Hard knocks familiar to boxer Cloud
‘HE’S A VERY AGGRESSIVE FIGHTER,’ says the rags-to-riches survivor’s longtime trainer
He was raised in a druginfested area of Tallahassee, Fla., forced to sleep on the floor, the two-bedroom residence home, at times, to between 10 and 15 family members. When the refrigerator was repossessed, they filled a foot tub with ice so their food wouldn’t spoil.
Tavoris Cloud, raised by a single mother, didn’t know how the story would eventually end. He just quickly realized he didn’t want to be part of the scenario, understanding his only way out would be through boxing.
“I know that at the bottom, when you’re at the absolute bottom, nobody gives a f--about you. You’re on your own,” Cloud remembered on Wednesday. “You pray, and God won’t even come down and save you.
“Ain’t great conditions,” he added before breaking into a smile, “but I got the money to go get the refrigerator back.”
That’s the easy part. Capturing a piece of the lightheavyweight title might prove more demanding.
Cloud, the former International Boxing Federation champ who lost his title — and tasted defeat for the first time in his career — last March to 48-year-old Bernard Hopkins, has walked immediately into another title opportunity.
Saturday night at the Bell Centre, he meets Longueuil’s Adonis Stevenson for the World Boxing Council’s version of the 175-pound crown. The 12-round main event is being televised in the United States by HBO, which made it clear it wanted Cloud for Stevenson’s first defence.
Stevenson captured the title in stunning fashion last June, requiring only 76 seconds to knock out Chad Dawson, improving to 21-1 with 18 knockouts. Cloud’s loss to Hopkins was his first in 25 bouts, of which 19 have ended by KO.
Cloud’s story could have turned out differently, even tragically. His older brother, Ricky Sweet, was sentenced in 2003 to life in prison for burglary and assault. Three years earlier — and four years before he turned pro — Cloud himself was charged with misdemeanour battery and criminal mischief. He was 18 at the time. Cloud, a high school dropout, would later pass a high school equivalency test.
“I’ve seen a lot … shootouts, people getting shot at, beat up. I saw police jumping out of cars. Everything. It was a typical hood life,” he remembered. “I tried my best.”
He left home at 16, knowing boxing was his only escape. Alonzo Johnson, a former professional football player, operated a gym and allowed Cloud to move into his home. Johnson remains with Cloud to this day as his strength and conditioning coach, but refused a request to be interviewed.
“Growing up in the hood made me a better fighter,” said Cloud, 31. “When I was training and doing my roadwork, I was trying to get the f--- out of there. That’s what I was imagining.”
When Dawson vacated the belt to meet Glen Johnson — after Dawson had defeated Antonio Tarver — Cloud met durable former IBF champ Clinton Woods for the vacant title, in August 2009, capturing a unanimous decision.
Cloud defended the title four times — he captured decisions against Johnson and Fulgencio Zuniga, stopped Yusaf Mack in the eighth round and scored a split-decision over Gabriel Campillo — before looking bad against Hopkins, who has a penchant for taking younger fighters out of their element.
For that fight, Cloud inexplicably parted ways with Al Bonanni, his longtime trainer, along with Alonzo Johnson, working instead with Abel Sanchez. Cloud prepared in California — not Florida, as was his custom — and simply wasn’t active enough in the ring.
“He (Bonanni) pissed me off. Now I’m not mad at him anymore,” Cloud said. “He’s crazy. I’m a little crazy, and we bumped heads. I don’t put it all on the corner. I take responsibility for what happened. I just got outboxed that night. It’s over with. I’m still moving forward.”
Predictably, following the defeat to Hopkins, Sanchez was fired. Bonanni and Johnson have been repatriated. Cloud has vowed he’s unbeatable with the tandem in his corner, his training base having returned to hot and humid Ocala, Fla.
Bonanni, of course, is ready to move on himself, saying he’s just happy to again have a regular gig — one that allows him to eat steak after he was settling for peanut butter and jelly, he quipped.
“I think this is a very competitive fight and I think we’re going to win the fight — or I wouldn’t have been involved,” Bonanni said. “We’ve studied the tapes. I think everybody’s going to be a little bit surprised.
“He has to be active. We’re in Montreal. We have to throw punches. We’re the underdog. We knew it would be difficult to come to Montreal and fight in a hostile environment. We know the arena will be 97 per cent rooting for the champion. We have to come and fight, not dance.”
Cloud has experience on his side, for what it’s worth. Like Stevenson, he knocks people out with regularity. And Cloud never has been stopped as an amateur or pro. He won’t come out sluggishly, as did Dawson, and could be smart enough not to trade with Stevenson.
“He’s a very aggressive fighter,” Bonanni said of Cloud. “We worked on a lot of different techniques, footwork and strength.
“No doubt (Stevenson) can punch, but he won’t be able to hit Cloud that easily. If he does … I don’t think he can hurt him. My guy can box. He has better technique. He punches very, very hard. They all talk about the other guy’s punch. I think (Cloud) may be the harder puncher.”