Simon One Punch Carr interview

If there was one guy on the Philly fight circuit who had bona fide celebrity status, hands down it would be Simon Carr. While it is true you can find him hanging out with AI, in New York with Diddy, riding in stretch limos or dressed razor sharp in for a photo shoot, there is much more to Simon than just a powerful right hand and a shiny pair of shoes. Recently, big news regarding Simon was announced in that he has been signed by Lion Heart Boxing not only as a fighter but also as a co-promoter making him one of the youngest in the business. Anyone who knows Simon can say that he is a natural born salesman. Becoming a promoter seemed to be natural progression for the South Philly slugger although no one could have expected it to come this early. Some like to focus on the past of Simon Carr, we here at Philly Keith Sports like to talk about his future and the big things that are to come for the man known simply as "One Punch". One Punch recently spoke with Philly's top boxing photog Mike McGuigan to speak on the new deal, his new status as the Bo Jackson of boxing and how he plans to take Lion Heart Boxing to the next level.

MM: Now that you signed this deal with Lionheart does this mean we will see you in the ring again soon?

SC: Absolutely, I will be back in there hopefully by the end of this month to make a powerful, strong statement for the world to see. This deal also makes me a promoter, I am not only a young promoter but also a prospect and a product and I am looking to be brand name.

MM: How many fights is the contract worth?

SC: It could be worth 12 to 24 fights hopefully depending on how fast I move. I would say about 8 fights a year which is pretty good.

MM: What can we expect to see from you this year?

SC: Aw man so many exciting things. Just the fact of me stepping into a whole new arena, putting on a different hat I think this was a long time coming because I always have the ingenuity being a fighter and also a businessman. The world will get to see me demonstrate the two.

MM: Anyone in particular you looking to fight?

SC: I want to fight the best out there. There are a couple fights out there but we need to keep the lid on that right now. Right now my priority and main focus is to get busy and get back into the active mode as the most talked about fighter not only here on the East coast but all over to make it global.

MM: It has been a little while since you got into the ring, have you been keeping an eye on your division?

SC: Absolutely but I am also geared right now towards coming down in weight. I fought at Cruiser and Light heavy, I didn’t see the difference but I keep my eye open I see a lot of these prospects are big. Now the goal is to move down while still keeping my punching power and eventually fight at 168 or between 170 – 172.

MM: Would you want a rematch with Andre Hemphill to set the record straight?

SC: Absolutely, I wanted to fight him right out of the gate but he said no man you are too strong for me. That just really showed me not only my punching power but also my skills are respected. I’ll take my hat off to him cause he is a real good, game fighter, he is the only guy I know that put down Chucky Cavallo. If he would have stayed and put the pressure on he would have beat Cavallo that night. I take my hat off to Cavallo as well for getting back up and finishing him off. Andre’s only claim to fame is beating Simon Carr, I made him some money, that was the highest paid purse he ever received.

MM: We know you have a lot of supports and love, who is helping out with your new venture?

SC: I don’t want to get into the financials but every time I come out I got support. My cousins Rasual Butler of the New Orleans Hornets and Donnie Carr (both Roman Catholic grads) of course Allen Iverson who is a good friend of mine and I love him to death. Bernard Hopkins, Beanie Siegel and State Property, there is more but I am just blessed to have good friendship and good rapport with these people and they respect good people.

MM: Now you are a key member of Lion Heart Boxing, anyone you are looking to bring in what do you want to make happen?

SC: Now being a co-promoter I want to bring back the days were guys like Roy Jones was smoking and had that fan support. I want to bring that back. I’d like to do business with Max Alexander, I hope they bring him into the fold and support him, Saaed Hawkins, Victor Vasquez and other young potential fighters who want to come along and be a part of this thing. I have the star power to bring them in and the know how and ingenuity to take them to the next level and make the superstars. I thank Lion Heart for giving me that chance and they also know this is a good business move on their part because they always haven’t had the best in terms of representation so to speak. Now they are saying we support young fighters and step forward to give a young fighter an opportunity to promote which is huge. It is ground breaking, history so I want to give them a shout out.

MM: Has there been any talks with the fighters you mentioned?

SC: There have been talks; I want to form an allegiance with the fighters on a local level. You see the promoters together but never really see the fighters with the promoters. I have to give Oscar and Bernard credit for being businessmen and sitting with the fighters. I have reached out to Anthony Thompson and Zahir Raheem and they support me and hopefully they can come in to fight on my card. I have so many powerful things in the making; you are going to see the greatest show on earth. You talk about Ringling brothers and Barnum and Bailey, we are gonna bring that here on a boxing level. You are going to see why they gave me this deal and see why I am one of the most talked about fighters in Philadelphia. I’m gonna demonstrate and display. Not gonna complain during the campaign and show I can be the best damn promoter out there.

MM: What about some guys who haven’t yet turned pro, are they going to get an opportunity too?

SC: Aw man there is so much talent here that love and respect me they deserve a chance. I just had the chance to check out a few amateur tournaments and I’ll be on hand at the Golden Gloves. I want to give the up and comers an avenue to showcase their talent like never before. This is the fight Mecca, here are Detroit and I feel like we somehow lost that. I want to bring that back and I will bring that back here, give me some time and some of the greatest untapped talent will be displayed. I miss when Pernell Whitaker, Meldrick Taylor and the ’84 team how they blow up and stuck together.

MM: Are any of your guys going to fight each other? There are a lot of good signs signed up but also there are other ones looking for fights.

SC: No, everyone is going to grow together. Philadelphia had some of the greatest fighters in the world but was prematurely destroyed because they fought one another. Everyone had heart and talent. The Benny Briscoe’s, the Cyclone Harts the Kitten Haywards, the Boogaloo Watts was destroyed before their time. Anywhere else they were feared and great men but they fought each other and hurt each other. My fighters are going to be learned on an international level. There is no way I should have lost in my home town to a journeyman like Andre Hemphill but again I give him credit, he is a game fighter. We are going to display why we are Lionheart.

MM: So you are saying you wouldn’t like to see fights like Max Alexander vs. Chucky Cavallo or say Chazz Witherspoon vs. Joey Abell?

SC: I think they are good fights but why spoil them right now? There is nothing on the table. At the end of the day they won’t be getting paid for their labor. Look at guys like Jose Medina, Miguel Figueroa. These guys were real good prospect fighters but now they are shot fighters because they fought each other and the Chucky Kean’s & Ivan Robinsons etc. and never got the chance to make it to the second tier. It’s not wonder why when they step up on HBO they get destroyed because of all the Philadelphia wars. 4 – 6 years ago if you took Miguel Figueroa and stepped him up on HBO he would have destroyed anyone out there but now he is just an opponent fighter. No disrespect to Rockin’ Rodney Moore or Charles Brewer and them but I don’t want to be known as the king of the Blue Horizon or New Alhambra. These guys fought everybody in their own backyard and never got paid for their labor. This is a new day and new era. Somewhere you gotta draw the line and I have a whole new approach.

MM: In ending this interview anything you want to add?

SC: I am gonna display a whole new era in boxing, headed to uncharted territory. I sold out the Wachovia Spectrum without me even fighting. I can sell around 500 – 1,000 tickets just alone on the computer. Imagine what the word of mouth will do. You are gonna see the most talked about fighter in the ring as a businessman. I want to thank ya’ll guys at Philly Keith Sports for the support and I hope you go with me as well. You guy support me and I support you right back. What you guys do is why I do what I do. We together are changing the face of boxing, changing the face of journalism, making sure that the young guys and young entrepreneurs do deserve a chance and a voice and a plateau. We are changing the face and place of sports. It is important for you to do your thing. The older journalists like Bernard Fernandez won’t be around forever, we need new people who understand the mind state and politics of the sport but also to help it grow and become more diverse.

Thanks Simon, we got love for you back here at Philly Keith Sports! Best of luck to you.


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