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Perennial Gatekeeper Marcus
Upshaw
Opens Gate To New Chapter
Perennial middleweight/super middleweight gatekeeper Marcus
Upshaw finally opened the gate to the next chapter of his
career last Saturday, knocking out previously undefeated
Turkish prospect Bugra Oener at Wynwood Stadium in Miami, to
capture the vacant World Boxing Council (WBC) interim
Mediterranean super middleweight title.
The 35-year-old Upshaw (18-4-4, 9 KOs) fought in his home
state for the first time in 2 ½ years. He was on a
seek-and-destroy mission against reigning WBC Youth super
middleweight champion Oener (9-1, 3 KOs).
Upshaw admitted considering retirement after his previous
fight, in which he dropped Las Vegas hometown favorite
Lanell Bellows (12-1-1) three times yet lost an eight-round
decision.
"I've been the gatekeeper for so long but I finally opened
the gate," Upshaw said. "This fight felt awesome, especially
after my long, long journey. I was stressed out after my
last fight. I beat myself up and felt there was no reason
for me to continue my boxing career. I felt used and was
ready to quit, but I was convinced to give it one more shot.
I was ready to put my life on the line, going for it and not
worrying about getting hit or hurt.
"I knew that I had to finish this time. My opponent was
related to one of the promoters and, along with my history,
I knew that I had to keep going to finish the job. I knew I
had to knock him out and I trained hard to do just that.
I've put the past behind me. The problem was always me. This
fight was fun. I stepped into the devil's playground and
that brought out the ugly in me to get the job done."
It may seem strange that a life-long Floridian like Upshaw
is the interim WBC Mediterranean super middleweight
champion, but he proudly displays his second title belt (see
accompanying picture with Upshaw and manager Si Stern), to
go along with the Florida State middleweight strap he won in
2009, when he knocked out another unbeaten prospect at the
time, Ahsandi Gibbs (10-0). Equally strange were the cheers
he heard from the crowd that serenaded him with chants of
"USA, USA" as he entered the ring with Florida promoter Dave
Johnson waving an American flag as he led the team walk to
Upshaw's corner.
"For a change I was fighting in my backyard and hearing fans
shout, 'USA, USA' motivated me a lot," Upshaw noted. "They
had my back. I was honored and it got me extra psyched for
the fight. I knew had to prove myself. I'm really a
middleweight but I took this fight at super middleweight
because it was a good opportunity for me."
Upshaw has always been known for his toughness, going the
distance, albeit in losses, with champions, contenders and
prospects such as Mario Antonio Rubio, David Lemieux,
Gilberto Ramirez Sanchez, Edwin Rodriguez, Patrick Majewski
and Tarvis Simms.
"I'm very happy for Marcus after all he's been through,"
Upshaw's longtime manager Si Stern (SHS Boxing Management)
added. "Marcus was a different fighter in the ring this
time....like he was a completely different guy," "Marcus had
been mistreated by people in the early part of his career
who threw him in against guys weighing up to 175 pounds,
fighting them on late notice in their backyards, and a lot
of his losses were to world champions.
"Marcus has always had the power he showed against Oner, but
he wasn't taught how to properly use his power until he
started working with (head trainer) Orlando (Cuellar).
Marcus is very, very strong and he's never been in a bad
fight. He's lost some fights he should have won, but that's
all behind him now. Coming off this fight, I believe we can
get him to fight for a regional title, and then we'll go
from there"
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