While the first alleged terrorist bomber, 19 year-old Dhjokar Tsarnaev, born in Kyrgystan, is on the loose currently somewhere in Boston and is the target of a massive manhunt, his brother, 26 year-old, Tamerlan Tsarnaev, born in Russia and legal US resident since 2007, died overnight in a shootout with the local police. It appears he was a boxer, studied at Bunker Hill Community College, was very religious, didn't drink or smoke, wanted to become an engineer, and his favorite movie was Borat. His YouTube page can be found here [4]: on it can be found videos of Islamic preacher Feiz Mohammad. Most informative is a captioned photo narrative by Johannes Hirn [5]showcasing the older brother's boxing pursuits and a glimpse into his history and philosophy.
Tamerlan Tsarnaev practices boxing at the Wai Kru Mixed Martial Arts center
Originally from Chechnya, but living in the United States since five years, Tamerlan says: "I don't have a single American friend, I don't understand them."
Tamerlan, 196 lbs, will represent New England in the heavyweight category at the National Golden Gloves competition in Salt Lake City, Utah.
Tamerlan, who studies at Bunker Hill Community College in Boston and wants to become an engineer, took the semester off from school to train for the competition.
If he wins enough fights there, Tamerlan says he could be selected for the US Olympic team and be naturalized American. Unless his native Chechnya becomes independent, Tamerlan says he would rather compete for the United States than for Russia.
Tamerlan fled Chechnya with his family because of the conflict in the early 90s, and lived for years in Kazakhstan before getting to the United States as a refugee.
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"I'm dressed European style," Tamerlan says.
[7]
Tamerlan stops to answer a phone call while walking from his Mercedes to the Wai Kru Mixed Martial Arts center, where he practices boxing
[8]
Tamerlan says he loves the movie "Borat," even though some of the jokes are a bit too much
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"When you start kicking, it gets dirty. That's what I think," Tamerlan says. Of kickboxers, he says: "They don't know how to move."
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Tamerlan says he doesn't usually take his shirt off so girls don't get bad ideas: "I'm very religious."
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Tamerlan says he doesn't drink or smoke anymore: "God said no alcohol." A muslim, he says: "There are no values anymore," and worries that "people can't control themselves."
[12]
Tamerlan says his girlfriend is half Portuguese, half Italian girlfriend and converted to Islam: "She's beautiful, man!"
[13]
Tamerlan demonstrates a way of walking to strengthen the ankle muscles at the Wai Kru Mixed Martial Arts center. A native of Chechnya, Tamerlan says: "In Russia, we used to train like this. Here nobody does it, I don't know why!"
And an interview of BBG TV with Tamerlan's sparring partner from the gym:
h/t NickJ [14] [14]