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Omar Henry is a man who is living in the moment. The 23-year old middleweight prospect from Chicago, Illinois has created a peculiar buzz surrounding both his life and career in recent months despite only having amassed a 10-0 record as a professional. Henry has an explosive and punishing style inside of the ropes and a flamboyant personality in his day to day life, making him a magnet for attention.
Born on the South side of Chicago, Henry claims that being in a rough environment lead to fighting on a constant basis and that he was naturally an athletic kid to begin with, competing in gymnastics, baseball and basketball. Henry remembers walking into a gym one morning and sparring on his first day inside the facility. From that point forward he was hooked on the sport.
?I remember beating this one guy up,? Henry says of his first ring baptism. ?People said that I was a natural and I knew I would be a fighter. I used to watch it on TV and just remember shadowboxing on my own. It was destined for me and I knew it.?
Anyone involved in boxing needs to be ready to adapt to a variety of changes. Traveling and possible relocation is always a possibility in the sport and soon Henry would find himself packing his bags and heading South.
?What brought me to Houston was boxing,? Henry claims of his moved to Texas. ?My mom would take me to box in Chicago and my sister lived in Houston. I asked if I could move out there to start boxing and they said they would take me to the gym. So I basically moved to Houston because of my dream of boxing and I made it come true.?
Henry would end up signing with Top Rank promotions and began building upon his undefeated record in the sport. His relentless approach and obvious punching power lead to several knockouts along the way and he soon began creating a name for himself. Loving to interact with his fans, Henry built up a notable following on social networking sites Twitter, Facebook, and Myspace and seems to have a definite cult following in the sport. His popularity is something that still surprises him at times.
?I don?t know,? Henry states when asked of his following. ?I think people just like my personality and they like the way I fight. The way I fight is exciting and everybody loves an exciting fighter. I feel that?s why I have my fan base. They say that they have never seen anybody as explosive as me when I fight. It?s like Tyson and Cotto combined, that kind of thing, plus I have boxing skills as well. Outside of the ring I am very flamboyant and stuff, and well spoken.?
In late July Henry would make a trek to Las Vegas and could be seen ringside at the July 31st Juan Manuel Marquez-Juan Diaz rematch at the Mandalay Bay on July 31st. He would stick around the city for two weeks thereafter and says it has been a great experience for him.
?It?s been great,? he continues. ?Just seeing everybody. All the glitz and glamour that you see on TV. I like it. It?s real hot here. It?s hot in Texas too but it?s a different kind of hot. It?s a good place to train too because of the heat.?
Henry claims that training is what brought him to Las Vegas and could be found inside of Floyd Mayweather?s personal gym on a day to day basis working under the guidance of Roger Mayweather. Training with the vocal trainer has seemed to light a fire under Henry.
?Roger has been teaching me moves that I never even knew before,” he states. “From the defensive moves that I have been doing and just telling me about putting the work in. I?ve never hit the bag without having a break, four rounds straight. He keeps pushing me even harder.?
While in Las Vegas Henry has made his presence felt through his tireless work in the gym and has gotten to connect with such luminaries as Zab Judah, Mike Tyson, and Joe Jackson, the father of the late Michael Jackson. One man who has also taken Henry under his wing is Floyd Jr., who sees much promise in the young fighter. Henry remembers looking up to the undefeated fighter as a youth and soaks up everything that he has to say about boxing and life.
