BOXING: AMOUTA FACES NEXT BIGGEST OPPONENT TONIGHT

Joe Amouta has the next “biggest” fight of his career tonight at the Grand Casino in Hinckley, MN. Amouta told Minnesota Fight News that he doesn’t have a biggest win or fight to date despite having faced a list of accomplished boxers with a combined record of 38 wins, 11 losses, and 1 draw.  He explained this by stating that he views every fight as his biggest challenge. Amouta says that his featured fight against Nationally praised prospect Cem Kilic (10-0, 6 KO’s) is the most important of his career as were his past and all future fights onward.

“To be honest, there’s no such thing as a biggest fight or biggest win” said Amouta. “If you want to grow bigger, not on your record, but as a person, you have to challenge yourself every fight. Your character, or whatever you want to call it. I don’t care if it’s an undefeated guy, or a guy with a 4-4 record. I treat every fight like it’s against a 20-0 record. Every fight is like a title fight. I told myself that every fight I take matters equally. I want to show people that anything is possible. Every opportunity I get, I take it. That’s how it was in the old days. You never grow as a true person if you pick and choose. When a door opens, the only person that can change it is you.”

From an outsiders perspective, Amouta is a menacing figure. Heavily inked, he has a pitbull’s glare when facing his rivals. Amouta is a vocal fighter, and he holds nothing back in combat. But run into him out of the ring, and you will be met by one of the most positive and uplifting people around. “Samoa Joe” holds close the concept of treating others the way you would want your loved ones to be treated. That quickly became apparent when he was asked to talk about his growing fan base in Minnesota and the people he works with.

“I treat everybody like I am at home. I don’t look at myself as being a pro boxer or that I am different from anybody else. I don’t call people my fans. I call the people that watch me fight, my friends. Friends is more the way I look at people. We all eat the same way my brother!”

Amouta was born in American Samoa and moved to California when he was 13 where he attended high school. That is also where he fell in love with boxing. After winning California boxing districts and regionals, Amouta won the state tournament at his weight class.

“It’s funny because I didn’t know what any of those things were. I just went there and fought” said Amouta looking back. “I wanted to be like all of the best. Mohammed Ali, Sugar Ray Leonard, Mike Tyson, David Tua, anyone that made it to that level. Guys that were good for the sport of boxing.”

After winning states, Amouta’s coach at the time, world-renowned trainer Freddie Roach suggested that amateur boxing style was not for him and advised him to turn pro. After losing his pro debut, however, Amouta says that he ran away from the sport of boxing for five years.

“I moved to Texas and was still training in people’s backyards. Sparring with people I didn’t even know. These guys were good too, some were even world champions at the Wild Card Gym. I was one of those lost kids trying to find something for my life. I made my way to Minnesota and the first week I was here, my brother told me to come to a gym in North East Minneapolis. After a day at The Uppercut Gym, I said to myself that I had found my new home.”

Amouta says that he trained everyday afterwards.
“I was offered my second pro fight on two weeks notice and took it because I wanted to show these guys I could fight. I won and just kept fighting and working hard after that. I love what I do and I love my job which is boxing. Boxing is all I’ve ever known. All of a sudden, I saw that my boxing was growing. And now they know of a person named Samoa Joe.”

Now settled in Minnesota, Samoa Joe is married to boxer/trainer Heidi (Henriksen) Amouta. With a daughter on the way, the couple plan to open a gym in Minneapolis this December. Having gone undefeated in his previous eight bouts, Amouta is focussed on one person, his opponent Cem Kilic. At 13-0, 6 KO’s, Kilic presents the challenge that Amouta wanted. The fight will be one of the main featured fights of the night.

 

“I know of him now but I don’t focus too much on my opponents,” said Amouta. “I focus more on myself. I study myself more than anybody else. What made me who I am is fighting guys that are good. So I don’t doubt anybody. I know he’s coming to fight and I know he’s coming to win. Two bulls are about to go at it. I’m coming to fight. Your character and your heart grow bigger when you challenge yourself. So fighting Cem Kilic at the stage is what I want.”

“I would like to thank the Minnesota people and friends. Thank my coach Alfonso Vasquez, Ray Nelson, and Lisa Bauch for opening up the Uppercut Gym for me to train at.  Thanks to my daughter who’s on the way and my wife Heidi Amouta. Thanks to my family here and in Texas, California, Samoa, New Zealand, and Australia. And thank you for the opportunity to speak from my heart. Thanks to the promoters here for giving us the opportunity to fight for the sport of boxing.”

You can watch the Amouta versus Kilic showdown as well as the rest of the show ON OUR FACEBOOK PAGE HERE.