Zachary Wohlman

Zachary Wohlman, known as "Kid Yamaka" (a phonetic spelling of “yarmulke,” the skullcap worn by Jews while praying), (born May 23, 1988) is an American boxer in the Welterweight division, who was an amateur and is now a professional. Wohlman, a late-comer to the sport, went from juvenile delinquency to becoming the 2010 winner of the Los Angeles Golden Gloves Tournament.

He is trained by Boxing Hall of Famer Freddie Roach, with whom he started training in 2008, and trainer Eric Brown. His record as of November 2016 was 10–2–1.

Early life

He is Jewish, and was born in the San Fernando Valley of Los Angeles to David Wohlman and his wife, a beautician. He lived in Northridge, Reseda, and Woodland Hills, California.

Wohlman’s early life was marked by a lack of family structure, fights in school, military school in Texas on the Mexico border where he had his first taste of boxing, drugs, and “behind-the-barn” amateur boxing matches across the border in Mexico. He was sent to Sylmar Juvenile Detention at age 16, worked on an oil rig in San Jose to support himself at age 17, and had brushes with the criminal justice system. He said: "If you’re getting hit in the face for a living, something fucked up happened [in your life]".

At the age of 20, he had a bar mitzvah and started attending Shabbat Friday night dinners each week, and says "I got that sense of family and community that I didn’t grow up with." He sports many tattoos, including a Star of David across his stomach, and wears a Star of David around his neck. He attends weekly Jewish services, and his nickname "Yamaka" refers to his Jewish heritage.

Amateur career

He was the first amateur boxer taken on by Boxing Hall of Famer Freddie Roach, with whom he started training in 2008. Roach and Eric Brown train him currently. Brown says of him:

I've had him box with world champions and contenders, and Zac's held his own with all of them. He's got mad skills, heart, determination and an eagerness to learn.

He won the California Golden Gloves Championship in 2010. His amateur record was 18–4.

Professional boxing career

He made his professional boxing debut on December 1, 2011, at a packed Fight Night Club at Club Nokia in downtown Los Angeles, aired on Fox Sports Net, winning by unanimous decision. On March 31 Wohlman scored his first knockout, to improve his record to 3–0 1ko, over Clifford McPherson.

His performance on July 12, 2012, in Hollywood brought his record up to 4–0 and led to him being on the cover of LA Weekly. In February 2014 he defeated Luis Hernandez at the Florentine Gardens in Hollywood, California, in a four-round decision to bring his record to 7–1–1.

Movies

Wohlman has appeared in the movies Golden Boy Boxing (2009), Boxer (2011), and Xander Cohen (2012).

Professional boxing record