Boxing fans were outraged last December as Tevin “American Idol” Farmer was clearly robbed out of a title shot in after dominating Kenichi Ogawa but losing in two of the judges the scorecards. Karma came after Ogawa, when shotly after the fight, the bout was changed from a split decision win to a no-contest due to Ogawa testing positive for androstanediol.
Today, Farmer (26-4-1, 5 KOs) finally became the IBF Super Featherweight Champion in a one-sided unanimous decision against Billy “The Kid” Dib (43-5, 24 KOs) in his turf at Redfern, New South Wales, Australia.
The southpaw from Philly set up the pace since the first round and boxing with ease against his more experienced opponent. Dib seemed to gain more momentum in the middle rounds, but Farmer eventually sent him to the canvas in the ninth round with a crisp left hand. After 12 rounds, the judges scored the bout 118-109, 119-108 and 120-107 all for Farmer.
Post-fight, Farmer addressed his opponent’s clinching and aggressive tactics, yet still thanked him for an amazing performance.
“Dib is a helluva fighter,” said Farmer. “He tried to bully me, but I’m from Philadelphia, and we were ready for him. It’s been a long time getting here and a long time to go.”
Farmer took an opportunity on his post-fight interview to call out WBA Super Featherweight Champion Gervonta “Tank” Davis for a unification match. Though most boxing enthusiast would agree Gervonta (20-0, 19 KOs) is a tough opponent for the newly crowned champion, we must also remember Farmer lost his first fight and was 8-4 after 12 fights. Now he’s a world champion. That’s what you call resilience, and Farmer has shown that if he wants something bad enough, he will work to make it happen.
“Nobody wanted to give me a shot. Everybody was ducking me and not wanting to give me an opportunity,” Farmer said. “I had to kick the door in. Now I’ve got the belt, and everybody wants to scream my name. No more talking, send the fucking contract and the money on the table, and we can make it happen!”
Dib also took to his post-fight interview to announce his retirement from boxing, but not before congratulating Farmer on becoming IBF champion.
“Tevin Farmer, you’re a great champion,” he said. “I know you’re gonna be champion for a very long time. That was a hell of a fight. To all the fans, thank you very much for supporting me over my career.”
Picture credit: Tevin Farmer (IG)
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