Marcus Browne Very Motivated For 'Toughest Test of His Career'

By Thomas Gerbasi

Fans and pundits say that Radivoje Kalajdzic is going to be the most difficult fight of Marcus Browne’s professional career, and the 2012 United States Olympian agrees.

“This is definitely the toughest test of my career,” he said.

But the 25-year-old has seen tougher in life. And like any good son, he’s got a healthy fear of getting on the wrong side of his mom.

“My mom was an ass-whipping specialist,” he laughs. “And she probably still is.”

Browne’s mother Doris needed to be in order to keep her children from the streets that easily snatched up so many of the light heavyweight prospect’s peers. And that tough love didn’t go unnoticed by the Staten Island native.

“It’s kind of crazy,” he said. “You know those cards when you go to the funerals? They’re stacking up.”

Browne, a happy go lucky young man in most instances, grows quiet. It reminds you that while many usually look at those from outside of the United States as having the most harrowing stories of struggle in order to make it in the fight game, there are plenty here who didn’t have a silver spoon en route to the prize ring.

“I come from Park Hill, Staten Island,” he said. “That’s where Method Man and Raekwon and all those other guys came from, and if you listen to their music, they’ll tell you about what’s going on. There’s drugs all over the place, kids running around with guns, and it’s not easy. I’ve got two friends that just came home, one from doing eight years, the other doing ten. It’s not an easy road. A lot of people look at it as you’re an American, you’re spoiled, but I know where I came from and how I grew up, and it was never an easy road.”

He pauses, then continues.

“What do I say? I remember eating syrup sandwiches. I remember not having all the fly stuff that a lot of my friends had and that always motivated me. And not just for materialistic things, but it motivated me to work hard for everything I’ve gotten.”

And he made it. No matter what happens at Barclays Center on April 16, Browne is the local kid done good in Staten Island. But making it to the Olympics and running his record to 17-0 isn’t enough. He’s got to beat Kalajdzic and put any doubters to rest, then continue on his road to world title. Nothing less will be enough for the hungry Browne, who has been patiently waiting for a fight like this for a long time.

“Everybody thinks that you handpick your guys and they’re judging you by your performances, but at the same time, I’m just focused on the journey, and whoever’s in front of me, I train for him like he’s a world champion and take care of business,” he said. “Everything in life happens for a reason. That’s my outlook on it. And now is the time to where this is a major step up, and there’s only bigger and better things to come from here on out. So I’m just staying focused on ‘Hot Rod’ and this fight. He’s the best opponent to date, but at the same time, he’s not a super killer.”

Fitting that “super killer” designation in Browne’s eyes is longtime contender Edwin Rodriguez, who has been giving the New Yorker plenty of good work in the lead up to this bout, and while some fighters get a little quieter when the first big fight is approaching, Browne is not one of those guys.

“I’m very up for this, so I guess that changed my outlook on waking up and getting ready for a fight,” he said. “I’m so up I’ve been ready for a month already. I’m ready to rock and roll.”

And ready for the 21-0 Kalajdzic, who he is no stranger to, at least from afar.
 
“In the past they brought his name up and we said yes and they obviously said no,” Browne said of the Bosnia and Herzegovina native. “But at that time I looked him up and I saw what he had and since then he’s been on the radar, but not to where I’m waking up and typing in ‘Hot Rod’ on YouTube every day.”

No picture on the mirror either?

“No, no, no,” he laughs. “No picture of him with an X across it.”

It’s good to hear Browne laugh again, because there were too many days in the past when it was tough for him to even crack a smile. But those were the days that made him who he is today, and he knows it.

“It doesn’t cost anything to take the easy road, but the easy road always comes with its consequences, and I’ve seen that time and time again with guys I’ve grown up with,” he said. “It was good for a point in time, but then they got snatched up and now they’re coming back from doing five years, ten years. That’s a long time, and you’re being robbed of your life for wanting to take the easy road.

“My mom always used to hustle,” Browne continues. “She got up, cooked, made food and sold it. There was a time when she actually sold food from out of the house. So to see my mom get up at five, six in the morning just to hustle to make a little bit of money to make sure the bills were paid, I said if my mom could do it, then I could do the same thing.”

And here he is.