- Elliot Seymour has been living on the streets for roughly 18 months
- The 29-year-old trained at the same Hollywood gym as actor Mickey Rourke
- He lost to the actor in two rounds in a boxing match in Russia on Friday
- But a source close to the family said that he was 'paid to lose the fight'
The
fighter who lost a controversial boxing bout with Hollywood star Mickey
Rourke is homeless and was ‘paid to throw the fight', MailOnline can
exclusively reveal.
Elliot
Seymour, the man who lost to Rourke on Friday, is a homeless drifter
who trained at the same Hollywood gym Rourke and was paid to fly to
Russia to make the actor 'look good’.
Seymour,
who at 29 is 33 years younger than the 62-year-old actor, went down in
the second round of the match. He had a shocking record of losing 9-1 of
his 10 previous professional bouts.
Homeless:
Elliot Seymour (pictured right and left), the man who lost to Rourke on
Friday, is a drifter who trained at the same Hollywood gym Rourke and
was paid to fly to Russia to make the actor 'look good’
Fight night: Seymour, 29, entered the
fight with Rourke, 62, with a shocking professional record of losing 9-1
of his 10 previous bouts. He lost the fight (pictured above) in the
second round
Sleeping rough: A source close to the
Seymour family revealed that Elliot spends nights in Memorial Park,
Pasadena, pictured above. He also writes posts about being homeless on
his Facebook page
In
an exclusive interview, a source close to Seymour’s family, said: 'It
was clearly a fixed fight. The whole bouncing off the ropes, hands down,
punches were not landing and they were intentionally hitting each
other’s gloves.
'There
are people at Wild Card gym who know that Elliot’s in a really terrible
situation and pretty much living on the streets, these are Mickey
Rourke’s people who Elliot’s been around and known for some time.
'I’d
be surprised if they didn’t know something about his situation but they
have decided to put him in the ring against Mickey Rourke.
'I
think it was just an ideal situation where Elliot has a title, he’s
desperate and clearly his boxing career isn’t going anywhere and he’s
pretty much living on the streets, so for him it’s a win because gets
off the streets for a while.
'One
of the well known boxing reporters writing about the fight said they
might as well have got somebody who was sleeping on the subway and it
would’ve been a better opponent, well what he doesn’t know is that’s
pretty much what happened.'
Rourke
was famously trained by Freddie Roach, who owns Hollywood's Wild Card
gym, when he turned to boxing midway through his acting career. The
legendary coach's most decorated fighter is boxing superstar Manny
Pacquiao.
Posing with
the stars: On his Facebook page, where he goes under the name Elliot
BuffaloSolider, Seymour has posted photos of himself with boxing legend
Oscar Dela Hoya (left) and TV presenter Mario Lopez (right)
Familiar face:
Alejandro Puelma, 29, the manager at the Starbucks that Seymour bases
himself in (pictured above), confirmed the boxer was currently homeless,
adding he was well liked by staff and customers
After
defeating Seymour in the second round of Friday's fight Rourke
celebrated by carrying his trainer Marvin Somodio on his shoulders and
parading him around the ring. Somodio is Roach's assistant at Wild Card.
The
family source, who asked not to be named, spoke out because they are
worried Seymour has mental health issues and has been exploited by the
the fight's organisers.
They
said: 'All these headlines Mickey Rourke beat someone half his age…
yeah he did but you’re not telling them the real story, the real story
is he’s homeless and desperate and he will probably go back to living on
the streets when he gets back. People have no clue about that.
'There’s
so much more to the situation than people know, and there’s so much
that’s more important than the fact it was fixed, which is the fact he
doesn’t have a home and he’s got some mental health issues.
Victory:
After defeating Seymour in the second round of Friday's fight Rourke
(left, during the match and, right, after) celebrated by carrying his
trainer Marvin Somodio on his shoulders and parading him around the ring
'Obviously
it will be beneficial for Mickey Rourke - it probably made him feel
good, boosted his ego to be able to say he beat somebody half his age.
'But it was really problematic that this fight was put together in this way. I think people need to know.'
The
family source showed MailOnline text messages from a friend of
Seymour’s who had helped him organise his passport so he could go to
Russia.
After
expressing concern Seymour wasn’t mentally fit to go to Russia, the
friend replied: 'He said he’ll be with movie people, he’ll be fine…'
Fighting fit: Rourke's opponent Elliot
Seymour. The organisers of the match have said the boxers were
receiving 'large amounts of money'
After
the fight, the source sent the friend a news link that questioned if
the fight was fake and they then confirmed it, messaging: 'They told him
to throw the fight I hope he gets home safely and paid.
'They wanted him down in the 4th.'
The
family source added: 'Maybe the arrangement changed from the 4th round
to the 2nd but the fact he was saying they wanted him down in the 4th
let’s you know that Elliot must have communicated what the situation was
to this guy.'
MailOnline
also spoke to a source at Wild Card gym who claimed the Moscow
exhibition bout was rigged and went further describing Seymour as a
'professional opponent'.
The gym source said: 'Elliot trains here sometimes. He’s a professional opponent. Meaning you pay him to lose.
'The
fight was a joke… Mickey needs to stop pretending he ever was very good
and just keep acting. It’s kind of an embarrassment really. Mickey
throws punches so slow and infant could avoid them.'
Asked what Rourke’s motivation for organising the fight was, the source added: 'I heard Mickey did do it for the money.'
The
organisers of the match have said the boxers were receiving 'large
amounts of money' in fees but declined to give details, the BBC
reported.
MailOnline
can reveal Seymour, from Pasadena, a largely affluent suburb of Los
Angeles, has been on the streets for almost 18 months.
He had been living at home with his mother Louise but left after they fell out over his career.
On
his Facebook page, where he goes under the name Elliot BuffaloSolider,
Seymour has posted several photos of himself at a local Starbucks and
also writes about being homeless.
Renowned: Rourke was famously trained
by Freddie Roach, who owns Hollywood's Wild Card gym (pictured), when he
turned to boxing midway through his acting career. Seymour also trained
at the gym
He has also posted photos of himself with actor Cuba Gooding Jr and TV presenter Mario Lopez.
Revealing the sad back story of the fighter, the family source said: 'He’s been out on the streets since May 2013.
'He
was living up in San Francisco for several months, pretty much on the
streets, very estranged from his family and he ended up moving back down
here and he’s pretty much been living on the streets.
Childhood dream: Elliot Seymour,
pictured aged 23 after winning his Golden Gloves amateur title, admired
boxer Muhammed Ali as he was growing up
'He’s
pretty much hanging out at Starbucks, very disheveled, people have
taken him clothes because he just smelled horrible, he hadn’t bathed and
hadn’t changed clothes for several days.
'He doesn’t have a place to live consistently if he’s doing anything he’s couch surfing.
'He
spends nights in the local park. I know he crashed with friends
sometimes, but he’s pretty much burned bridges with his friends.'
Seymour started boxing about 10 years ago and his hero growing up was Muhammed Ali.
As an amateur he won the California Golden Gloves championship but after he turned professional he struggled badly.
As his career derailed Seymour apparently became angry and fell out with his family who wanted him to get another job.
The
family source thinks he has found it hard to accept he was not a good
boxer, saying: 'When his boxing career wasn’t working out he started
having problems. I don’t know if he has a learning disability or what.
'Basically
some crazy stuff happened and the family had to get a restraining order
against Elliot, because he’s not living anywhere and doesn’t have a job
there was no set pattern to where he would be.
'If you look at his Facebook there are some ramblings and rantings he was doing for quite some time.
'He
was frequently changing his profile picture on Facebook and if you look
at a lot of the pictures they’re pretty much all of him chilling at
Starbucks.
'He
has anger issues and became rude and volatile. A psychiatrist may say
he’s got some illusions of grandeur because of the fact he has such a
bad boxing record but continued to train as a professional boxer.
Weighing
in: Mickey Rourke (left) and Elliot Seymour (right) before the fight in
Russia on Friday. A source at Wild Card gym, where both men train, said
that he had heard the actor took part 'for the money'
'Obviously
boxing isn’t a viable option for him given his record. It was something
he was passionate about but isn’t a viable career.
'People
hoped he might retrain as a personal trainer. He was once training with
Mario Lopez who hosts Extra, so he did that for a bit but he wasn’t
interested in those things, all he wanted to focus on was boxing. At a
certain point, when you have the record you have, you’re not bringing in
any money and you’re an adult, what’s going on in your life and your
world that you’re ok with just sitting and pretty much not doing
anything?
'If you try and say anything to him about the gravity of his situation he gets volatile. He’s not willing to see a doctor.'
He’s
pretty much hanging out at Starbucks, very disheveled, people have
taken him clothes because he just smelled horrible, he hadn’t bathed and
hadn’t changed clothes for several days.
A source close to the Seymour family
Asked
about the claim Seymour was a ‘professional opponent’, the source said:
'I don’t think that’s the case, if anything possibly of late he may
have taken to doing that just for the cash. I would imagine that he got
paid a decent amount for this fight. I have no idea how much he got
paid.
'Also
if your record is s***, and you know you’re not going to make it
professionally boxing and you get to go to Russia, while everything is
paid for and you’re living on the streets before, this is not really a
lose for you.
'Elliot
is a very prideful person to the point that pride seems to mask his
insecurities. He’s not a good boxer, but this was out of desperation,
because I have watched and seen him train for other fights in the past,
and he trains seriously.'
Alejandro
Puelma, 29, the manager at the Starbucks Seymour bases himself in,
confirmed the boxer was currently homeless, adding he was well liked by
staff and customers.
He said: 'He’s in here all the time, he hangs out here and comes in right when we open at 5am. I knew he was homeless.
Mr
Puelma, who hadn't yet watched the fight, added: 'I knew he was going
out there to fight but he didn’t mention it was Mickey Rourke. He just
said he was going out there to fight and see you when I get back.
'He
mentioned it a couple of times, my impression was it was for a movie or
a commercial as he knows a lot of people around here. We think he’s a
really great guy, we all love him here.'
MailOnline also spoke to Seymour’s mother about the controversial fight.
'Professional opponent': A source at
Wild Card gym, where Seymour and Rourke (pictured facing off in Friday's
fight) both train, said that Seymour was a 'professional opponent' who
is 'paid to lose'
Speaking from her home, Mrs Seymour said: 'We saw it on the internet. Of course it's not his shiniest moment.'
Asked
what she thought of people saying it was fixed, she defended her son,
saying: 'I have absolutely no idea, no comment on that.
'Elliot is estranged from us because of philosophical differences about his fighting and so I don’t know.'
The
fight was a joke… Mickey needs to stop pretending he ever was very good
and just keep acting. It’s kind of an embarrassment really. Mickey
throws punches so slow and infant could avoid them.
A source at Wild Card gym, LA
However
defending her son from his critics, she added: 'I think Elliot tried
hard on this one, I can say Elliot's all time love as a young man
growing up was Muhammed Ali, I had the opportunity to meet Ali once and I
got his autobiography autographed for Elliot.
'Not
only is he interested in boxing he loves the history of the sport. He
doesn't take boxing lightly he respects the art of boxing and for that
reason also I would say I don't think he would.
'I wouldn't call it suspicious, I don't know enough about the particulars, so it would be hard for me to comment.'
Asked
what she thought of the claim he is a ‘paid opponent’ who loses on
purpose, she added: 'I doubt it seriously, because Elliot is a very
prideful person.
'And
I just think up to this point in his life his track record has not been
the greatest, again given a perfect scenario for training maybe his
record would be better.
'Things happen, I used to feel very bad when Elliot lost fights because Elliot felt bad.'
Mrs Seymour said her problem with Elliot’s profession was the fact it was a dangerous sport.
She
said: 'I personally am not interested in any sports that are contact
and cause concussion. I’m worried anytime anybody is involved in a
contact sport.
'I was anxious knowing her was going to be fighting again, I would like him to switch professions.
'At the very beginning I tried to be supportive, but I just don't like watching boxing.
'I
have had to accept the fact I cannot determine Elliot's profession or
his future, I can just give him my advice and he'll listen or he won't.'
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