Karim Mayfield Fights With "The City" Behind Him

There are very few places in the world that are simply known as 'The City'.

San Francisco is one of them.

Karim 'Hard Hitta' Mayfield is as familiar with the terrain of The City as it gets. But on Saturday June 12, he'll get a little bit closer to the place he calls home, as he takes on Sergio De La Torre in the second eight-round bout of his budding career at the Kezar Pavilion.

When asked, he doesn't know a ton about his opponent. Which isn't really his fault considering there isn't a ton of footage on De La Torre out there. 

When it comes down to it, De La Torre has a record of 11-13-3 with only 1 KO. Fact of the matter is that he's a below .500 journeyman fighter without a lot of pop. 

Plain and simple, this fight isn't about De La Torre.

It's about Mayfield.

"This fight is about me building up my fan-base here in San Francisco and putting on an impressive show for the fans.  Of course, I'd love to go out there and score a knockout in 2.2 seconds.  But at the same time I can't let that be my sole focus and have it  backfire.  I just need to go out and do my thing and get the win to make the fans happy," Mayfield recently stated in an interview with Bleacher Report.

As for Mayfield, technically he's listed as a welterweight fighter. He laughs as I mention it, but technically , none of his 12 fights have taken place in the welterweight division he is a part of, all of which were in the junior middleweight division..

"That is pretty much because of promoters I've dealt with in the past dictating terms to get the fight made.  I've had to come in heavier than I would have liked to get those fights signed," Mayfield states.

If it were up to him, he would be campaigning full-time in the welterweight division. To take it a step further, he hinted that if he weren't in the welterweight division, he may even step down to the 140 lb. weight class.

As stated earlier, it's clear that Mayfield looks to seize this opportunity to elevate his status with the fans.  It wouldn't surprise me in the least if he's looking to elevate himself in the eyes of the sports top promoters as well.

Mayfield's last two fights have taken place across the Bay Bridge in Oakland as a supporting bout to the Andre Ward, and Mikkel Kessler WBA title clash. This was followed by a stop in Reno to take part in an event put on by Terry and Tommy Lane of Let's Get It On Promotions.

This Saturday night, he'll get to be the headlining act in a homecoming event of sorts in the Kezar Pavilion, which has had its share of boxing events held in the venue.

All time great Rocky Marciano knocked out Don Cockell at Kezar Pavilion in 1955 while former Middleweight Champion "Bobo" Olsen fought there a handful times.

"It's been a while since we've had a big fight in San Francisco with Floyd Mayweather here.  We've had some great fighters fight here in the past.  It's really an honor to be able to add my name to that list."

While he hasn't hit the level of Marciano, don't be surprised in the least if fans come out in droves to support Mayfield.  As he puts it: "They have someone to cheer for.  I feel like the city is behind me.

Indeed they are, it's been a while since they've had the chance to support a professional boxing event in the city, and even longer since they've been able to show their support for one of their own.

Neither Rocky Marciano nor Bobo Olsen created Kezar Pavilion, but their respective legacies helped define what it is today.

Come Saturday night, Karim Mayfield gets the chance to leave his mark alongside the greats before him.

And he'll get to do it with "The City" in his corner. 

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