By Bernard Peterkin
My name is Bernard Peterkin. I am 47 years old but I act like I'm 25, lol.
I am the father and trainer of prospect Travis Peterkin, from Brownsville, Brooklyn.
He is 15-0-1, a southpaw, with 7 KOs. That is him pictured above, in a photo by Ed Diller.
Travis was 90-14 as an amateur. He is 25, nickname is “The Notorious.”
He turned pro in 2011, and we fight next in March, Lou Dibella is our promoter.
We owe a lot to Lou, and trainer Jimmy Glenn.
I hear stories about how guys was in the streets. I did what I could to keep my son OFF THE STREETS. At age 8 the young gangs tried to recruit him. They told him to lie to me saying he found a gun. When I found out, I got him into Pop Warner football the next day. Trained him ever since.
I kept my kids off the streets or they would never have made it this far. Too many kids in jail or dying. Streets wasn't an option.
I watched the kids in Brownsville grow from throwing bottles at each other at age 8 to fighting with knives by age 11 and shooting each other by age 14. All the killings in Brownsville is right on our blocks.
No, NYFIGHTS, I wasn't losing my kids to the streets.
There was always a bright side of things but deep down inside was also the dark side of Bernsrd Peterkin, with everything negative going on in life. Seeing my kids succeed have given me a new life. I'm very proud of my kids. Their success have me new life. Saved my life. Amen! I know the streets. I'm a unproud product of the streets. So I know!
Yes, NYFIGHTS, one “big mistake” I made in Brownsville was I didn't let my son join a gang. That's where the connections to everything in the hood is at. You need gunners, shooters or pretty women, those are a few of the connections. Intelligence over-rules violence. And besides, we our own gang. We Peterkins.
In Brownsville you have shooters ? ? ?. When shooters get too big for their britches the snitches get rid of him. Snitches come in all shapes and forms. It could be an enemy, a person facing time, a person seeing a shooter pushing his baby in the stroller. Hug him and the baby. Snitch after. A best friend who know all your moves. Your hideouts. Snitch. A person don't have to know you but know your name. Snitch. A shooter can be 25 but shooting since age 12 or 13. He's a lifetime shooter, an experienced shooter. Oh, in case you were wondering I was never a shooter. I fought in my streets. To protect my family life anything is possible. Growing up I was the fighter, beating up the shooters, lol. People don't fight anymore. I learned to use my mind, stay in the gym.
Back to the shooter…suppose he started playing sports at 12 or 13. Or set goals in life instead of shooting. Choices we all make and made in life ultimately leads us to where we eventually go in life. I chose a way out for my kids.
We are not bad people, we one of the few that was behind the eight ball and still here. We are not supposed to be here. We here to stay and cement our name. #PETERKIN. If there was ever a movie made about us that that would be the name. Hashtagged. #PETERKIN.
Instant blockbuster!
So anyway, I kept my kids off the streets simply by not letting them have too much time on their hands. School, afterschool, sports, homework TV then bed. Over and over every day for years. I gave them things to do that they could enjoy and meet people. NO streets!
Summer camp, Jets mini day camp. My Giants camp for the week in East Stroudsburg in PA. By the time Trav was 10 he did all that. Started boxing at 11. Football camps and summer camps, trips (Forney Park, Great Adventure, Medieval Times) was replaced with national boxing tournaments by age 12. We won Ringside Nationals in 2003. We won three straight out there. I knew he had it right there! Real quick, I fought amateur. Semifinalist in Golden Gloves in '87. The Al Bundy four touchdowns in a high school game story, lol. But boxing is in our family.
My daughter Monique goes to Howard University, after graduating from Ithaca she furthered her education. My daughter gets flown on planes to LA for job interviews. The best law firms in the nation want her. She will settle for work in NY.
My son is a really good boxer. We beat Jarret Hurd twice in amateurs.
104 amateur bouts. No standing eight counts. No knockdowns! A lot of guys have been turning us down. We da the guy they wanna keep in the dark. We can beat most if not all.
Hey, I was struck by watching Sergey Kovalev Saturday. Kovalev is smart enough not to kill you in the ring, but he make 'em wish they was dead. #Krusher.
Yup, I was humbled. In boxing we all expect to win. Boxers must realize things can go wrong in the blink of an eye. I have not seen an execution like this since Tyson-Biggs. Kovalev is like a young Duran. Ward is like a Ray Leonard. That's the superfight. Ward can win that but who knows with rust.
Others, my son included, must stay in their lanes, wait their turn. A true pro was at work Saturday night. Yup I'm humbled. No more trash talk from us. Boxing is a job and if you don't do your work, you get fired. I will take my job serious. Like that TV program Scared Straight, Kovalev scared me straight Saturday. Where is the John Connor who can destroy this Terminator? Real talk NYFGHTS, what I witnessed was an incredible display of talent and execution. Perfectly displayed. Can't call fighters out, gotta game plan smartly and let the right fights come. A lot changed as of Saturday. Gotta train harder, run further and faster, spar better guys and most of all be in the right frame of mind just to dream of a chance. Sergey still hasn't fought a true good black kid yet, like Kostya vs Zab. Pascal don't count. HA! Any black hood dude wanna try Sergey? Not many. Maybe none!
So, NYFIGHTS, we stay in our lane, let the right fights come to us. Strength or weakness are the choices for Travis. Only he can make or break what he has.
