Joey Gilbert and myself were contestants on NBCs "The Contender". I spent day in and day out with Joey and got to know him and all the other boxers on a personal level. They were a great bunch of guys to be around. I can honestly say that being on that show was the best time of my life. I keep in touch with some of the guys to this day. Out of all the guys, there is one that I really want to fight. His name is Joey "The Con Man" Gilbert. Why do I say The Con Man? Because that is exactly what he did. He conned everybody on that show, including the producers. I give him props for that and never hated on him because of it. That show was a game. A game to win a million dollars and he played it to his best interests. So I don't blame him for doing that, although I would never sacrifice my manhood to get as far as I can on the show. That is what Joey did. All those injuries he says he sustained on the show were lies, and he knows it. Like I said, he conned everybody so he didn't have to fight for as long as he could.

That's why he was the last fight of the first round. He would claim he was injured, yet he would be a superstar in the challenges. Then he would put on the best acting scene crying in pain like he was hurting.  Then came the begging and pleading to other boxers from the East to please not pick him if they won the challenge. Where is your pride Joey?

The public did not see this. Ahmed Kaddour and Juan De La Rosa will back me on that because those are the guys he begged and pleaded too. The scene on the show when Joey had a disgusting look on his face because Juan told him he was not going to pick him to fight if they won the next challenge deserved an "Oscar". In fact, Joey couldn't have been happier.  My purpose of this letter isn't to knock Joey Gilbert, but to expose him in his true fashion and to tell him to step up and take my challenge. Shut me up if you could!
    

I called out Joey GiIbert in a forum saying he was never really injured on The Contender and all he did was cry and beg people not to fight him.  Well,I got a phone call from Joey Friday night. I was at the Eminem concert here in Detroit, so I wasn't able to answer my cell phone. 

He left me a voicemail telling me he read what I had said about him and he was going to post medical records saying he was really injured. Anybody can get a doctor to say what they want him to say. Medical records don't prove anything. Anyway, he told me he didn't want to answer back to me in the forum because he is too big for that. I don't believe you are ever to big for your fans. He was kind of talking in an arrogant manor, referring to himself in a third person saying everybody wants a piece of JG(Joey Gilbert). Saying he was the biggest thing to come out of the show, and didn't need to fight any of The Contenders. The only biggest thing he got out of the show was a beating from Manfredo. 
    

I now want to prove that he is not worthy of all this credibility he is receiving. He knows the truth about all the crying and begging he did on the show. He knows he got lucky in beating Jimmy Lange. I think it was a case where Jimmy just couldn't handle the pressure of being on the show and living with the guys he was going to fight.

Otherwise he would of beat Joey with ease.  Joey was still lucky to get the decision in a very close fight. He knows he got lucky. That's why he found a reason not to fight in the finale. Faking an injury once again. That is because he didn't want to lose again. All Joey wanted to do is live off his fame. Fighting Joey would be one of the easiest fights of my life. There is a way to fight a guy like Joey who just comes forward throwing punches. He is nothing but a novice fighter. I would make it look easy. Especially now that a lot of my 3 1/2 year ring rust is gone. Yes, Joey can say that he beat Lange and I didn't. I may have lost to Lange on paper, but Joey knows, and America knows that I won that fight.  Joey commentated the  fight and even scored it for me. I looked way better in the Lange fight than I did in the Juan fight and its only going to get better.
   

You know, I really didn't have any hostility towards Joey during filming of the show. I actually liked him on a personal level. If anything, im the one who used to stick up for him on the show when the other guys made fun of him because of his fake injuries and pleading to some of the boxers not to pick him to fight. It was after filming and during the fan favorite vote that it got personal. He and his people came out and said there was some cheating going on in the voting and pointed the finger towards myself and Jimmy Lange. I didn't appreciate that. I been in this game a lot longer than Joey or any of the other Contenders. I've paid my dues. I've been a pro since 1992, before some of these guys ever laced up gloves.

I was world rated by the W.B.C. and the W.B.O. I won the North American Boxing Organization Super Middleweight championship. Because of this, I have built a strong following throughout my career, which is the reason I got as many fan favorite votes as I did. Joey just started boxing a few years ago. Even though Joey got further on the show than I did, I feel im a better boxer than him and I want to prove it. The 3 1/2 year inactivity I had before being on "The Contender" played a big role on how far I went on the show. It was only a glimpse of me. Im a lot sharper now after having two fights since my inactivity.
    

I called Joey back and left him a voice message telling him to fight me on a fight card in England. I heard that's where his next fight is supposed to be. I told him it would be huge there. He said he wants no part of me. I guess he's going to look for an opponent who is walking out of a liquor store.  If Joey says,"what do I get out of fighting Tarick"? You are fighting somebody with credibility. Let me ask you this Joey.  What do you get off fighting somebody with limited skills who you know you can beat?  Absolutely nothing. That's the type of fighter you want to fight. Step up Joey, because you can run but you cant hide. You Sissy..
                  

Tarick Salmaci 
                  www.tarick.com