From Toney to Tyson – Travis Kauffman Looks for Seventh Straight KO

From Toney to Tyson – Travis Kauffman Looks for Seventh Straight KO By Thomas Gerbasi/MaxBoxing.com http://www.maxboxing.com/Gerbasi/Gerbasi052909.asp With two kids of his own, including a four-month old, as well as two stepchildren, Travis Kauffman’s hands are full – literally – as he tries to answer questions about his Saturday fight against Livin Castillo at Reading, Pennsylvania’s Sovereign Center. It’s a labor of love for the 23-year old, who in 16 pro fights has shown enough that many believe he’ll have more difficulty changing diapers than with his Ecuadorian opponent this weekend. But Kauffman doesn’t approach the fight game that way anymore. “When I first turned pro, I didn’t take it as serious as I do now,” he admits. “I thought I could beat everybody, I was untouchable, and then I saw that I was getting ready to lose everything, and really it’s my kids that make me want to keep winning and keep going further.” Kauffman readily admits that he wasn’t the most disciplined fighter in the world in the past, and legal issues stemming from incidents in 2004 and 2005 didn’t do him any favors. In fact, before he was acquitted in March of 2008, he was in jeopardy of losing his career. And though he’s put that part of his life in the rear-view mirror, that doesn’t mean he’s forgotten it. He recalls an instance during a 2007 fight with designated opponent Dan Whetzel. “I had him out in the first round but I hurt my hand real bad,” said the former amateur star. “I said to my dad (trainer Marshall Kauffman) between rounds, ‘I’m just gonna go eight rounds.’ My dad said, ‘No, you go out there and knock him out.’” Kauffman went the eight round distance, ignoring his father’s advice, but winning a comfortable decision. It’s not a mistake he’ll make again, and now that his own kids are around, he’s starting to see that maybe father does know best. “Having kids keeps you more disciplined, knowing that you can’t let them down,” said Kauffman. “I have to push myself and make it in this business so that they can live a better life than what I ever could imagine living.” But how would he react if one day one of his kids wanted to follow in the family business? “I would tell them to really think about it,” he admits. “Mentally, this is the toughest sport. It’s all year long, you don’t get a break from it, and I would let them know that if you’re gonna do this, you’re gonna give me a 110%. You’re not gonna be half-assed about it.” Kauffman’s not half-assing it anymore. In fact, since returning to the ring in June of 2008, he’s looked unstoppable, winning six in a row, all by knockout, with no fight lasting more than three rounds. And yes, he’s fighting opponents most heavyweights with less than 20 pro bouts fight, but there are a couple name foes in there, like Ken Murphy and Cliff Couser, as well as a fellow prospect (who turned into a suspect) in Malachy Farrell, and he’s done what you’re supposed to do with guys who you should beat – he got rid of them early. So is the kid who was once dubbed the white James Toney turning into the white Mike Tyson? Not so fast, says Kauffman, who admits that the boxing world isn’t alone in being surprised by his sudden show of stopping power. “I think I’ve been surprising myself, but a lot of that has to do with what I went through. I’m so hungry right now to get the world championship, and from what I went through two years ago, I don’t think there’s any fighter in the world that would put me through that as far as the mental aspect goes. I want to go out there and hurt whoever’s in the ring with me at that moment.” And technically, he believes his knockouts have been coming thanks to a mix of speed and volume. “I’m a huge volume puncher,” said Kauffman. “My last fight with Cliff Couser, I threw a jab, then a left hook, and hurt him. I must have thrown 200 punches after that. (Laughs) I kept going and going and let it all out on the table. So I think it’s that I’m a volume puncher. I don’t think that I’m a huge Oleg Maskaev-type puncher. Can I punch? Without a doubt, but I think it’s the volume punching and crisp shots that are bringing people down as well as how fast I am.” Funny he should mention Maskaev, because the former heavyweight titleholder, as well as another ex-champ, Hasim Rahman, aided in Kauffman’s development when they sparred with the Reading native. It’s the type of education you can’t pay for. “Just the way they pace themselves and how calm they are about it,” said Kauffman when asked what he picked up from working with the vets. “The younger guys are anxious to go out there and throw a million punches a round, and they end up burning themselves out. These guys know how to take their time and really pick a shot, and whatever punch they throw, they really want to make it count.” Kauffman wants to do the same thing this weekend against Castillo. Yet he doesn’t just want to win; he wants to best the performances turned in by Maskaev (TKO3), Alexander Povetkin (TKO4) and Eddie Chambers (TKO5) when they beat the 33-year old southpaw. “I look at it like, Maskaev stopped him in three rounds,” he said. “I want to set a record and stop him in two. But I don’t want to go out there looking for a home run because I won’t hit the home run. I want to go in with what I’ve been working on these last six weeks of training camp and perfect it. I know if I perfect what my father has been telling me, I can definitely knock him out in two, three rounds. I definitely want to knock him out before Povetkin and Chambers did. I know I’m a bigger puncher than they are. Am I a bigger puncher than Maskaev? I don’t know – he’s a huge puncher. But I think the key for me is how crisp of a puncher I am.” At 23, Kauffman gets it now. In and out of the ring. “They don’t pay me for overtime, and in the heavyweight division, they want to see knockouts.”