Carlos Tamara was clearly behind against IBF junior flyweight champion Brian Viloria midway through their January 23 bout, but overcame far too much to let short term frustrations deter his championship dreams.
Tamara, like most immigrants, came to America in search of a better life. From the moment he turned pro, Tamara envisioned a world title strapped around his waist and enough financial security to provide a happy life for his two young daughters back home in Colombia.
“Since day one, my biggest goal was to make my family better off financially” said Tamara, who grew up dirt poor.
Things didn’t go as planned.
Fours years after representing his homeland in the 2004 Olympics, Tamara was in Miami, Florida wondering what went wrong. Three controversial losses and a one sided defeat to WBO flyweight champion Omar Narvaez put him in a tough spot. He received a paltry $2,000 for a 12 rounder against future world champion Giovanni Segura, while walking away with just $5,000 for fighting in Narvaez’ home country.
At a time where everything was going wrong and his career was on a downward spiral, Tamara got back on track by defeating fellow comebacking contender Juan Esquer. The Esquer fight was a huge breath of fresh air; just not financially.
Shortly after defeating the highly regarded Esquer, Tamara, now a world rated contender, couldn’t afford his rent and was hours away from living on the streets. A dispute with then manager Tony Gonzalez left him with one final prayer to avoid being homeless; a call to trainer Butch Sanchez in New Jersey. Sanchez quickly agreed to let Tamara live in his house and continued to train him along with Angel “Ping” DeJesus.
“Carlos was 24 hours away from being homeless”, said Nelson Fernandez, who now manages Tamara. “It was a bad situation for him in Miami and he was in need of help. We had to take care of him not just because he is my fighter, but because he is a human being and nobody (deserves to be homeless).”
Things in North Bergen, NJ quickly looked far brighter than they did in sunny Miami.
Even with more than a year of inactivity by the time numerous situations were sorted out, Tamara maintained a top ten world ranking by the International Boxing Federation at junior flyweight. He scored two nondescript victories in Colombia before the opportunity of a lifetime presented itself; a bout with Viloria.
Tamara knew this was his chance to shine.
Viloria was a well regarded and skilled champion, but unbalanced performances made him a vulnerable target for one of the sport’s hungriest fighters. With another defeat likely knocking him out of contention in the immediate future, Tamara had a tremendous training camp at the Hackensack Police Athletic League gym and was ready for whatever his opponent had to offer. He was an inspired fighter confident of victory, but once the bell rang, he was having a difficult time.
Viloria was boxing his way to victory, tagging the aggressive Tamara with hard punches to both the body and head. His terrific start was met by cheers from 12,000 fans at the Cuneta Astrodome in the Philippines. Although Tamara never stopped giving it his all, the champion continued to control the fight and Viloria by decision was the census opinion amongst ringsiders. This was until the bell rang singling the 8th.
Viloria’s punch output drastically decreased and he appeared to tire out from a high workrate in the earlier rounds ala Miguel Cotto against Antonio Margarito. Tamara continued to press the fight and Viloria was now struggling to keep him off. Tamara seemingly had everlasting stamina, as Viloria’s best shots couldn’t slow him down.
Viloria was nearly stopped on his feet during a dramatic 11th round, where an onslaught of punch came oh so close to ending his night in stunning fashion. With three minutes left in the biggest fight of his life and a major swing in momentum, Tamara went for the kill.
Viloria was damaged goods from the bell singling the start of the 12th. He was barely able to stand and it was evident he had nothing left to keep one off one of the hungriest fighters in boxing. The championship that he dreamed of since turning pro was as close as it had ever been. Tamara wasn’t going to let it fall through the cracks.
Tamara swarmed Viloria, who twice hit the canvas due to exhaustion. The same fighter who was cruising to victory early on was now hanging on for dear life. He wasn’t able to hang on much longer.
With Viloria lifeless near the ropes, Tamara tagged him with a multi punch combination, forcing referee Bruce McTavish to save the defenseless Viloria from further punishment. Mission accomplished.
“I am a twelve round fighter (not a four round fighter)”, Tamara said shortly after his victory. “My plan all along was to start building momentum and peak during the championship rounds.”
With the stamina of a horse and heart of a lion, Carlos Tamara officially became a world champion. The long term sacrifices were now all worth it. The same man who was close to being homeless was now in the driver’s seat and thinking about a unification bout.
“I (wanted) to fight (lineal world champion Ivan) Calderon since he has been the number one guy in the division”, exclaimed Tamara. “People (have been proposing) that fight since I took out Viloria and I am all for it”.
With Calderon tied up in the immediate future, Tamara will have to wait for his crack at the number one fighter in his division, but the show must go on.
This Saturday, Tamara returns to the lion’s den for his first title defense when he takes on hometown favorite Luis Lazarte of Buenos Aires, Argentina. Having fought for a world title five times, Lazarte is expected to present difficulties for Tamara, thus is more than just an opponent.
“Lazarte is (definitely an) extremely hungry (fighter)” said Tamara. “(This is) his last hurrah, so I (expect him to be) hungry and (do everything in his power to) take my title. I’m still hungry and I have a lot of personal goals to fulfill, (so) Lazarte better come in the shape (or he’ll have) no chance.”
The length of Tamara’s heroic run remains to be seen. A victory on Saturday night propels him into a tough mandatory defense against former titleholder Ulises Solis, but regardless of how long he remains champion or the amount of money he makes, Tamara will forever serve as a prime example of how hard work, dedication and perseverance can overcome life’s ultimate hardships.
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