Back in May of 2010 Kenny Adams was proudly inaugurated into the St Louis Hall of Fame. It represented a very special moment for him and he brought family from all over America for the occasion. During in his acceptance speech he para phrased Marvelous Marvin Hagler “If they cut my head open, they will find one big boxing glove”
That’s who Adams 70, is and what he believes he was born to do “No doubt I was born to do this. When I took over the coaching that was the real deal, I just fell right into it”
Born in September 1940 in Springfield, MO, he grew up with 5 brothers & 4 sisters. He never had anything given to him easy “The town I lived in was a racist town, you had to go to the side door movie theatre, even the Chinese restaurant” He continues “I was brought up by my great aunt, since I was 6 months old to take nothing off nobody, she was a pistol packing lady”. He met his father when he graduated from Pre-school and didn’t see his mother until he graduated from school. So he didn’t have an idyllic childhood. He’s been married for 43 years to his sweet heart Claudia and has 3 children 2 girls and a boy aged 52, 51 & 46 from previous relationships. Always the character Adams jokes they were from his days as a “Playboy”
He first became interested in Boxing when he was 5 or 6, he admits to always fighting as a little kid. “I had a reputation, I was only small but I had quick hands and I could punch decent and I was brave. I also learned how to curse at a very young age from being around people in the pub where I grew up, add that to my toughness that I felt and I came across pretty bad”
The way he was often put Adams in uncomfortable situation’s “In gym class I used to talk a little shit, so the teacher said Ohhh you box, I said yeah I’ll beat anybody’s ass. So they gave me a big guy, He weighted about 210, I though Shit! But I threw a left hook, hit him on the nose bust his nose and he punked out. Then they gave me one more guy, I beat his ass and said who else you got for me and the coach was pissed he didn’t like that at all. But that’s the kind of growing up I did”
He was a natural, having his first amateur fight at 12, he was 95 pounds never having a trainer he beat his opponent. He had a successful amateur career, winning all army & all service championships, East Coast & Florida AU’s to name a few fighting at Flyweight and Bantamweight where he was nicknamed “Little Sugar” His good friend Ray Owens who was a 1964 Olympic alternate was known as “Big Sugar” both in homage to the great Sugar Ray Robinson.
By 17 years old he was in the army and continued to box, but never elected to go pro “I had offers, when I was 26 someone offered me a pro contract. I thought about it but I had fun Boxing, I didn’t think I ever wanted to do it as a professional”
He got a team together in the army who at that point were getting beaten up by the German’s. He changed things around. “My guys gave them German more than they wanted because they were in shape and were sound technically. That’s when I knew I first had it in Boxing” The impact of that win was such that Adams was invited to bring a team to the German Olympic training camp and trade training so they could see what he was doing. One day they’d do American training then we’d do German training the next day”. Declaring “That was the very first time we used the strength programme, I was the first American guy to do that strength training. But I didn’t really implement it until 1978/79 when I was back in Fort Hood, Texas along with the pyometric system, I learned how to do cardio from the Germans”
Finally after 30 years of service in which he served in Vietnam and was in the 101 Airborne Division (Where as part of a 5 man team he went behind enemy lines), Water Purificator, Recreation Entertainment Supervisor & Drill Instructor amongst many other jobs left deciding to get into the Boxing business. He had helped the 1984 American Olympic team achieve 9 gold’s medals, one silver and one bronze as the number two. Though it should be remembered that Russia & Cuba buoycotted those games. Four years later he moved up to the top job and was again very successful winning 3 gold’s, 3 silver & 2 bronze. Though of course many believe Roy Jones Jnr was robbed of Gold in the final, Adams similarly believes Michael Carbajal also suffered the same fate. Adding he that he believes Riddick Bowe was stopped to early against Lennox Lewis.
Such was the esteem Adams was carried in, that a person is automatically released after 26 years. However due to his high profile from coaching the American Boxing team they kept him on for 4 years more. He was the first black person selected as head coach of the American team. During his time as the coach of the All Army Boxing team he was incredibly successful he won 8 straight inter-service tournaments. In 1985 he took a team of 9 to Tulsa, OK, for the National championships winning a medal which each class they entered getting 7 golds & 2 silver medals.
Adams has the midst touch, he took Olympians Kennedy McKinney & Ray Mercer along with alternates Vince Phillips, Al Cole, Charles Murray & Eddie Cook from that squad relocated to Las Vegas in January 1989 working for Top Rank. ” I met Bob Arum and 3 or 4 guys Mark Roberts, Akbar Mohammed & Freddy Glousman. I met them in Chula Vista, Arizona. We talked some deals. There was a few guys they wanted, everyone they wanted I got for them, including some who weren’t on the Olympic team who were good amateurs before. They became part of the Las Vegas Gloves Incorporation and they had another group that went off to New Jersey which was Mark Roberts “Triple Threat” which was Mercer, Murray & Cole” He wasn’t restricted to just American’s by then his name was out there and he worked with bronze medallist Chris Sande & gold medallist Robert Wangila who were from Kenya.
His first world champion was Rene Jacquot of France who stunned Donald Curry in 1989 in what was voted Upset of the year by The Ring magazine. While his first American champion was Eddie Cook who stopped Israel Contreras in early 1992.
Over the ensuing years Adams guys clocked up win after win making Adams one of the hottest trainers around. His work ethic remained the same, and he was always the boss, his way or the highway “They asked me to work with Floyd (Mayweather) back in the late 90’s early 2000’s so I headed over to the gym and was working out with another gut out the front. When he turned up he had one of his guys come and tell me he was ready for me out the back. I said tell him I’m out here tell him to come here. In the end we went our own way”
He worked with a who’s who of talented guys. When asked who the best was he offers “There are so many, Kennedy McKinney was probably the ultimate fighter, he couldn’t win a National championship but everything else, 3 time world champion who never got his due because of drugs. Continuing “I wasn’t with Valero for long enough but I think he was the hardest puncher 27-0(27)
It was an unlikely alliance, Adams known for his discipline and Valero known for his unruly ways. Adams says of the unlikely partnership “He always used to try to overrule people, but I was always up with him. The way I catch mitts I think drew him to me. I bust a cat upside the head if his defence wasn’t working. So when he made mistakes I’d bust him by the side of his head. I think he respected that because most people didn’t stand up to him”
To date he’s worked with he estimates 50 to 60 World champions including Vince Phillips, Diego Corrales, Freddie Norwood, Charles Murray, Kennedy McKinney, Frankie Liles, Michael Nunn, Johnny Tapia, Ruslan Chageav, Samuel Peter, Cory Spinks, Michael Bentt etc.
Along the way some of his guys have pulled more than there share of stunning victory’s. One that he takes great pride in is Phillips upsetting Kostya Tszyu, sharing his strategy “What I had Vince do was move to the right, I learned this from watching a tape of Roger Mayweather against Tszyu and that’s how I really learned how to fight Kostya Tszyu. He kept moving to his right and Tszyu had a good right hand and you make Tszyu lead with his left hand, that gave him trouble all night, I had Vince pivot and step to the right. That was the basic strategy for fighting him. Also Vince Phillips could take a good punch so where Tszyu would knock guys out Vince took his best shots, he hurt Vince a few times but he was able to withstand it, that made a big difference to the fight”
He also adds with a glint in his eye “I walked over to Wlad Wharton & Johnny Lewis (Tszyu’s manager & Trainer) before the fight, I’d met Tszyu in 1983 at The Kings Cup in Thailand I walked over and shook everyone’s hands and said Wlad nobody beats me twice, Wlad looked at me like you must be crazy. So after the fight I went back and said hey Wlad nobody beats me twice! He just saw those dollars going out because the next fight was supposed to be Tszyu against Oscar De La Hoya, we ruined some plans that night”
Currently he is working with Welterweight prospect Michael Finney 6-0(6), Middleweight Bastie Samir 7-0(7), fledgling Welterweight Leti Leti 3-0(3), former amateur standout Light Heavyweight Trevor McCumby 1-0(1), Lightweight contender Sharif Bogere 18-0(11), he’s just started to work with James Kirkland 25-0(22). He has high hopes for all of them and believes his next champion will come from these guys. “They all have ability, their capable of winning a title. Sometimes you need a right break in the right direction, that makes a big difference”
When asked about the people who helped and nurtured him in the early years of his Boxing career he lists Carlton Brooks who he says was the first person he saw working the mitts back in 1964/65 in Germany. In those days it wasn’t common practice for trainers to use pad work in the way they do today, Adams quickly took it on board and implemented into his style of training. Four other guys moulded him through out his time Pat Nappi, Barron Walker, Bernie Callahan & Thomas Boudion.
At the tail end of November Adams, was admitted to Hospital in Las Vegas when his bladder and prostate swelled up, leaving him close to kidney failure. It was touch and go for awhile but with the best care available the old soldier showed his considerable toughness and is now thankfully on the road to recovery. He even managed to be ringside for one of his guys who appeared on the undercard of Khan-Miadana in mid December.
Boxing is his whole life and when people use the term “Old School” Kenny Adams is the very definition. He’s picked things up along the way and continued to add it to his vast knowledge of the game time and time again. He may have given everyone a scare recently but there’s still life and champions to be made by the old Soldier.
