Sparring with Mental Illness and Injury with Cletus Seldin

In this inaugural episode host Matthew Pomara talks to Cletus Seldin, the fighting pride of Shirley Long Island, The Hebrew Hammer, the current NABA Super Lightweight Champion with 22 wins by knockout. Ranked 8th in the world by the World Boxing Association, Cletus jokes, “not bad for a Jewish fight kid from Long Island!” 

A three-sport athlete in high school, Cletus had always been a part of winning teams—a Long Island football championship, a state champion wrestler and lacrosse. Academics however were a challenge. ADHD kept him from doing well in the classroom, and because his parents wouldn’t let him take medication, he turned to sports to escape the world. He went on to excel in body building, until he found his true passion, boxing.  

Boxing isn’t lucrative. It’s meant for tough individuals. Many fighters call it quits after an injury or two. But Cletus loves the grind and credits his success to never giving up and working hard. Like, incredibly hard. For his last birthday he ran 50 miles. At the start of his amateur career training, he took a beating every day for year. But he learned that he could out condition everybody and when they trained less, he trained more. Then he started to win. And he dedicated himself to building his career, including selling tickets to his own fights! 

Cletus is refreshingly candid about his challenges with ADHD, taking medication and having to defend the right to do so in his sport. He’s also overcome a series of injuries and he’s still in the ring. Because in the ring, Cletus is a superhero. And outside the ring he’s a Funko Pop Star. 

Don’t miss his hilarious answers to Matthew’s FAST FIVE questions. 

CLETUS SELDIN | @lifeofcletus | @halfgladiatorhalfgeek | YouTube Half Gladiator Half Geek  

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In each episode of Life’s Tough – Boxers Are TOUGHER! host Matthew Pomara, a licensed amateur boxer, and boxing writer and contributor to “The Ring” magazine and “NYFights.com, talks to men and women in the boxing industry whose hard won victories and personal triumph and perseverance inspire listeners to fight on. Because life isn’t about how hard you can hit, it’s about how hard you can get hit and keep moving forward.