Yuri Foreman said he never contemplated quitting boxing. He knew he just needed a break, a break from the training, a break from the demands, a break from the sport requiring all of his attention.
“I’ve been so many years in boxing and when you lose motivation or stop loving what you’re doing, you have to stop and think things over,” Foreman said recently. “Unless you’re fully 100 percent, you can’t keep boxing. You need motivation and dedication.”
Foreman, 32, said he has that again and is eager to end a 22-month layoff when he returns to the ring tonight in a main event of a boxing card at B.B. King’s on 42nd Street. Foreman (28-2, 8 KOs) will meet Brandon Baue (12-8, 10 KOs) of Troy, Mo.
BB King’s is a long way from Yankee Stadium, where Foreman defended his WBA light heavyweight title against Miguel Cotto in June, 2010. The first Orthodox Jew to own a world boxing title since 1935, Foreman lost by TKO in the ninth round when his knee basically gave out on him. He had knee surgery soon after, and was overpowered in his comeback fight in March 2011, when he lasted just six rounds against Pawel Wolak.
Since then, he has been raising his son with his wife, Leyla Leidecker, while continuing his studies toward becoming a rabbi.
“I’d like to think I’m a few months away,” Foreman said. “Right now it depends on the rabbi who should give me an ordination or a diploma very soon.”