Kenneth Adams was an American professional boxing trainer and onetime Olympic amateur boxer.
32 Facts About Kenny Adams
1.
2.
Kenny Adams was a pioneer in boxing, having been the first American trainer to implement strength training.
3.
Kenny Adams was the first African-American selected as head coach of the American national boxing team.
4.
In 1999, the multiple-time World champion Wladimir Klitschko asked Kenny Adams to assist him in properly turning over his fist on the left hook for power.
5.
Kenny Adams was the former boxing coach of twenty-six professional World champions, thirty four Olympians and a total of fifty-six boxers who became World Champion.
6.
Kenny Adams trained notable boxers Evander Holyfield, Pernell Whitaker, Roy Jones Jr.
7.
Kenny Adams is considered a legend among boxing culture, once going 22 straight World championship bouts without a loss.
8.
Kenny Adams later retired from the sport due to health issues.
9.
Kenny Adams came out of retirement in 2018 and started training Dee-Jay Kriel while he was a WBC International Champion and went on to win an IBF world title at minimumweight.
10.
Kenny Adams was inducted into the International Boxing Hall of Fame in the Non-Participant category as part of the class of 2024.
11.
Kenny Adams first became interested in boxing when he was 5 or 6, and he admits to always fighting as a little kid.
12.
Kenny Adams is on record as saying that he had a reputation although he was small in stature, he packed quick hands and was brave.
13.
Kenny Adams learned how to curse at a very young age from being around people in the pub where he grew up.
14.
Once as a kid in gym class, Kenny Adams knocked an older boy out that outweighed him by over one hundred pounds.
15.
Kenny Adams never had a trainer, having his first amateur fight at the age of 12 at a weight of 95 pounds.
16.
Kenny Adams considered Carlton Brooks, Pat Nappi, Barron Walker, Bernie Callahan and Thomas Boudion as his boxing teachers.
17.
Kenny Adams would go on to complete 30 years of service during which he served in Vietnam and was in the 101 Airborne Division, where as part of a 5-man team he went behind enemy lines.
18.
Kenny Adams made a strong emphasis in that the fighters were in shape and were sound technically.
19.
Kenny Adams utilized plyometrics to boost the fighters cardio and wind.
20.
Kenny Adams would be reinstated after he appealed the decision to the federation's board of directors.
21.
Kenny Adams was again very successful winning three gold medals, three silver, and two bronze.
22.
Kenny Adams similarly believed that Michael Carbajal suffered the same fate.
23.
Kenny Adams trained lightweight contender Sharif Bogere, middleweight Bastie Samir, and Cuban amateur standout lightweight Raul Cespedes out of the Long Life Fighter Gym in Las Vegas, Nevada.
24.
Kenny Adams marveled at studying and watching his opponents' films and tapes.
25.
Kenny Adams was known for successfully predicting in what round and with what combination his fighter would win.
26.
Kenny Adams was known for never losing a re-match with any opponent, due to his great ability to make adjustments after the first fight.
27.
Kenny Adams brought an extremely strict disciplinarian style to the gym with him.
28.
Kenny Adams worked with the undisciplined World champion Edwin Valero up until his death in 2010.
29.
Kenny Adams was a strong believer in the "hit and don't get hit" style of boxing.
30.
Kenny Adams mastered the defensive art of "stepping to the side, using angles and moving your head".
31.
Kenny Adams believed that his fighters would have longer careers if they could master his defensive techniques, while learning his gritty, offensive attacks.
32.
In late November 2010, Kenny Adams was admitted to a hospital in Las Vegas when his bladder and prostate swelled up, leaving him close to kidney failure.