Introducing Yuri Foreman

Everlast Magazine

Twenty-four hours.

That’s the amount of time Yuri Foreman, a bi-product of the former Soviet Union and Israel, had been in American before he took his first steps up to the boxing mecca, Gleason’s Gym in Brooklyn.

“I Knew if I wanted to be the best I had to go where the best trained,” Foreman says.
“I had never seen anything like Gleason’s,” he remembers. In Israel, we used to train in classrooms at the local high school. We’d place the chairs and desks around the room like it was a ring and spar there.”

Making Gleason’s his first stop when he arrived to the States in 199 has definitely paid dividends for the 25-year-old. Since going pro in 2002, the 154-pound Junior Middle weight has gone undefeated in 18 bouts. It has been his European style of fighting, which he describes as quick leg movements and lots of jabs, that has mesmerized his competition.

Back in Israel, when I was winning Israeli National Championships, I was beating my opponents with the European style of fighting,” Forman says. “I’m still winning now because I am starting to mix in some of the American style of fighting with more edge, grit and speed.”

Foreman had to make an adjustment in his fighting style when he came across the Atlantic but according to Foreman, his background has accustomed him to making adjustments.

Foreman’s ongoing journey towards boxing greatness began in his birthplace of Belarus, part of the former Soviet Union. Un the Soviet Regime, athletics were a high priority. So at a young age Foreman was introduced to the idea of sports competition. A rather small child, he picked up swimming as his sport – a far cry from boxing. Ironically, though, it was experience swimming that led to his passion for boxing.

“In the Soviet Union, there were a lot of bullies especially at the pool where I swam. S my mother decided to take me to a boxing gym at age 7, and from there on I fell in love with the sport,” Foreman says. “ I learned to defend myself and nobody messed with me anymore.”

In 1991, at the age of 11, Foreman and his family migrated to Israel. Unfortunately for Yuri, boxing was a not a popular sport among Jews in Israel. Boxing was a sport primarily participated in by Palestinian Arabs only. With his Jewish background in mind, he didn’t know if Israel was the place to continue his boxing dream.

“It was unusual for Jews to hang out with Arabs but I wanted to box so I traveled to a nearby Arab village to train with them because they were the only ones boxing in the country,” Foreman says. “At first they showed me no respect, but once I knocked out of the guys, they realized I can fight too.”

After realizing he could have a career in the ring, Foreman came to America to refine his skills. So, like many Russian Jewish immigrants, he came to Brooklyn, NY. Brooklyn is also the place you go if you want to win a belt.

“I grew up watching [Brooklyn-product] Mike Tyson,” he says. “That’s the type of boxer I always wanted to be.

“Brooklyn has been a great place for me to learn the American style of fighting and it has helped me succeed in the sport.”

Training at Gleason’s, Yuri was exposed to some of the best fighters around. In 2001, he won the famous amateur tournament, the New York Golden Gloves. Later that year he trained with fellow-Brooklynite and welterweight champ, Zab Judah.

After sparring with Judah on a regular basis, Yuri knew he was ready to begin his thrashing on the professional boxing world. From there on, he has won 18 times in a row with 7 knockouts.

Six years after arriving in Brooklyn, Yuri Foreman is now a rising star in his wight class. He just hopes his journey end the way he planned.

“I just want to be the champ,” he says. “That’s all I want.”

Index of articles

index of articles
Dime Magazine: Keydren Clark
Dime Magazine: Jay-Z
Everlast Magazine: Yuri Foreman
Metromix: Candyland
Shecky's New York: Canned Heat
Shecky's New York: F-Bombed
SPIN.com: Nico Vega
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