last week. Julius Fogle is another who is an active pro and we have Christopher Downs who is going to the Olympics. We were all on the Army boxing team at one point.

PK: How did become a pro boxer?

SSG Brown: I don’t think many people know about my amateur background. I have been boxing since I was 12 years old. I went on to have over 100 amateur fights. Then in 2003 during my first deployment to Iraq I did a lot of convoying. Then I started to think about how next time I deploy I might lose a leg or something so why not turn pro while I am still physically able to. A lot of the other guys I knew of who were pro at the time, I beat them in the amateurs so I knew that I can do this and be successful.

PK: Word is that when you started your professional boxing career, you specifically requested to fight at The Legendary Blue Horizon. What is it about that Blue that makes you want to travel all this way to fight here?

SSG Brown: Like I said I come from the fighting city of Cincinnati but the pro circuit there isn’t all that big back home. I always wanted to fight at The Legendary Blue Horizon because I didn’t want to fight bums and I wanted to get recognition as a good fighter and Philly has good, tough fighters. A lot of guys in boxing are protected but I’ll fight anybody and I think that shows something by itself. The one thing I didn’t know about was the atmosphere at The Blue. Now that I have fought there before I am more comfortable with it.

PK: You have won here in the past but in your last fight at The Blue, things didn’t turn out as you expected. You are showing a lot of heart coming back. Any reasons in particular why you are coming back to Philly?

SSG Brown: First off I want to make a verbal apology for my last performance. As you know in my last fight I lost to Mark “Oaktree” Brown but I know in my heart I shouldn’t have lost to him. I wasn’t training like I should have been since my wife was pregnant at the time and I was extremely heavy, about 20 more pounds than what I am now. But I am not going to make excuses. This is a redemption fight for me. I regrouped and recently had a tune up fight in Illinois which I won and wanted to come right back to Philly. I originally wanted to fight Dave Brunelli, it’s nothing personal but he seems to be the hot name and I am competitive. I’m 33 years old; there is no sense in fighting cab drivers so I picked someone with recognition. That didn’t work out so now I am fighting Ran Nakash.

PK: Yes, you are scheduled to fight Ran Nakash, an undefeated fighter this Friday. What do you expect to happen in this fight?

SSG Brown: I fight to win and I think you will see in this fight that I am conditioned, and in very good shape. I went from 240 down to around 223 pounds for this fight. The weight alone makes a big difference. I got back with my old trainers in Cincinnati and have been sparing with Owen Beck. I went back to the basics and you are going to see a whole new Sam Brown.

PK: Would you say that your military experience makes it easier for you to prepare for a fight than others who don’t have that disciplined background?

SSG Brown: It’s like a double edged sword. Some people have a 9-5 job but my job isn’t like that. My work day starts at 0500 hours and sometimes it ends at 2300 hours. I have a lot of responsibility in my duty along with being a family man. I am in charge of 65 soldiers and it is more than just a day job, it includes everything. If somebody needs help or gets in trouble at any time of the day I have to be there. There is some flexibility with my schedule but there are definitely times where I have to leave the gym to perform military duties.

PK: What does your training routine consist of?

SSG Brown: I run a platoon of 65 soldiers who all help me out. We do 4 to 6 round road marches, Full Battle Rattle, we run anywhere from 6 to 12 miles. After that it is off to the gym. The Army boxing coach, Coach Basheer Abdullah, I believe he has been the Olympic boxing coach for years. I work with Orlando Anderson too. The Army has a stellar boxing program. Throughout the nation The Army amateur program has to be at least in the top three. I know Ohio and PA are at the top too. I have gotten to see some good fighters come through. I remember Rock and Tiger Allen. Chazz Witherspoon was coming in just as I was leaving but I know of him too.

PK: Do you think being a pro boxer gets you additional respect from your peers in the Army to go along with your rank?

SSG Brown: I definitely say it earns more respect. These 19 & 20 year old tough guys come in and look at me and realize I am tough. At first they might think I box amateur but then I tell them I am pro, that I do just like what they see on TV, it commands a great deal of respect because they see that I am not one to mess with.

PK: Who are some of the fighters that you like to watch?

SSG Brown: I am a fan of Floyd Mayweather, coming where I come from I got to see him come through the amateur circuit. As far as styles I really liked Riddick Bowe, how he fought. As for the little guys I like Marco Antonio Barerra. That’s about it for who I like to watch.

PK: When it is all said and done, what would you like to have accomplished with your boxing career?

SSG Brown: I just want respect, when someone says the name Sam Brown; I want them to say that kid could fight. I get calls from all over, even I after I accept a fight, you wouldn’t believe how many turn me down. Everyone wants an easy fight but that’s not pro boxing to me. I want people to consider me the one who fights for the blue collar guy.

PK: Is there anything you would like to add or say to the fans as we close here?

SSG Brown: I want to thank everyone for their support. I track the whole scene because you never know what will come up next. I like how Brunelli and Mark Brown are fighting each other. I think boxing needs more of that. I do my homework on these guys; I see Joey Abell is fighting Levon Warner who actually holds a win over Brunelli. I know about the Kevin Hood’s and Kevin Johnson’s all those heavyweights near Philly. I have to because I don’t have a slick manager like Mike Murphy or a big name promoter. I am self promoted, I speak for myself. I don’t ask for hand outs, some fighters come up saying I need this and that.I’m not like that. When I fight at the Blue Horizon, Ms Vernoca Michaels or Don Elbaum tell me where to be and at what time and I am there. Philly is a town that gets behind their fighters. That is something I want to build in my hometown.

Your work hasn’t gone unnoticed here, thanks for everything and I think I speak for all of the Philly Keith Sports readers when I say come home safe and we hope to see you fight again at The Legendary Blue Horizon!

If you have any questions, comments or suggestions you can email Philly Keith at keith@phillykeith.com

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