Six years after his first professional fight in a small gym hall in Northvale, Tarik Hollin is one bout away from a world title. The 29-year-old lightweight flies out this week to face champion Viktor Rusan on Saturday night, in an 18,000-seat arena in a neighboring country that sold out within days.
Hollin, who has a record of 14 wins and two losses, has not been beaten in his last nine fights. Seven of those wins came before the final bell.
From the factory floor to the main event
Hollin started training at 17, after shifts at his father’s metal workshop. He still trains at the same gym in Northvale’s old industrial quarter, where the walls are covered with posters from his early fights.
When he first walked in, he couldn’t skip rope for a minute. What he had was patience. He listens, he waits, and he learns faster than anyone I’ve coached.
Erik Vance, Hollin’s coach for twelve years
The champion is a formidable opponent. Rusan, 33, has defended his belt four times and is known for relentless pressure and powerful body shots. Hollin’s team expects a long, tactical fight.
“He wants to make it ugly, and he’s very good at that,” Hollin said at a press conference in Northvale this week. “My job is to stay calm, keep my distance and make him miss. If I do that, the rounds will start to belong to me.”
A city behind him
Around 1,500 fans from the country have bought tickets, and Northvale’s community center will show the fight on a big screen on Saturday night. Local businesses have hung banners with his name across the main square.
Hollin’s training camp lasted ten weeks and included sparring partners brought in from three countries to imitate Rusan’s style. He made weight comfortably in the camp’s final week, according to his team.
If he wins, Hollin would become the first fighter from the country to hold a world title in his weight class. The main event is expected to start shortly before midnight.
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