Michael Faragon's inspiring journey

Michael Faragon's inspiring journey

By Media Report on Doghouse Boxing (July 6, 2010)

Looking at him, it's hard to believe Mike Faragon has ever faced adversity or felt serious pain. The baby face hides a lot.

Undefeated Schenectady, New York, lightweight Michael "Baby Face" Faragon (11-0, 5 KOs) has overcome tremendous adversity in his life and dealt out his fair share of pain.

Born Michael Cunningham in Syracuse, New York, Faragon could have easily slipped between the cracks into the void of angry young men that fill the prison system.

But the kid with the deceivingly innocent face was born a fighter.

Faragon was just seven years old when he found combat sports. Living in Albany, New York, where his mother had been transferred, he wandered into a local gym and took up kickboxing. His natural talent was immediately apparent and then one day, a kickboxer named Andy Faragon invited the young man to train at a gym he owned in Schenectady, New York.

The pair's focus switched over to boxing and Faragon would go on compile an 85-15 record and win the state Golden Glove Championships twice, the Western Olympic trials and a junior national championship. He was also the number one ranked light welterweight in the United States in 2007.

And along the way, the elder Faragon became the father figure the boy had always lacked. With his mother's blessing, young Michael moved to Schenectady in the sixth grade to live with the Faragons. As the years went by, he became a part of the family, was legally adopted and in honor of their bond, changed his surname to Faragon.

Michael "Baby Face" Faragon is now 22 years old and a professional boxer with building momentum and a dynamic duo of promoter and manager that would make any boxer jealous. He recently signed with promotional powerhouse The Empire Sports and Entertainment and is managed by longtime friend and well-known boxing figure Stan Hoffman.

Hoffman is best known for having handled the careers of 31 different world champions.

"I've known Stan Hoffman since the amateurs from when I was 15," he explains. "I went up to his camp a couple times and sparred some of his pros. I grew up around him and he always gave me advice coming up. He's like a grandfather to me."

The Empire President, Greg Cohen, admits he is counting on Faragon and a few of his other young pros to carry the company name into boxing's future. "We've got Shannon Briggs and Hasim Rahman and some other fighters who are making a splash on the boxing world right now," he explains, "but the next wave of Empire fighters will be lead by kids like Michael Faragon. He may have come from a rough background, but he's got the world laid out in front of him now and all he has to do is carry through with his enormous potential."

Hoffman, whose track record for spotting and developing talent is impeccable, says he is eager to introduce his latest "future star" to the world. "He may look like a choir boy, but this kid can really fight. He's got a tremendous story of overcoming adversity and a genuinely good heart even after all he's been through. It won't be long now and he'll be starring on the HBOs and Showtimes. He's all-action when he fights and the fans are going to love him."

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