Carr gets shot at redemption

BIG BEAR LAKE, Calif. -- It's not so much the length of the road that has affected Oba Carr as the myriad twists and turns.

As a result, Carr came close to driving into the ditch that claims many wrecked boxers.

The 26-year-old welterweight got a pair of title shots and lost them both as he swerved from promoter to promoter, trainer to trainer, manager to manager.

On Saturday night, Carr can come one swipe closer to wiping all that away like rain from a windshield when he fights former champ Frankie Randall on the undercard of the Oscar De La Hoya-Ike Quartey main event at the Thomas & Mack Center.

The winner of Carr vs. Randall will fight De La Hoya -- granted the WBC welterweight champion beats Quartey -- May 22 at Mandalay Bay.

"Who would say a person like Oba would be fighting a guy like Oscar?" Carr asked. "Who would say there would be a possibility of even talking about that a year ago, after leaving Don King, after being in so much debt I didn't even know what the heck to do with my life but kill myself?"

The Detroit product once was one of the brightest welterweight prospects, mowing down his first 32 foes.

But managerial problems were always in the background. Carr broke away from his father and original trainer, Eddie Carr, to hone his craft under the legendary Emanuel Steward. He then drifted to Sterling McPherson and eventually to former Mike Tyson manager Rory Holloway.

In the process, Carr suffered the only two losses of his career. Both were title fights. He was knocked out in the eighth round by IBF champ Felix Trinidad in 1994. He also dropped a majority decision to then-WBA champ Ike Quartey, in part for losing two points because of low blows.

After losing to Quartey, he parted ways with King and fought as a free agent.

"I wasn't going to let my past contaminate my present moment so that I couldn't continue to evolve," Carr said. "It's all about the evolution process instead of stressing about what happened yesterday."

Carr, 47-2-1 with 28 knockouts, reunited with his father. They have been training in this high-altitude ski resort town, not far from De La Hoya's log cabin, since the first week of January.

"I was born and raised with my father," Carr said. "Then I turned my back and left.

"I went with Don King and the demons and beasts of the world. Realizing I had to come back home to my old dude, that was the worst part of my career. It was coming back to reality."

When asked about his distressing past, Carr chooses not to elaborate.

"It was an emotional situation," he said. "But I'm not talking about that. I'm only talking about what's about to happen."

When Carr climbs through the ropes Saturday night he will see an opponent who has battled his share of demons, too. Randall is a recovering alcohol and drug addict who has served time in prison.

Randall, 36, is a former two-time world champ who gained fame as the first man to beat Julio Cesar Chavez. He is 55-5-1 with 42 KOs.

"This is a terrible route," McPherson said of Carr's path to another title shot. "This route, going through Randall? Forget it. Randall's got his life cleaned up, got his act together. Randall can seriously fight."

But Carr isn't afraid.

"I'm here for a reason," he said. "I'm here for a purpose. I am the ultimate warrior. I am the real deal."

Carr predicts the fight will be a rugged bout, and past performances indicate he should be up for it. He has been knocked down six times in his career, but has won all but three outings.

"Randall is a good fighter, fundamentally sound," Carr said. "He's got a right hand, good jab, good legs. And I think he's going to be up for this fight.

"I'm going to go out there and box him a couple rounds, set up the jab. My legs are going to be strong. I've proven to the boxing world I have a good chin.

"I'm looking at it is if Frankie Randall is hitting me with his best shot to knock me out, I'm going to have the tenacity, the heart and the will to win."

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