8CN Exclusive: Karim Mayfield

March 21st, 2010

8CN talked with Karim “Hard Hitta” Mayfield fresh off his majority decision victory over Mario Ramos on Friday night. Mayfield's professional record now stands at 12-0-1 with 7 KOs. He's a pleasant young man who is resolute in his determination to become a world champion. It's safe to expect a great career ahead of this up and coming prospect.

8CN: Hey Karim, How you doing?

KM: Hey, what's up bro?

8CN: Last night you squared off with Mario Ramos and won by majority decision. Tell us about that fight.

KM: Well he was definitely a durable guy, a durable opponent...a southpaw. He gave me a southpaw look. So it was definitely a learning experience for me, something to move on with and go back to the drawing board and work on a few things.

8CN: Was he a little tougher than you expected?

KM: Well I seen that he fought a lot of good guys in their prime when these guys were like 25-0 and 44-5 and they couldn't take him out, so I definitely knew that he was going to be a durable guy. I expected that. Still I came out and tried to get him out of there and I think that's where I would preferred to have done something different, as opposed to trying to take him out.

8CN: So if you could go back and fight it again, you would have fought it a little bit different?

KM: Yeah definitely. I think I would have beat him up more opposed to trying to take him out with one or two punches. I know I got one punch power but I definitely should have beat him up more, knowing that he went the distance with a lot of top contenders.

8CN: Last year you became pretty active with 4 fights. What are your plans for 2010? Are you expecting to stay busy?

KM: Yeah definitely. I believe that if I could have 7 or 8 fights this year that would be great. I definitely want to move up the rankings and get ranked very high soon this year and fight for a few minor titles.

8CN: You've done some sparring with some world champions like Antonio Margarito, Ricky Hatton, and Shane Mosley. What was it like stepping into the ring with Shane Mosley?

KM: Well Sugar Shane is definitely a fast, explosive guy. Even though he's 38 years old, he still has power and speed. It was a great experience knowing that I can compete at that level and I wasn't just wanting to be a sparring partner. Knowing that I'm a force to reckon with was definitely a good experience and a good confidence builder.

8CN: Definitely. That had to be good experience. So you know Shane pretty well then, probably as well as anybody. What do you think of the Mayweather-Mosely fight?

KM: Well I definitely feel that Shane is going to be the toughest test of Mayweather's career but I do see Floyd coming out with the victory. He always figures out a way to come out with the victory even by one little point or one punch. Floyd figures out a way to come up with the victory so I do see Floyd winning by decision.

8CN: After that, you know what everybody's going to be looking for. Everybody wants to see Mayweather face Manny Pacquiao. What do you think about that fight?

KM: I think that's going to be a great, explosive fight. It won't be anywhere near like a Clottey-Pacquiao fight, but once again, I do see Floyd coming out with a slight victory and winning by a close decision. He may not be what the fans want, or whatever, but it will be just enough to pull out a decision.

8CN: Before turning pro, you had and excellent amateur record. You went 60-5 and you're a 3-time Golden Glove Champion. What made you decide to get into boxing?

KM: Well, there was a local gym that opened in my neighborhood and I was always into a little mischief as a youngster. I didn't have much to do. I wasn't a basketball player and I believe football season wasn't in, so a friend of mine told me that there was a gym that had opened up and I went to go check it out. Obviously I wanted to spar so they threw me in with a guy that had been boxing for a year. I did great against this guy, and I was inspired by that. It motivated me to continue with a career.

8CN: I know that in your spare time you like to help troubled youths in your community.

KM: Yeah. I'm a street intervention worker. I'm doing it in my spare time and even when I'm training I may go to a gym and help out the youth. There are a lot of at-risk kids. I try to help out the youth, and even if it's not with boxing, I just try to help them in trying to be successful with their life in general. They say that experience is the best teacher, but I feel if you have someone in your life that is experienced already, you don't have to go through that experience. I went through a lot as a youngster so I just try to give them a lot of life's lessons so they don't have to go through the same things that I went through.

8CN: That's great, man. You're giving back to the community. That's what it's all about.

KM: Definitely

8CN: Name some of the fighters who have influenced you. Who do you look up to?

KM: I'd definitely say Ali as a person in general, and not just as a boxer. He's just been exceptional at life and he's been on against all odds. His personality, he has great charisma, he's funny. I'm the same way. Going back to boxing, I'd also say guys like Willie Pep. Willie Pep had a creative style that you really couldn't train for. Roy Jones, Mike Tyson because of his power, and definitely Mayweather.

8CN: So far in your career, what's been your defining moment?

KM: I would say my November 21st fight at the Oracle Arena. I had defeated Francis Santana. We had fought a year prior to that at the Shark Tank in San Jose in March of 2008. I won a split decision on a close fight. He hit me and got me into a little bit of trouble. I had never been in trouble. I came out of it and won, but a lot of people were talking about how it was a close fight. The promoter thought he could beat me so he asked for a rematch. I trained very hard with Shane's camp and went to Big Bear. I fought [the rematch] on the Andre Ward card against Kessler. It was the semi main event so it was a big fight. Mentally, going into that fight, I knew that he was the only guy who got me in trouble. He was tough, he was durable, and not to mention they added 2 rounds on top of the fight, so mentally it was a good test for me. I came out with the victory with a 5th Rnd. TKO in front of my hometown crowd, so definitely that was the defining moment for me at that time.

8CN: I saw some clips and you looked great in that fight.

KM: I appreciate it, man.

8CN: Well congratulations on your victory last night. Do you have anything you'd like to say to your fans?

KM: Yeah, I'd like to say that you definitely can expect a lot more out of me. I'm going back to the drawing board to work a lot more and if you're going to see a lot of Karim “Hard Hitta” Mayfield this year.

8CN: Thanks for taking the time to talk to us, Karim. God bless you and good luck in the future.

Contact Lorne: lscoggins@8countnews.com