Zachary Wohlman, also known as Kid Yamaka (May 23, 1988 – February 14, 2021), was an American
boxer Boxer most commonly refers to:
* Boxer (boxing), a competitor in the sport of boxing
*Boxer (dog), a breed of dog
Boxer or boxers may also refer to:
Animal kingdom
* Boxer crab
* Boxer shrimp, a small group of decapod crustaceans
* Boxer snipe ee ...
in the
Welterweight
Welterweight is a weight class in combat sports. Originally the term "welterweight" was used only in boxing, but other combat sports like Muay Thai, taekwondo, and mixed martial arts also use it for their own weight division system to classify the ...
division, who was an amateur and later a professional.
Wohlman, a late-comer to the sport, went from
juvenile delinquency
Juvenile delinquency, also known as juvenile offending, is the act of participating in unlawful behavior as a minor or individual younger than the statutory age of majority. In the United States of America, a juvenile delinquent is a person ...
to becoming the 2010 winner of the Los Angeles
Golden Gloves
The Golden Gloves is the name given to annual competitions for amateur boxing in the United States, where they are awarded a belt and a ring. And the title of nations champion is awarded. The Golden Gloves is a term used to refer to the Nation ...
Tournament.
On February 15, 2021, it was announced that Wolhman had died at the age of 32.
He was trained by
International Boxing Hall of Fame
The modern International Boxing Hall of Fame (IBHOF), located in Canastota, New York, honors boxers, trainers and other contributors to the sport worldwide. Inductees are selected by members of the Boxing Writers Association of America. The I ...
r
Freddie Roach
Frederick Steven Roach (born March 5, 1960) is an American boxing trainer and former professional boxer. Roach is widely regarded as one of the best boxing trainers of all time. He is the enduring boxing coach of the eight-division world champio ...
, with whom he started training in 2008, and trainer Eric Brown.
His record as of December 2017 was 10–3–2. He went on to help at risk youth, joining Ring of Hope Boxing.
Early life
Zachary Wohlman was Jewish, and was born in the
San Fernando Valley
The San Fernando Valley, known locally as the Valley, is an urbanized valley in Los Angeles County, California. Located to the north of the Los Angeles Basin, it contains a large portion of the City of Los Angeles, as well as unincorporated ar ...
of Los Angeles to David Wohlman and his wife, a beautician.
He lived in
Northridge,
Reseda, and
Woodland Hills, California.
Wohlman’s early life was marked by a lack of family structure, fights in school,
military school
A military academy or service academy is an educational institution which prepares candidates for service in the officer corps. It normally provides education in a military environment, the exact definition depending on the country concerned. ...
in
Texas
Texas (, ; Spanish language, Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2 ...
on the Mexico border where he had his first taste of boxing, drugs, and “behind-the-barn” amateur boxing matches across the border in Mexico.
He was sent to
Sylmar
Sylmar is a suburban neighborhood in the San Fernando Valley and is the northernmost neighborhood within the City of Los Angeles. Historically known for its profusion of sylvan olive orchards, Sylmar can trace its past to the 18th century and th ...
Juvenile Detention
In criminal justice systems, a youth detention center, known as a juvenile detention center (JDC),Stahl, Dean, Karen Kerchelich, and Ralph De Sola. ''Abbreviations Dictionary''. CRC Press, 20011202. Retrieved 23 August 2010. , . juvenile det ...
at age 16, worked on an oil rig in
San Jose to support himself at age 17, and had brushes with the criminal justice system.
He said: "If you’re getting hit in the face for a living, something fucked up happened
n your life.
At the age of 20, he had a
bar mitzvah and started attending
Shabbat
Shabbat (, , or ; he, שַׁבָּת, Šabbāṯ, , ) or the Sabbath (), also called Shabbos (, ) by Ashkenazim, is Judaism's day of rest on the seventh day of the week—i.e., Saturday. On this day, religious Jews remember the biblical storie ...
Friday night dinners each week, and said "I got that sense of family and community that I didn’t grow up with."
He sported many tattoos, including a
Star of David
The Star of David (). is a generally recognized symbol of both Jewish identity and Judaism. Its shape is that of a hexagram: the compound of two equilateral triangles.
A derivation of the ''seal of Solomon'', which was used for decorative ...
across his stomach, and wore a Star of David around his neck.
He attended weekly
Jewish services
Jewish prayer ( he, תְּפִלָּה, ; plural ; yi, תּפֿלה, tfile , plural ; Yinglish: davening from Yiddish 'pray') is the prayer recitation that forms part of the observance of Rabbinic Judaism. These prayers, often with i ...
, and his nickname "
Yamaka
The Yamaka (; Pali for "pairs") is a text of the Pali Canon, the scriptures of a Buddhist monk laws. It is a text on applied logic and analysis included in the Abhidhamma Pitaka.
Description
The ''Yamaka'' consists of ten chapters, each dealin ...
" referred to his Jewish heritage.
Career
Amateur
![Freddie Roach](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/de/Freddie_Roach.jpg)
He was the first amateur boxer taken on by
International Boxing Hall of Fame
The modern International Boxing Hall of Fame (IBHOF), located in Canastota, New York, honors boxers, trainers and other contributors to the sport worldwide. Inductees are selected by members of the Boxing Writers Association of America. The I ...
r
Freddie Roach
Frederick Steven Roach (born March 5, 1960) is an American boxing trainer and former professional boxer. Roach is widely regarded as one of the best boxing trainers of all time. He is the enduring boxing coach of the eight-division world champio ...
, with whom he started training in 2008.
Roach and Eric Brown trained him during his professional career.
Brown says of him:
I've had him box with world champions and contenders, and Zac's held his own with all of them. He's got mad skills, heart, determination and an eagerness to learn.
He won the California
Golden Gloves
The Golden Gloves is the name given to annual competitions for amateur boxing in the United States, where they are awarded a belt and a ring. And the title of nations champion is awarded. The Golden Gloves is a term used to refer to the Nation ...
Championship in 2010.
His amateur record was 18–4.
Professional
He made his professional boxing debut on December 1, 2011, at a packed Fight Night Club at
Club Nokia
Club Nokia was a mobile internet digital distribution portal, similar to an App Store, operated by Nokia to provide special offers, paid-for ringtones, picture messages and game content directly to members. Following resistance from its mobile ope ...
in downtown Los Angeles, aired on
Fox Sports Net
Fox Sports Networks (FSN), formerly known as Fox Sports Net, was the collective name for a group of regional sports channels in the United States. Formed in 1996 by News Corporation, the networks were acquired by The Walt Disney Company on Mar ...
, winning by unanimous decision.
On March 31 Wohlman scored his first knockout, to improve his record to 3–0 (1 KO), over Clifford McPherson.
His performance on July 12, 2012, in Hollywood brought his record up to 4–0 and led to him being on the cover of ''
LA Weekly
''LA Weekly'' is a free weekly alternative newspaper in Los Angeles, California. It was founded in 1978 by Jay Levin, who served as president and editor until 1991. Voice Media Group sold the paper in late 2017 to Semanal Media LLC, whose paren ...
''. In February 2014 he defeated Luis Hernandez at the Florentine Gardens in
Hollywood
Hollywood usually refers to:
* Hollywood, Los Angeles, a neighborhood in California
* Hollywood, a metonym for the cinema of the United States
Hollywood may also refer to:
Places United States
* Hollywood District (disambiguation)
* Hollywood, ...
, California, in a four-round decision to bring his record to 7–1–1.
Movies
Wohlman appeared in the movies ''Golden Boy Boxing'' (2009), ''Boxer'' (2011), and ''Xander Cohen'' (2012).
Personal life
Wohlman was married to Serafina until his death. He died on February 14, 2021, at the age of 32.
Professional boxing record
Source: BoxRec
BoxRec or boxrec.com is a website dedicated to holding updated records of professional and amateur boxers, both male and female. It also maintains a MediaWiki-based encyclopaedia of boxing.
The objective of the site is to document every profess ...
Notes
References
External links
*
*
"Zachary Wohlman Interview" Big Dog Prospect Watch, by "Big Dog" Benny Henderson Jr, Doghouse Boxing, July 12, 2012
"Interview: Exclusive-Kid Yamaka: All Class" February 20, 2014, by Kalvin Lazarte, ''Milk Made''
{{DEFAULTSORT:Wohlman, Zachary
Welterweight boxers
1988 births
2021 deaths
Jewish American sportspeople
Jewish boxers
American male boxers
Boxers from California
21st-century American Jews