Oct 2015 08

Chris Lewis-clear copyOne on One with the UCA Super Heavyweight Champion Chris Lewis – Fresno Sheriff’s Department

It has been said once you become a champion you become a better fighter. Do you feel you are a better fighter physically or mentally now that you are a champion?

I do not believe that being a champion has anything to do with me becoming a better fighter. A belt is just an award that shows as a fighter you have accomplished something in the PAST. The minute my last championship fight was over it was old news because someone else is coming for it and I have to be ready for the next challenge. It is what you do to earn that belt and what you do after you have attained it that proves your metal as a competitor. I will say this though since I have become a champion I take my fights more personal. I put myself in a mindset that my opponent is trying to steal my wallet, I am offended and disgusted that someone would dare to try and strip me of it. It is my belt until I decide to relinquish it. If anything, I would say being a champion gives me more motivation. My trainers Pat Roberts, Jasper Tayaba, and Apolonio “T” Fernandez get all the credit for making me a better fighter physically and mentally. We have a road map of where we as a team are going, I absorb the lessons taught to me by my coaches so I can execute our plan. My trainers have put a lot of time and effort into molding me as a fighter. My coaches have a plethora of expertise when it comes to martial arts I just shut up and listen. Thus far everything they have coached me on has worked considering I have a 5-0 combined record in MMA, Muay Thai, and, Boxing. I feel it is disrespectful to my coaches for me to be lazy and not work hard when I step in the gym. The last thing I want to do is disappoint my coaches with bad performances or them having to pick me up off of the ground because I didn’t follow instructions. Pat makes it very clear that when we show up somewhere we have fun but above all we are there to Win!

Do you feel that you have to workout & train even harder now that you are the champion and everyone is gunning for you?

My parents James and Karen Lewis instilled work ethic in me. They made sure I knew that I had to work for everything I wanted and nothing good comes easy. I train 7 days a week. I usually hit the weights 3 days a week with my Girlfriend, “Swolemate”, and Chef Paula Gonzales. She pushes me in the gym and makes sure I am eating right year round to fuel me for my work schedule, workouts, and fights. My brother Donavon Lewis also hits the weights with me sometimes but he motivates me to work hard because if I lose he is going to let me know about it! I think the biggest reason I work hard is because   I’m not training for the guys gunning for me. I am training for the guys that I am gunning for. I have high aspirations for what I want to accomplish in the ring and cage. I do want to fight professionally and in those levels there are some real killers, I am training to face those guys and see if I can hold my own against them. Luckily for me I am not even the best fighter in my gym which is Buhawe Fighting Alliance. Jasper has a cult following when it comes to training fighters. If he says it you do it! It is that simple. He has trained every high level guy at AKA San Jose and If you go there you will see a huge picture of him on the wall in the main training room. Jasper and Ming Vang push my stablemates and I hard in the gym. I get to spar with Nathan Roberts, Jermaine McDermott, Granson Clark, Brandon “Money” Cash, John “The Icon” Elias, Mike “ El Palo Duro” Moreno, Lavar “Big” Johnson, Andrew Nguyen, Gerardo Serrano, Jesse “The Outlaw” James, Steven Bolinger, Thomas Dozier, Long Vang, Clifford Passmore, Murphy Sean, Marc Julian, Sandy Serrano, Alyssa why, Melisa Reyna, Natasha Galarza, Day Day Davis, and Jane Banks on a weekly basis. Not to mention I go to Thrive Training Center and work with some very talented boxers and coaches there. I go to Dethrone base camp and get work in with those guys some time as well. I have even been to AKA San Jose and sparred with Cain Velasquez. I am blessed with the amount of knowledge passed on to me by my coaches. I am blessed with the quality of fighters I get to spar with in my gym.

If you could call anyone out to test your skills against who would it be?

The UCA fighters I have already “called out” and tried to set up fights with were Bryan Williams, Mike Carnell, and Mike Gomez.  I wanted to have a match with Bryan Williams because he is THE heavyweight boxer in the Central Valley. Every time the subject of the heavyweight boxing scene is brought up, the first thing out of people’s mouths is “Do you know Bryan Williams?” I feel like when heavyweights in California are brought up I should be included in the conversation. I felt Bryan needed to pass the torch and the only way to make that happen was to have a bout with him. That being said Bryan has also helped me prepare for previous fights and has got me good sparring partners, he is an excellent coach. Coach B has also made it very clear that he will help me any way he can so I definitely appreciate that. I honestly can’t say enough about the kind of guy he is. I just thought it would be fun to get in there and mix it up with the UCA Masters Heavyweight Champ. I love and respect Coach B.

I wanted to have a match with Mike Carnell because we went to the same high school. I am a bit younger than him and I am actually pretty close to his twin younger brothers. For a long time there has been an ongoing debate at our barbershop about who would win in a boxing match and neither one of us is going to say another man is better without actually fighting.  Mike can’t fight for the UCA belt because he is not law enforcement even though he has fought in a few public safety events. Instead of an actual fight I visited his gym and got some good sparring with him recently. We got good work in and we both learned from the session. Mike is a great boxer but his passion is actually coaching. He is currently learning the ins and outs of coaching by assisting Coach B with his fighters. Mike has offered to assist me with training and he will spar with me whenever I need to get some rounds in. That goes to show what kind of guy he is. I have known Mike for a long time and thought it would be fun for all the mutual people we know to watch us in match. I appreciate Mike’s help and the coaching points he has given me.

The only real “Caphoto(30)ll Out” I have on this list is Mike Gomez. I was supposed to fight Mike Gomez for the title last October. A week before the fight I was hearing things from very good sources that he was bragging about sparring Ten 3 minute rounds and he was ready to go. Then 3 days before the fight he backed out because he had high blood pressure (because he was scared). I’m 260 pounds my blood pressure is high sometimes too. Especially considering Mike and I are both Correctional Officers, high blood pressure is part of the job. If it was me in that situation I would have told the Dr. to let me relax for a few minutes and recheck my blood pressure especially if I was able to spar Ten 3 minute rounds a few days prior. I wound up fighting Zeke Johnston after he only had 48 hour notice. Zeke wasn’t training and he definitely was not in a fight camp like Mike Gomez and I were supposed to be. Zeke is a hell of a guy and a hell of a fighter I appreciate him stepping in and he came to fight. The reason Mike Gomez is getting called out is when I watched Zeke and I fight on Zeke’s YouTube channel ZEKEFTBLL at 6:45 Mike called me a name. The video is titled Round 3 Johnston vs. Lewis if anyone is interested. I want him to prove that what he said about me is true. Supposedly, he is a black belt in Tae Bo or something like that. If he ever decides to step in the ring or cage with me I am going to make that belt change colors real quick.

In all of the divisions is there anyone you would not want to fight due to their style, power, height, speed, etc?

Yeah I will not mess with Shant Sheklanian and DJ Vargas alone. Shant is too fast, very technical, and he’s mean. Shant has no qualms about trying to take your head off. DJ’s foot work is ridiculous and he makes guys look stupid. The first time I saw DJ fight I thought I was watching Manny Pacquiao or Yuriorkis Gamboa. As far as the bigger guys in the UCA like the light heavy or heavy weight champ they should come up and can unify all the belts. Id cut down a bit to 245 to make it happen, Even though it’s just boxing and we do wear head gear. The 130 pound guys at my gym spar me all the time as well as the female fighters. Just saying

When will you be back in the ring?

Since the Hanford Battle of the Badges in April I have been busy. I was supposed to fight in June but that opponent has the Mike Gomez syndrome (he no showed). I fought for the 559 Fights MMA promotion in July; I won via first round submission. I am currently entered to fight in the 559 fights/CAMO heavyweight state tournament.  The tournament is 3 rounds, if I win my fight I advance to the next event.  My first fight in the tournament will take place Oct 11th at the Fresno fair. The second fight will be Nov 6th at the Visalia Holiday Inn. The championship fight will be Dec 19th at the Fresno Tower Theater. After December my Coaches Jasper or T will set something up for me. I’ll fight in the Hanford Battle of the Badges in April where I will prove once again that I am the Baddest Law enforcement Officer in the Nation in the square circle! Then maybe a Pro Debut who knows?