By Coach Tim Walker – Recently I had the opportunity to speak with cruiserweight project, Jeremiah Graziano (10-0-0 (10 KOs)) who was recently featured on Eastside’s “The Project”. Graziano is an energetic, out spoken, confident, open book. As I interviewed him I could hear his 1 year old son playing in the background. Jeremiah occasionally broke from the interview to momentarily play with his son. This was pretty cool with me. Jeremiah doesn’t hid his feelings with his son, about the sport of boxing or the fighters within it. You don’t want to miss part 1 of this very candid interview.
Walker: Hey Jeremiah thanks for talking with me. Your nickname is “Wyson” which stands for White Mike Tyson. Do you still go by that name?
JG: Nah, not really. I sort of evolved into Jeremiah “Guerilla” Graziano primarily because we do a lot of guerilla type of training. I mean real guerilla training with ropes and everything..
Walker: I’m intrigued with your story which is why I featured you on The Project. I know you read that write up. What did you honestly feel about it?
JG: There was nothing to dislike about it. It was a good article you know. I mean you didn’t know a whole lot about me so you couldn’t get too deep into everything but I didn’t feel there was anything to dislike about it at all.
Walker: I try to be fair. If I don’t know it I try not to add it.
JG: Refreshing!
Walker: Take us back a few years. You, at that time, were a self proclaimed bum and homeless, not in the sense of down and out homelessness, but homelessness at your own unction. How did that happen?
JG: Yeah, you know…I was like, I didn’t care. I’m pretty easy as far as my life style goes so I’m happy wherever. So we just took an extended camping trip in my car. We played around and had an adventure.
Walker: That’s pretty free spirited. How long did the extended trip last?
JG: About three months. On the road, living out my car, just me and a buddy. I didn’t have a plan you know. Just learned some (explicit) about life I guess. Go get some experiences you know.
Walker: You started boxing late. Did you play any amateur sports?
JG: I played basketball. I quit my junior year. I ran track until my junior year. I did some body building. Did one body building show when I had just turned 18. And then after that I was just lifting weights and stuff but didn’t do much.
Walker: Was the weight lifting that you participated in organized?
JG: Nah, nah. It was just me lifting because I love working out.
Walker: What is your max bench?
JG: Not much more than 300. I use to like to dead lift and squat but I don’t now. My last serious dead lift was about 500 pounds but I don’t really get much functional use out of it other than having bigger pecks (pectoral muscles).
Walker: Are you still trained by John Brown and how does he feel about you lifting weights?
JG: Yes sir. He’s good with me lifting. As far as the physical training and everything, I was trying to be a personal trainer for a while so I learned a lot about the physical body through that. Reactions to different kinds of training. You know I don’t necessarily believe the old wives tales about training unless they have some science behind them. Through the research we just sort of deducted that lifting weight is nothing but beneficial and you can’t really get the kind of strength I have gained through just exercising.
Walker: You started boxing in 2006. What prompted you to start boxing?
JG: A couple of things. I had a nephew I wanted to give him someone to look up to. I was supposed to do some Alaska fishing.
Walker: (interrupting) Do you mean fishing like the TV show Deadliest Catch?
JG: Yeah except it wasn’t crabs. It was fish. I came home and was getting ready for that and I tore my right Achilles tendon playing ball. Before that I had made a deal with my dad, who is a former boxer, that if the fishing thing didn’t work out I would become a boxer. He had always wanted me to box since I was a kid. I played sports but I wasn’t necessarily a good basketball player. I was just a good run and jump athlete with quick reflexes so when everything else didn’t work out I started boxing.
Walker: Was your dad a pro boxer or amateur?
JG: He was only an amateur. You know, he got a family and everything and never went pro.
Walker: That happens. Life changes and you change with it.
JG: Well me being a psychopath, I don’t really change with life.
Walker: As a pro you’re undefeated. A lot of people say you’re supposed to be undefeated because it’s the beginning of your career. But I see a couple of names on your record of guys who I know had decent amateur careers. Who are some of the tougher fights you’ve had as a pro thus far?
JG: Well I wouldn’t say any of them have been tough. I’ve been fortunate not to take much punishment as a pro at all. I don’t want to come across as arrogant but I haven’t really had a tough fight yet. Just due to the fact that none of the guys I’ve fought have been world beaters by any means.
Walker: So this crop of fighters were guys you were supposed to beat?
JG: Yeah, I would say about 70% of them were that way. I did fight Derrick Brown and Tay Bledsoe. Tay was 2 and 0 with 2 knockouts. I was 3 and 0 with 3 knockouts.
Walker: I remember him, if it’s the same guy I’m thinking of, he was a pretty good amateur.
JG: Tay Bledsoe. Yeah he was a really good amateur. Terrible management though. I mean, I don’t understand that. He had a pretty good start to his career. A good little career going. I really don’t understand why they did that to him.
Walker: He (Tay) hasn’t fought since you beat him and that was in the middle of 2009 right?
JG: Yeah. That was f*cked up! I mean I didn’t understand it honestly. He was a good fighter. He has some swag and some power and good ring awareness. Stupid management. (more to come soon)
Coach Tim Walker is a contributing writer for Eastsideboxing.com and his own personal blog at boxing4life.blogspot.com welcomes comments. To suggest fighters for Monthly Stud and The Project please email tpwalker@hotmail.com. I welcome questions or comments.