Nigerian-born cruiserweight Olanrewaju Durodola (15-1, 14 KOs) defeated Victor Barragan on April 20 in Saint Joseph, Missouri to capture the vacant WBC Continental Americas cruiserweight title. I was recently afforded a chance to catch up with the Kansas City resident to speak about his boxing career and future aspirations. Durodola, who goes by the ring moniker “God’s Power”, also discussed how his former profession in law enforcement and his Olympic boxing experience helped him develop as a boxer. Here is a complete transcript from the interview:

GEOFFREY CIANI: Hello Olandrewau. How is everything going today?

OLANREWAJU DURODOLA: Oh! Everything is going fine, thank you.

CIANI: Great! Now you’re coming off of a fourth round stoppage against Victor Barragan last month. How would you evaluate your performance?

DURODOLA: I think this was a convincing, solid performance against a fighter who was coming off of a good win against Henry Namauu. Victor had taken some time off after beating Namauu and we were told he was in great shape and looking to score another upset. He was a very game fighter. My training camp was one of the best ever. Overall, it was a good win, and exciting because the WBC Continental Americas Title was on the line. Every fight is a learning experience and my goal is to make some improvement and learn from every fight. I was very satisfied in all respects with what I did in the fight

CIANI: Okay, now this was your third victory this year already, and your sixth victory dating back to October. So you’ve been fairly busy. Do you intend to continue remaining that active for the rest of the year?

DURODOLA: Yes, I would like to fight every month if that were possible. A more likely pace will be a fight every two months or so. I’m just waiting for my managers, Kenny Ogaga and Roland Jankelson, to tell me what’s next. I want to be very active in defending the WBC Continental Americas Title.

CIANI: When do you think you will be ready to mix it up against the top cruiserweights in the world?

DURODOLA: I’m ready right now.

CIANI: Okay, now as an amateur, you actually had three victories against Lateefe Kayode. What do you think enabled you to have that type of success against him as an amateur?

DURODOLA: I would like to think it was because of the skills I am bringing to my professional career. Also, as an amateur I had the same dedication and trained very hard which is how I conduct myself now that I am a professional boxer. I always want to be in better condition than my opponents and I know that no matter how hard they train they cannot come into the ring in better condition than I bring to the fight. Also, I think much of a boxer’s success is the mental aspect. I believed I could beat an elite boxer like Lateefe, so it happened.

CIANI: Your last victory against him was in the Olympic trials, and ultimately you did get to compete in the 2008 Olympics. What was that whole experience like for you?

DURODOLA: It was a wonderful experience. But I knew after the Olympics that I wanted to move on to pursue my goal of becoming a World Champion as a professional boxer.

CIANI: Now on another note, I was told that you worked as a police officer in Nigeria. Has that experience working in law enforcement helped with your boxing career, and if so, how?

DURODOLA: Yes, it did. I learned a lot from my experience on the Nigerian police force: dedication to doing a job well, how to focus on difficult goals, how to believe in my abilities.

CIANI: Now you currently have just one loss in your career. What did you learn from that setback?

DURODOLA: I learned not to take anyone for granted or underestimate any boxer. That fight was an eye opener for me, and made me work even harder to become an even better and more complete fighter. That one loss gave me motivation that I will never forget.

CIANI: If you could land an opponent against any cruiserweight in the world sometime within the next year or so, who would you like to fight?

DURODOLA: I would like to fight anyone in the top ten world rankings: Dmytro Kucher, Ola Afolabi, BJ Flores, Thabiso Mchunu, and there are others. I am willing to fight any and all of these guys to prove that I am better than they are. And of course, I want to fight whoever is the World Champion. For now, I can only keep winning and wait for my turn.

CIANI: Now you recently made a change, or rather an addition, to your management team. Of course I’m referring to the fact that you’ve added a co-manager, Roland Jankelson, on board. Roland has guided several fighters to World title fights. How did you meet Roland and how is he helping you?

DURODOLA: We are a team. Kenny Ogaga has been my manager. Kenny brought me to the United States from Nigeria and has been with me from the beginning. Kenny and I met Roland when I fought on a card promoted by Kim Woods, Roland’s daughter. Roland managed Chauncy Welliver, and Chauncy was the main event on that card that I also fought on. Roland and Kenny started talking about working together and that is how Roland became involved. Again, Roland and Kenny work together as a team and work hard to help me achieve my goals.

CIANI: For my final question Olanrewaju, you’re 32 years old now. What would you ultimately like to accomplish in professional boxing?

DURODOLA: I would like to show that I am the best Cruiserweight in the world, and then move to Heavyweight and become the Heavyweight World Champion.

CIANI: It was an absolute pleasure getting the chance to speak with you here today, and I wish you all the best success in the future, both inside and outside the ring.

DURODOLA: Thank you very much.

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This article was also published at East Side Boxing

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Exclusive Interview by Geoffrey Ciani – This Friday night on SHOBOX: The New Generation, a clash between junior welterweight contenders Cleotis Pendarvis (17-3, 6 KOs) and Dierry Jean (24-0, 16 KOs) will take place in order to determine the new IBF mandatory challenger. Last night I was afforded the opportunity to speak with Pendarvis, and the 26 year old Los Angeles southpaw shared his views on his upcoming opportunity. He also discussed a number of other topics, which included his boxing philosophy, working with Sugar Shane Mosley as his chief sparring partner for Friday’s match, future aspirations, Floyd Mayweather’s dominant victory over Robert Guerrero, the showdown between Lucas Matthysse and Lamont Peterson, and more. Here is a complete transcript from that interview:

GEOFFREY CIANI: Hello boxing fans. This is Geoff Ciani from East Side Boxing, and I am here today with junior welterweight contender Cleotis Pendarvis. How’s everything going today, Cleotis?

CLEOTIS PENDARVIS: Oh, it’s going on man. It’s going fine. It’s going well. You know I’m just toning it down. Camp went well. I’m basically ready.

CIANI: Great! Now your big fight coming up this weekend against Dierry Jean is an IBF eliminator bout that will be televised on Showtime. You said camp went well and that you’re basically ready. Can you tell us a little bit more about your training and preparations?

PENDARVIS: You know just in and out on a daily basis putting the miles in, the sparring in. One of the chief sparring partners was Shane Mosley and I brought in some young talent, which is around the same age as myself, very strong and powerful guys just to prepare me for the best Dierry Jean come May 10. I put in the work and did everything that I felt like I needed to do, and now camp is toning down. I’m ready to fly out and go out there and put on a performance for the world.

CIANI: How does it feel for you to get this opportunity to showcase your talents to a televised audience, and also to be fighting in a title eliminator?

PENDARVIS: It feels great. You know it feels great just to have this opportunity. I’m very thankful for it, and to be in this position. You couldn’t have asked to be in a better position in your life coming from where I’m coming from. You know being from the east side of Los Angeles is a struggle, and being from the gutter and everything, it’s a blessing. So I feel like it’s time to step up to the plate and do what I have to do and prove myself out there to the world, and the boxing critics, and everybody that studies the game, follows the game, the fans, and so on. It’s just my time. I’ve been in the ring with the best in the world helping to prepare for fights in the past, and things of that nature. I’ve been with a new team, a new squad, Pitt Bull Promotions and manager Warren Wilkerson, and we have all been putting in the work to get to this point and now it’s time to take it to the next level. I understand that Dierry Jean is undefeated or whatnot, but he hasn’t danced with the devil yet. He hasn’t been in there with a real one, and when I say a “real one”, I mean a real fighter that can take a punch, and give his licks back, is just as sharp, can see punches before they come, can dish it out, and is an all around entertainer in the ring. So it’s time to go do what I do.

CIANI: Now you mentioned before that Shane Mosley was one of the guys who helped you in your training and preparations. Was there anything specific that a future Hall of Famer and veteran like Mosley was able to teach you, or anything you were able to learn from those experiences to help better prepare you?

PENDARVIS: Well, I mean of course! The craftiness of a Hall of Famer, they always teach you to keep your eyes sharp and be ready, and be ready for anything. You know a lot of people count Shane out because he took a couple of L’s and lost to Canelo and things of that nature and stuff, but he still has it. He still has the speed, he still has the pop, and I’m not just saying that because he was my chief sparring partner. I’m saying it because I respect his game. He’s a multi-division world champion, he beat a lot of greats, and he lost to a lot of greats, but at the end of the day he’s still one of my favorite fighters of all time, just for his work ethic and the things that he does. You know I was in camp with Shane before helping him prepare for Zab Judah. Of course that fight never happened, but I was in camp and I learned a lot from him in that camp. And you know, for me to have my own camp and him to come help me and be my chief sparring partner, I take my hat off to him and I just want to say thanks.

CIANI: Now your opponent coming up, Dierry Jean, what do you think of him? What is your opinion on him as a fighter, and what do you think he brings to the table that could be challenging for you?

PENDARVIS: I don’t think he brings anything to the table that’s challenging to me. You know like I said, I’ve been in the ring with the best in the world. I have fought undefeated prospects before and beat them—knocked them out, actually. He’s another man, and he’s in the way of myself feeding my kids, even on my team eating, and I’m not having that. They disrespected me because I’m 17-3 with 6 KOs, and things. My first half of my career was at welterweight and junior middleweight. You know I was coming down because I was a football star at 200 pounds. So I fought a lot of heavier guys, and I beat a lot of heavier guys. Now I’m at my legit weight and I’ve been stopping a lot of guys. In my last fight I stopped Michael Clark, which is a veteran of the game, 43-7 with 20-something knockouts. And he beat a lot of guys in the game and also fought for world titles and stuff like that, and I had Michael Clark quit on his school.

You know Dierry Jean, I don’t feel like he poses a threat to me. They may feel he does, his promoters, and the people from Canada and stuff like that, but me—nah! You know I’ve seen the film. I’ve seen what he does. He has a good right hand, and he comes in the fight always in shape, and he tries to apply pressure and things like that. He does some slick things and things of that nature, but it ain’t nothing I have never seen in the ring before. It ain’t nothing I’m not used to. I’m from California. You know. I’ve been around the best in the world. I’ve been on the east coast, I’ve been on the west coast, the Midwest, things, and so on. So you know it’s just what it is. It’s nothing. It’s just a fight that I have to prepare for and be ready for, and I’m ready for the best Dierry Jean come May 10; and he better be ready for the best Cleotis Pendarvis, because I’m definitely willing to put it all on the line to come out with the ‘W’ man. For real!

CIANI: You mentioned your last fight against Michael Clark, which was back in December of last year. When you look back at that fight against a veteran of his caliber, how do you evaluate your performance in that one?

PENDARVIS: I give myself a B. You know I always critique myself. I didn’t start slow. I was a little bit more cautious and things like that. He’s a veteran. You know, he still has a lot of tricks of the trade, and he beat a lot of good prospects. Still, even after the fight we had, he came back and beat a prospect and won another regional title. But it was just that when he stepped in there with King Cleotis Pendarvis, it was something different. I take my hat off to him with respect, but at the same time I went right back to the gym and got right back to the drawing board, and started working on my craft, and studying my craft, watching film, and things of that nature, because I want to be the best. I want to beat the best out there, and in order to be the best and beat the best you have to train like the best. You know Floyd Mayweather’s not on top of the game because he decided to not train; he’s on top of the game because he decided to go out and do what he has to do to be the best. You know he wasn’t always like that, but he made a decision to choose up, and he chose the right thing to do.

The reason why I use Floyd Mayweather as an example, I mean I’m not going to be like Adrien Broner and try to emulate everything he does. I’m just saying I respect his business savvy and his whole work ethic about being a professional fighter, because it’s no joke being a professional fighter. You have to take care of your business inside and outside the ring, and before anything most definitely outside the ring. You have to eat right, sleep, think, and everything has to be about boxing. That’s what I learned, and that’s what I’m starting to put myself in that atmosphere of just everything is about the game, the sport of boxing. It’s an individual sport. It’s a man’s sport. You have to be ready. It’s chess, not checkers. And that’s what I’m here to do. I’m here to prove myself, and I have to. We got a lot of good fighters at 140: Lamont Peterson, Danny Garcia, and all those guys. Also we got guys that might be moved up by the time I get to the world title, but if they’re not then I got to beat them, and I got to go study and do what I have to do with the craft before I can beat them.

CIANI: Now you mentioned some of those guys at 140. In your estimation right now, when you look at the whole landscape in that division, is there one fighter in your view that is top dog in the division right now?

PENDARVIS: No. There is no such thing as the top. We’re all fighters. We just got to go out there and prove themselves. Everybody out there is beatable right now. There is nobody. There’s no Ray Leonards, or no Sweet Pea Whitakers, or things like that out there right now. Those guys all have losses and they definitely all are beatable. I see it. I see it! I watch it. I study it. That’s why it starts with Dierry Jean come May 10.

CIANI: Now curiously, two of the people you mentioned will be fighting the week after you, and that of course is Lucas Matthysse and Lamont Peterson. What are your thoughts on that fight, and do you favor one fighter over the other in that contest?

PENDARVIS: No, I don’t favor neither one of those guys. They both are fighters. I have mad respect for both of their skills. It’s a boxer-puncher type of thing. Lamont has to go out and use his jab, stay out of harm’s way, and do what he does. He has to box! He was a boxer earlier in his career, then he decided to start walking guys down, and the best he had every looked was against Kendall Holt, and it’s not easy to stop Kendall Holt. You know he’s a power-puncher himself, but he went out there and did what he had to do and he looked real good in that fight. Lucas Matthysse—I mean come on! You know. This dude’s like 32-2 with 30 knockouts. So his record speaks for itself. He’s a threat to anybody at 140, but at the same time, just because you’re a puncher doesn’t mean it makes you Superman. He can be beat! He’s 32-2, so that means there were two guys that he came up short against, and that’s Zab Judah and Devon Alexander, and they both are boxers. So that says a lot in itself. Lamont just has to go out there and be smart, and like I said before it’s chess, not checkers.

CIANI: I also have to ask you Cleotis, you mentioned Floyd Mayweather before. Last night he put on a pretty damn good performance against Robert Guerrero. What did you think of Floyd, especially there were a lot of questions about him? He’s 36, he had another year long layoff, he had spent some time in prison. What did you think of his performance?

PENDARVIS: Floyd Mayweather did great last night. It was a professional performance. A lot of people want to second-guess Floyd and say things about Floyd, because they want to see him lose. It hurts to see somebody that put the work in like that, and talks, and backs up everything he says—just like Muhammad Ali. You know a lot of people paid to see Ali lose, because it’s just that they couldn’t believe he was that great and they didn’t want to believe he was that great. But the man put in the work and did what he had to do. No matter how long of a layoff Floyd had. You know he had a long layoff when he came back and smashed Juan Manuel Marquez. And nobody smashes Marquez like that! Nobody! Nobody in the game has ever done that to Marquez, and Floyd came back and made it look like a sparring session, and then he came back and did the same thing with Robert Guerrero. And you know, I got respect for ‘The Ghost’, because The Ghost is a tough rugged guy. But at the same time, that shows you the difference between an elite fighter and a great fighter. Floyd Mayweather is a great fighter; Robert Guerrero is an elite fighter.

CIANI: Back to your upcoming bout, what do you think are your keys to victory for you to be successful this weekend?

PENDARVIS: I have to have patience adapting to whatever he does, being smart. You can’t really go out there and just pinpoint anything, because it’s a fight. You never know what could happen in a fight. I’d have been down and gotten up to have to win before. I’d have been low-blowed, I’d have been rabbit-punched, and everything in a fight for guys to beat me, but I have to stand my ground and do what I have to do to beat those kinds of things. That’s what it is. It’s about adapting to whatever the opponent has in front of you, outsmarting him, and beating him to the punch. I can’t really just put no particular way of beating this guy. Whatever he brings to the table, all I can say is I have the answer for it. I have the answer for it.

CIANI: You’re going on 27 years old now. What would you ultimately like to accomplish in professional boxing before all is said and done with your career?

PENDARVIS: I’m going to go down as one of the greatest fighters to ever put on a pair of gloves. A lot of fighters started off bad in their careers, or I can say had a shaky road: Bernard Hopkins, Manny Pacquiao, those guys turned their careers around, Margarito, and so on. You know I don’t train to lose. I don’t train to lose anymore. Like I said, I’m 17-3. It’s all hard work and determination, and that’s a true saying when it comes from the camps of all the champions: the Haglers, the Leonards, and even before their time with Ray Robinson, and Jack Johnson, and Joe Louis, and guys of that nature, and Walcott, and all of those guys put in work to be great. And that’s what I plan on doing. I want to be great in this sport! I don’t want to just be a journeyman, or have them say I was a good fighter who had a chance, and things of that nature. You know I want to go out there and prove myself to the world.

I come from the east side of Los Angeles, south central LA. It’s deadly out there! Gangs, violence, the street—you know, you’re not supposed to make it. You’re not! It’s made for you not to make it where I come from. The schooling, the teachers, and everything, it’s just all bad. So I’ve been fighting everyday for my life in and outside the ring, and I’m fighting for my kids right now—my son and my daughter. This dude Dierry Jean don’t even know what he got himself into, man. When they signed that contract, they signed that contract because they thought that this was going to be an easy contest. This is not a contest. This is a fight! This is what we do. You got to understand when you step in the ring with a man that has nothing to lose and so much to gain, you’re stepping in the ring with death almost.

CIANI: Do you have an official prediction for your upcoming fight this weekend?

PENDARVIS: My prediction is Cleotis Pendarvis with the W, introducing myself to the world, and entertaining the world come May 10. Dierry Jean—thank you man! Thank you for underestimating me. Thank Greg Cohen and all your camp for thinking that this is going to be easy money for you guys—that you are just going to come out there, and do your thing, and get that number one position. I’m glad ya’ll looking at the fight like that. Ya’ll doing me a favor!

CIANI: Cleotis, I just have one final question for you. Is there anything else you would like to say to all the boxing fans out there and all the readers of East Side Boxing?

PENDARVIS: Follow me on this journey. It’s not a sprint. It’s not a marathon. It’s a journey of my life. It’s real. I’m not going to give you guys a prima donna story or get out there and try and imitate the next man to make myself something that I’m not. I’m coming straight from Los Angeles and I’m introducing myself to ya’ll as who I am. You know I’m not trying to sound tough. I’m not trying to sound like I’m the biggest, I’m the baddest. I just want you all to know that I’m a dream catcher, just like everybody else, anybody that felt like they came from something and wanted to become somebody. I’m just like you. I’m just a human. Understand that I respect that much. I make mistakes, I’m not perfect, everybody does. But this is the boxing business, a professional sport, and the more and more that people follow me and understand that I’m trying—well, I’m beyond trying—I’m doing what I have to do, and I feel like I’ll win ya’ll over. You know you guys will pay to put your butts in those seats and see a young man as myself completely grow. I’m 26 years old. I got time in the game, and it doesn’t stop. Most definitely I want to shout out all the fans. I want to shout out everybody around the world, no matter what race, or where you’re from. It doesn’t matter. Everybody, if you believe in yourself, continue on! Go forward and don’t look back, man. It doesn’t matter. Life is not easy at all, because if it was easy from day one, Adam and Eve, you know they showed what it really was, and that’s just that. I’m going to shout out my team again: Pitt Bull Promotions, my manager Warren Wilkerson, my PR, my publicist, Rachel Charles, and my coaching staff, East Side Boxing, and everybody around the world, and last but not least, my kids! Daddy loves ya’ll, and this definitely is for ya’ll.

CIANI: Cleotis, it was an absolute pleasure getting the opportunity to speak here with you today. I wish you the best of luck in your contest this weekend, and the best of luck in your career going forward. I look forward to it.

PENDARVIS: Thanks a lot, boss. And I definitely appreciate you, Geoff. Have a good day, man. And you know, if there’s anything, give it to God, boss. That’s all I got to say.

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This article was also published at East Side Boxing

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by Geoffrey Ciani – The highly anticipated junior middleweight unification showdown between WBC champion Saul Alvarez and WBA titlist Austin ‘No Doubt’ Trout started on a dramatic note before the action even got underway. The atmosphere at the Alamodome was simply electrifying. The high energy and intensity that exuded during the build-up to the opening bell was so powerful that it could even be felt by the television viewing audience, and it was contagious. Although this was not a hugely publicized contest that created massive appeal among casual fans, the entire event still possessed a magical mainstream vibe that almost helped make it seem far larger in its actual scope. The stage seemed set for something special.

The fight itself was a pretty good one, too. It was a classic competitive clash of contrasting styles, making close rounds very difficult to score. Trout was looking to work behind an active jab and keep Canelo at the end of it to maintain optimal range. Alvarez sought to avoid incoming fire and quietly sneak his way in to a more favorable distance where his explosive punching power could be better utilized. Both boxers had success at various points, with the nature of their styles dictating that Trout would control the action for longer stretches, but Alvarez’s superior pop made his moments more memorable. It was a close fight that became a chess match of sorts, with tactical maneuvering, several momentum shifts, adjustments and counter adjustments, a knockdown (scored by Alvarez in the seventh), and a fine overall display of skills and natural talent.

Going into the twelfth and final round, having the fight scored even at 104 apiece was certainly in the realm of reason. It was a competitive encounter with enough close rounds that the outcome was up in the air—or at least it should have been! Now that is not to say that those observers who had one fighter or another up a couple of points were off the mark, but it was obviously still a close contest. Typically speaking, all of the pieces were in place so that this should have made for an action-packed final stanza that saw each man digging deep and giving his all to help secure victory with the verdict still in question. Only instead, for this particular fight, the final outcome was never truly in question. As a result of another open scoring experiment, it was already known that Canelo had huge leads on the official cards after eight rounds and that Trout would pretty much need a knockout to win. As such, Alvarez had no reason to take unnecessary risks in the twelfth and was able to safely coast, potentially depriving viewers of a punctuating powerhouse finish.

Open scoring experiments usually leave fans with mixed feelings. On one hand, Trout knew that he needed a knockout to win. To his credit, Trout was trying to make something happen and taking more chances throughout the final third of the fight. On the flipside, going into the final round Canelo knew all he had to do was be on his feet at the final bell and victory was his. Dutifully and wisely, Alvarez did not engage with a sense of necessity he may have otherwise felt had he not known the official tallies after eight. Now if Trout had actually gone on to score the knockout then we would be singing an entirely different tune right now and showering this experiment with volumes of high praise. That would have brilliantly illustrated that open scoring does create a sense of urgency for the fighter needing it and that it can affect the outcome by shaping incentive for the losing boxer to take necessary risks. But in this particular instance, however, it instead forced Canelo into a situation where the smart move was to lay back and refrain from taking any chances at all. In that light, both the fans and combatants themselves were perhaps cheated out of a dazzling grand finale that would have capped off a bout that had begun with so much fire and electricity. Instead the ending we got was rather lackluster and anticlimactic, especially considering the high energy and tension immediately preceding the actual action during the opening ceremonials.

Then again perhaps it is misdirected to place blame on the experiment, because one might also convincingly argue that if two of the three judges’ cards were better reflections of the actual action that took place inside the ring, that the open scoring experiment could have inspired both fighters and enhanced their performances likewise. And then of course, there are also no guarantees that the twelfth round would have been anything special, even without open scoring and regardless of whom the judges were. Even still, it is definitely interesting to ponder how things may have turned out and perhaps unfolded differently had the open scoring experiment been attached to some different fight that evening.

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This article was also published at East Side Boxing

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by Geoffrey Ciani – Slowly but surely, China is beginning to have an impact on the global scene of professional boxing. Two recent examples over the last five months help clearly illustrate this point. The first happened November 24 of last year when Xiong Zhao Zhong made history as he defeated Javier Martinez Resendiz by unanimous decision to claim the vacant WBC Minimumweight Championship, giving him the unique distinction of becoming the first Chinese boxer to ever win a major world title. The other occurred just over a week ago when two-time Olympic Gold Medal winner Zou Shiming reportedly earned an astounding $300,000 for his professional debut, a victorious four round contest that was broadcast virtually everywhere in China. The fact that these two success stories unfolded at a time when boxing was already experiencing growing popularity in China is surely no coincidence. Quite the contrary, when considering the noticeable momentum Chinese boxing has gathered since competing in its first Olympic Games in 1992, it is reasonable to believe that this trend will continue and we will inevitably see more and more Chinese talent (and champions) surface in the foreseeable future.

This past Friday another Chinese boxer made headway in a groundbreaking performance when lightweight Ik Yang (12-0, 8 KOs) defeated Mexican pugilist Ivan Zavala by second round knockout. What made this victory noteworthy according to Yang’s trainer and co-manager, Chauncy Welliver, was that “he just became the first Chinese fighter to win on US soil in almost 85 years—as far as I know he is the first Chinaman to do this since Harry Soo won his last fight in 1928, and I looked pretty deep into this”.

Despite sneaking under the radar largely unnoticed and without much fanfare or publicity, especially in the aftermath of Shiming’s high profile event, this is still a significant feat that could act as a foreshadowing of things to come both for Yang and for Chinese boxing on the American stage. Yang began boxing professionally in 2007 and compiled an undefeated record through his first eleven contests where he competed exclusively in China and South Korea. The decision to come to America must have been a difficult one for Yang, who just recently celebrated his 28th birthday in Spokane, Washington. Making the journey to a new country alone without the company of friends or family can be a demanding hardship, especially when integrating oneself into a new culture without having mastered thorough command of the native language. Undeterred by these challenges, however, Yang is adamant about becoming a pioneer who leads this modern Chinese invasion of American squared circles. As Yang explained, “I want more Chinese to pay attention to boxing and like boxing because of me”.

The unlikely pairing of Yang and Welliver was the result of the latter having competed several times over in China, where the Chinese fans were quick to dub the American fighter with a new battle moniker—The Boxing Panda. The two boxers had established an instant camaraderie. As Chauncy later recalled, “I met him over there in China and we hit off. We had been talking about him coming over here for awhile. Finally I said you know what? He told me he was looking for a manager. Screw it! I’m bringing him over here”.

The newly teamed duo was successful in their first outing together where Yang started off patiently, used a measured approach, and awaited opportunities where he could let his hands go and put together some effective punches. Ultimately he would become more aggressive and ferocious, and with this electrified charge in intensity, his dejected foe was quickly overcome with great reluctance after being on the receiving end of Yang’s cruel assault. A pleased Welliver noted that “he went out there and he shined—he did something spectacular”.

Following the stoppage victory, Yang haughtily draped himself beneath the cozy comforts of a large cape-sized Chinese flag and later explained, “I am so proud of being Chinese, that is why I choose to hold the Chinese flag over my head”.

Yang is still very much a work in progress who requires some polish and refining, but Welliver and co-manager Roland Jankelson have high hopes for him. Looking to instill some American flavor into his existing style, they confidently have their sights set on keeping him working in the gym and busy in the ring. “We want to keep him active and obviously break him in and get him experience”, said Welliver. “Six fights in the next twelve months would be our minimum goal, and that’s going slow”.

When asked what he thought of Yang’s prospects going forward, especially in light of recent headlines involving fellow Chinamen Shiming and Zhong, an elated Welliver eagerly exclaimed, “I think this kid will surpass both of those fighters! This kid really has the ability to be not only a champion, but a truly great fighter. Obviously those are some big expectations to live up to, but he’s got the potential to do it”.

Whether or not Yang will ultimately win a championship or gain widespread popularity and acceptance like his fellow countrymen remains to be seen. But Yang is actively pursuing his dreams and boldly going where no Chinese boxer has gone since the days when Babe Ruth was still donning a New York Yankees uniform and Franklin D Roosevelt was but yet just a Governor. Yang is not dreaming small. He is definitely shooting for the stars and he has already taken what was potentially a huge step coming to the US, both for his career and the future careers of other boxers hailing from China.

Speaking on the subject of what he would like to accomplish in boxing, the ambitious Yang made a simple but clever reference to NBA point guard Jeremy Lin: “Like Lin-sanity—I want Yang-sanity!”

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This article was also published at East Side Boxing

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by Geoffrey Ciani – By the mid rounds of the super bantamweight unification showdown between Guillermo Rigondeaux and Nonito Donaire, it became abundantly clear that the Cuban fighter was in command of the action. Rigondeaux was successfully controlling the range, and not just through use of his feet. He also mixed in a varied assortment of head, shoulder, and upper body movement, all of which acted to befuddle and neutralize the uncharacteristically gun-shy Donaire. It was vintage Rigondeaux. He was slipping and sliding, moving and grooving, ducking and dodging, mesmerizing with a hypnotic pawing jab, maneuvering his foe into unfavorable positions, and when opportunity permitted, zapping the Filipino boxer with stinging sharp flush lefts. This dazzling display of finesse and skills left Donaire extremely reluctant to engage, and whenever he did let his hands go Rigondeaux was usually making him miss, sometimes wildly. Guillermo thoroughly succeeded in making an explosive specimen like Nonito look ordinary.

The real test for Rigondeaux came following one of the few flaws in his performance, when he got a little too close in round ten and Donaire clipped him with a well timed thunderous left hook that sent the Cuban crashing down. With question marks often lingering about Rigondeaux’s chin, he was suddenly afforded the chance to prove his mettle and overcome adversity. It was a sink or swim scenario that arose out of nowhere. At first it was difficult to gauge exactly how badly hurt Rigondeaux was, but Donaire dutifully tried to capitalize on the situation and moved in for the kill. Despite his best efforts, however, Nonito never did land the finishing blow. In fact at one point he actually missed a combination of furious shots, all of which were evaded by the elusive Guillermo. After the knockdown, the action more or less reverted to prior form, with Donaire unable or unwilling to make something happen. This was arguably the only round which clearly favored the Filipino, and even then it contained a victory of sorts for Rigondeaux because he quickly regained his composure and showed strong recuperative powers.

Donaire was just never able to establish any type of real rhythm. In the simplest of terms, Rigondeaux made Donaire fight his fight. While Donaire did land some powerful shots here and there, these were usually right hands that followed jab attempts. But Donaire was never really committed to using his jab, and whenever he did land a thudding shot, Ridondeaux almost always responded with a few zingers of his own. The fact that Rigondeaux was able to earn the Filipino’s respect helped set the pace to his liking while simultaneously serving to reduce his opponent’s output. Donaire was inexplicably far too reliant on trying to end things with one mighty blow and this played right into Rigondeaux’s strengths. In the post-fight interview Donaire noted a neglected surgery and ill preparation as reasons to explain his subpar performance, but at the end of the day Rigondeaux proved himself a cut above and exhibited an extraordinary blend of athleticism, smarts, and ability.

Ultimately this did not turn out to be the super fight that many had hoped for. Indeed, the crowd was often booing the overall flow and lack of engagement. Casual fans do not tend to gravitate towards such encounters with high praise. Regardless, Rigondeaux has still proven himself an elite commodity in the sweet science. He has undoubtedly silenced many critics and shown the boxing world that his name deserves to be mentioned alongside the select few who find themselves in the upper echelons of universally recognized pound-for-pound talent. The former two-time Olympic Gold Medal winner and seven-time National Cuban Champion has now officially made his first big splash under the spotlight in the professional ranks, and while he may not have the most exciting style to watch, he does possess a great deal of skill that manifests itself in the art of hitting without being hit. His best days may well still be ahead, and it will certainly be interesting to see what he does next.

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This article was also published at East Side Boxing

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Exclusive Interview by Geoffrey Ciani – Last night I was afforded the opportunity to speak with world class boxing trainer ‘Iceman’ John Scully about the current boxing landscape. Scully shared his views on Bernard Hopkins’ history making performance last weekend when he broke his own record to once again become the oldest boxer to win a major world title, this time at age 48, with his sensational victory against previously undefeated Tavoris Cloud. Iceman also provided unique insight into some highly anticipated upcoming prizefights, including Floyd Mayweather vs. Robert Guerrero (May 4), the rematch between Carl ‘The Cobra’ Froch and Mikkel Kessler (May 25), and the super bantamweight showdown between Nonito Donaire and Guillermo Rigondeaux (April 13). Additionally he imparted opinions pertaining to the careers of other boxing stars such as Wladimir Klitschko, Manny Pacquiao, Timothy Bradley, and more. Here is what Iceman had to say:

GEOFFREY CIANI: Iceman, this past weekend Bernard Hopkins at age 48 once again made boxing history breaking his own record in becoming the oldest fighter to win a major world title. What did you think of his performance?

JOHN SCULLY: I mean it literally spoke for itself. I mean it was spectacular. I actually just did a piece for a boxing news in England; I just submitted it yesterday. What I was saying was that the obvious things are very impressive. It’s impressive that he beats these younger guys, and he’s still fast, and he’s still so smart, and he’s in great shape, and that’s all well and good. But for me, I mean the amazing thing is, just as a man and as a boxer, when you compare him to the greats, the all-time, you know the Sugar Ray Leonard, the Marvin Hagler, all of these guys. I’ll give you an example, and to me it is a very interesting fact. Bernard has been at the championship level, his first championship fight was in 1993 against Roy Jones. So you’re talking twenty years, right? Twenty years, and that’s just at the championship level. Marvin Hagler’s entire career lasted fourteen years, ’83 to ’87. So he’s been at the championship level seven years longer than Marvin Hagler’s entire career total. Now when you look at it in those terms, I mean that will tell you what we’re looking at.

You look at guys like Sugar Ray Leonard when Sugar Ray was I guess 35 when he fought Terry Norris, and it was very obvious he was ancient. Muhammad Ali was 38, and to this day I have heard the term “ancient” used to describe him when he fought Larry Holmes. He literally looked like he was a 90 year old man. He couldn’t hold his hands up, he couldn’t walk straight, and then when he fought Berbick at 39 it was just terrible, like he had no physical skills or strength left. You take Duran, when Duran beat Iran Barkley, which I believe that was sixteen years after he beat Buchanan for the lightweight title, and at age, I believe he was 35 or 36. It was incredible! It was like how can this old guy beat this young, strong, power punching Iran Barkley? That’s all historic. Now Bernard comes along much older than any of these guys were, and he’s beating guys much more convincingly than they did. I mean Barkley and Duran had a great fight, you know a close fight razor tight; where Bernard comes along at 48 and he’s just schooling these guys. It’s just unheard of. It’s never been done before.

CIANI: Building on what you said there, the twenty year stretch at the championship level—when you look at Hopkins’ career, he actually crossed more than one generation where on one hand you can look at guys like Roy Jones, Oscar De La Hoya, Felix Trinidad, Shane Mosley. Those guys were from one generation he fought in, but now he’s still fighting at the championship level in this newer generation where Mayweather and Pacquiao have been the elite fighters. When you compare him to both generations worth of great fighters, where do you think Hopkins figures into all of this historically?

SCULLY: He’s crossed all the lines! He’s right there. I mean another point that I put in my article, I believe it’s eight. He’s been twelve rounds eight times since forty, since he turned 40. Most fighters, championship fighters, don’t go twelve rounds eight times beginning when they are twenty. This guy has been twelve rounds eight times just since he has turned 40! When he was originally going to retire, if you remember, he was supposed to retire; he promised his mother he was going to retire. So he’s a guy, you know it’s like when he goes to the Hall of Fame, if they were to put a guy in by his era, he would have to be in probably three different eras. He just beat Tavoris Cloud. When Tavoris Cloud was beginning boxing, just starting his first day in the gym as a kid, Bernard was already a world champion. It’s just kind of insane. It’s never been done, and it’s probably going to eventually be done, it’s going to be a regular thing 30, 40, 50 years from now, and people will point to Bernard as being the first guy. Maybe Duran, and Archie Moore and those guys were the first glimpse of it, and now Bernard has taken it to a whole different level.

CIANI: Now that Hopkins beat Cloud, there is not a whole lot out there it seems for one of the guys who was commentating for HBO, Andre Ward. He’s considered one of the top pound-for-pound talents in boxing today. With him already having effectively cleaned out 168 and him having beaten Chad, considered the best at 175—do you think that Andre Ward going forward, is he going to have anybody on the radar that’s worth him fighting in order to maintain his status being an elite fighter?

SCULLY: I mean on the one hand it doesn’t look like it, but on the other hand there’s always somebody new. There’s always going to be a new guy. Somebody’s going to come out of an Olympic class; somebody’s just going to pop up somewhere. So yeah, I mean there’s going to be somebody interesting, and there’s guys out there like Cleverly and those different guys who, if they do something special over the next six, eight, ten months, then they’ll take their spot. They’re going to have to weed it out themselves and come up with somebody as a challenger, but there’s always going to be somebody.

And on that note I’ll say this: I was kind of surprised. I’m trying to figure out what’s going on with Hopkins being adamant about, you know almost bowing to Ward, like kind of admitting that, “I don’t want to fight Ward”. A part of me just thinks that maybe it’s a ploy. Maybe there’s an outside chance this is just a ploy to draw interest, because I think Hopkins knows that if in a year from now, if he was ever to put it together and fight Andre Ward in the last hurrah, and if he was ever to win—you know there are some very smart people that might call this guy the best fighter in history based on that. You know I don’t necessarily agree with that, but I’m saying he’d make a case for something special there if he was ever to beat Andre Ward. So deep down I’m wondering if Bernard, if this is just a ploy, just him trying to manipulate the boxing game, using reverse psychology in drawing interest in that fight between the two of them.

CIANI: It’s funny you mention that, because a lot of fans are talking about that. As somebody who had a close look at both of those fighters within the last year, when you look at Hopkins and you look at Ward, in terms of what they’re capable of doing at this point, what were you able to see from your vantage point?

SCULLY: I mean I think Ward is going to be able to sustain the action for much longer periods of time. I felt like when we fought Hopkins, from watching him on tape, and I watched a lot of tape of him. I watched more tape of him than I watched of anyone that any of my guys ever fought, and I picked up a few things that I thought Chad could do good at, and they actually came to fruition in the second half of the fight. And that would go along with Andre’s overall program. So at this point I mean I can see why Hopkins could say that he wouldn’t be interested in the fight, but just as a fighter myself, I just find it hard to believe that Hopkins really in his heart believes that. I won’t be surprised if he wants that fight and is just trying to manipulate it.

CIANI: You know one of the guys, two of the guys actually that Andre Ward beat—Mikkel Kessler and Carl Froch. They had their first fight together in the Super Six tournament, and it was widely viewed as the most entertaining bout of the entire tournament. On May 25 those guys are squaring off again. Kessler won a close decision the first time out. What do you think about this rematch, John?

SCULLY: It’s a great fight, one reason being because both guys know that the winner is right back in there with Ward, most likely. I mean that would seem to be the most obvious thing, so they’re fighting for the chance at redemption with the elite guy. So that’s going to make for heavy, heavy action. At this point I mean I think Froch is really on a roll. I mean he did as well as anyone, probably better than anyone has done against Ward, and I think in a crazy way he actually uses that in his favor. He’s using that as motivation, as sort of a confidence builder, like the fact that he was able to do so well against such a great fighter probably bodes well for his chances in this fight. I would favor him.

CIANI: Now when talking about all these guys at 168-175, where do you personally feel Chad fits into this coming off of the most difficult fight of his career?

SCULLY: Well I mean it’s very clear to me that despite them trying to say that the weight wasn’t issue, it was clearly an issue because he’s never going to fight at 168 again. So that’s out. So he’ll have to deal with 175. For me, I mean it’s just going to come down to one simple thing, and that’s going to be how did the loss affect him? Like you take Donald Curry when he lost in the manner that he did to Lloyd Honeyghan with the weight loss being a factor and the beating that he took, he never fully, fully recovered. He never because the Donald Curry again, even though he was successful after that. He never maintained what he was. So basically I mean it’s going to depend on Chad’s physiological and mental make-up to see if he can recover. I mean better guys than him have not recovered from this type of circumstance.

CIANI: Changing things up here, May 4 Floyd Mayweather Junior returns to the ring and he will be facing Robert ‘The Ghost’ Guerrero. Like all Floyd fights, he’s got the fans talking. What are your early thoughts on this one?

SCULLY: You know we live in a crazy era. It used to be where if a featherweight champion moved up and fought the pound-for-pound guy at welterweight, I mean back in the 80s that would have been like Eusebio Pedroza or Barry McGuigan moving up to fight Sugar Ray Leonard, and you just know Sugar Ray would annihilate those guys! There would be no question about it. But now with the way that people move up in weight so frequently, you know the old adage of ‘a good big man always beats a good little man’, that’s been blown away. That’s not true anymore. So at first glance I would say Guerrero is just not big enough, and this is a stupid fight, it’s like pointless in watching. But seeing past history with other guys recently and seeing his history, you know his fight with Berto, he’s as viable as anybody at 147. He’s right there. Whatever he did to make that weight, he made the jump. I mean he made the jump better than guys like Alexis Arguello. As great as they were they couldn’t even do it, and here this guy comes along and other guys too in recent times. I don’t know if it’s evolution or whatever it is, but I think it’s a good fight. I don’t pick anybody in the world to beat Mayweather. If Mayweather’s at his best I don’t see anybody beating him, but Guerrero will be right there with him just as anybody else at that weight would be.

CIANI: Now for Floyd it looks as if he will be reuniting with his father after having been trained in his professional career a long time by his uncle. Do you think this is something that could potentially either have a positive or an adverse effect on his performance with that switch?

SCULLY: I mean I don’t think it’s going to matter. To be honest with you, at this stage of the game I think Floyd is so advanced and so smart, he does what he does. I think you can put any one of ten top trainers in his corner for this fight, and whatever is going to happen is going to happen the same way. I don’t think his father at this stage, I mean Floyd’s 35; at this point I don’t think his father is going to have much influence. He’s not going to teach him something he doesn’t already know. I would say maybe he’ll have him doing things that he hasn’t been doing, but there isn’t much he hasn’t been doing in his fights. I mean he’s the total package, so for me I think the father’s there basically as a marketing tool to kind of draw a different angle to the fight and that will be interesting for people, but as far as the actual fight I don’t think it’s going to make any difference whether he is there or not.

CIANI: You know it’s still difficult to mention Floyd’s name without mentioning Pacquiao’s, despite the fact it looks as if we may never get that matchup. With the way Pacquiao’s last fight went down with Marquez, where do you think Pacquiao and Juan Manuel both go from here? Do you think a fifth fight is a logical direction for both of them, or would you prefer to see them ultimately go off in different directions?

SCULLY: You know I don’t think there is much else for them to do other than fight each other, to be honest with you. I think they should. And people can say, ‘Oh I don’t want to see them fight’—they’re going to watch! If those two fight again, just from sheer curiosity people are going to watch. They’re going to want to see it, and for me I think it’s the end of Pacquiao personally. At his age and having been stopped, as I said a few months ago—people say should he get rid of Freddie Roach? Is he the problem? Is this the problem? Is that the problem? And I think the problem is he’s been a pro for I think 17 years, he’s had 60-something fights, he’s been a champion, he’s a multi, multi-millionaire—I mean that’s the problem. This is not a 22 year old guy who’s still learning the game. I mean this guy is well past his best days, and it is what it is. Age catches up with people; time catches up with people. I don’t think it’s Freddie. They can get rid of Freddie and whatever is going to happen is still going to happen. I mean I don’t blame Freddie at all for what happened, especially when you get caught with a shot. I’m sure Freddie didn’t tell him to leave his head there and run into the right hand.

CIANI: This Saturday a guy who officially holds a victory over Pacquiao, a disputed one, in Timothy Bradley—he’s coming back to the ring for the first time since that fight to take on Ruslan Provodnikov. Do you see any surprises in this one?

SCULLY: To be honest I’ve never seen his opponent fight, the Russian. I’ve never seen him fight. I think the fact of the matter is with Bradley, and it sucks for him, but he has a lot to prove because the fact is, and it’s no secret—a lot of people thought he lost that fight with Pacquiao. He has not gotten the credit he deserves, so even though he’s fighting a guy that’s very unknown, he needs to go out there and really, really make a statement and put on a really exciting show to follow up his disputed victory over Pacquiao. He cannot have a subpar performance. So there’s a lot of pressure on him to look good against this guy, because if he looks good against a guy that most people have never heard of, that’s not going to help his situation at all.

CIANI: Now there’s another fight coming up in April, John, I just wanted to get your views on quickly, and that is one that I’m personally looking forward to—Nonito Donaire is taking on Cuban fighter Guillermo Rigondeaux. This is viewed by fans as the toughest test for either fighter to date in their professional careers. How do you see this one playing out?

SCULLY: Well I’ll tell you one thing: I’ll be there! I’m definitely planning on making the trip over to New York City for that fight. That will tell you, because I don’t travel as much as I used to for fights like that, but that one really draws my interest. I think it’s going to be very exciting. It’s a super fight that people don’t know is a super fight. To me it’s going to be better and more electric than even Pacquiao and Mayweather was going to be, as far as the actual in the ring action. I think it’s a great fight! For people who like boxing or they’re not sure about boxing, if you have friends that aren’t sure if they like boxing have them watch Donaire-Rigondeaux. I think the excitement of it and the showmanship and then the actual fight I think is going to be special. The electricity in the air is going to be special. And I hate to pick a winner. I think it’s a pick’em fight in many ways, but if I had to pick I’d probably go with Donaire. I think Donaire is a little more textbook, a little sharper with his punchers, and a little bit more accurate, and I would go with him. But I think a victory by either guy wouldn’t shock me at all.

CIANI: Now John, there’s one more topic here I’d like to cover with you quickly. Coming up in May, Wladimir Klitschko has a new opponent set. It’s actually the same day Floyd’s fighting. He’ll be taking on an undefeated heavyweight named Pianeta. When you look at the Klitschko brothers right now, Wladimir in particular, do you see anybody out there that you think can give him trouble in the foreseeable future?

SCULLY: Not at all. I mean as long as he and his brother, as long as they both stay as focused and go through that preparation as they do, and come prepared 100%, there are just no known limits, age-wise, condition-wise. You know I was in the gym with Wladimir a couple of years ago, and I was really amazed by his body. There’s not an ounce of fat on the guy, and he’s just ripped—just totally ripped. I’ve never seen a heavyweight like that, and he obviously puts the time in the gym, and between fights he stays sharp, and with his size, and his jab, and his power—there’s nobody out there right now that I can see beating him.

CIANI: When you think of it in a greater context and you look at Muhammad Ali, Joe Louis, Larry Holmes, Marciano, and other great heavyweights in history, where do you think Wladimir belongs in the discussion and does he belong in the discussion at this point?

SCULLY: Oh without a doubt! And people don’t want to give credit, and it’s been like this for all of history. I’m sure in the 70s people and fans said that Joe Frazier and Jimmy Young and those guys couldn’t have lasted in the 60s and the 50s, and in the 80s they said it about the 70s, and in the 90s they said it about the 80s. You know the guy, I mean Wladimir Klitschko is a giant, his knockout percentage is off the charts. Not only is his winning percentage amazing for a guy with that many fights, for a heavyweight with that many fights, but his rounds of winning percentage is unbelievable. I mean he probably won 90-95% of the rounds he’s been in. With his size, of course he’s right up there. And I mean I love Ali, Ali’s my guy 100%, but of course this guy is right there with him and with any of them.

I mean I think people don’t realize what we’re looking at. I mean if you put Joe Louis, and Rocky Marciano, and Joe Frazier, and stood them next to Wladimir Klitschko you would be amazed by how small these guys were. It would be mind-boggling for a lot of people. They would say these guys aren’t heavyweights; these guys are middleweights. They’re not the same size. I mean I was in camp with Klitschko, I had Matt Godfrey a cruiserweight, and Matt at the time weighed about 215 or 220. He was sparring with Klitschko, and every day they sparred I just said to myself this is amazing. Matt looks like a child next to him. Not that Matt didn’t do well, but he just looked like a child next to Klitschko. The size difference was astronomical, and Matt at that time was taller and heavier than Joe Louis and Marciano.

CIANI: Well John, I want to thank you very much for your time. Before I let you go, is there anything else you would like to say to all the boxing fans out there and all the readers of East Side Boxing?

SCULLY: I just want to say again, as always, I appreciate you giving me the opportunity to do this interview. I’m honored to do it, and I look forward to doing another one in the future.

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This article was also published at East Side Boxing

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by Geoffrey Ciani – During the eighth round of the IBF light heavyweight title bout between reigning champion Tavoris Cloud and 48 year old challenger Bernard Hopkins, HBO commentator and boxing pound-for-pound superstar Andre Ward duly noted, “It’s not quantity for Hopkins, it’s quality—he makes every punch count”. That more or less sums up the nature of this fight. Another day at the office for Bernard Hopkins translated into another page in the history books, as he once again became the oldest boxer to ever win a major world championship—and he did so in style. It was yet another masterful performance from the Future Hall of Famer who at times made it look easy in dethroning the undefeated 31 year old Cloud via unanimous decision.

The action began slowly, but right from the start Bernard controlled the pace and the range. Hopkins was simply brilliant at maintaining optimal distance, constantly shifting and maneuvering Cloud to his liking. As a result Cloud’s activity was totally hindered. Throughout the entire encounter Cloud would have difficulty closing the gap, and he was also frequently off balance and out of position. This forced him to eat more shots and punch less, and when Cloud did throw he was usually either overextending or quickly smothered. Hopkins effectively used his feet to create angles and dictate Cloud’s movements, which enabled him to sneak in leather of his own with varying frequencies of power and volume against his befuddled foe. This all spelled disaster for Cloud, who was ultimately broken down both physically and mentally as matters progressed into the later stages.

To be sure, Cloud had some moments along the way and landed some thunderous blows. For the most part, however, Hopkins’ sturdy chin withstood their impact without noticeable effect, barring a few times where he smirked at Tavoris as if to acknowledge, ‘you got me with that one’. In addition to landing some bombs upstairs, Cloud also at times had success to the body against Hopkins, but he inexplicably never sustained focus on the older challenger’s midsection. More often than not Hopkins was able to deflect, evade, and otherwise stifle incoming fire. With his ability to skillfully command the action, Hopkins contained Cloud while remaining inside his comfort zone without being pushed too hard or too fast. Hopkins kept things on his terms.

This victory, like so many before it, was largely the result of hard work, dedication, and extremely good pre-fight preparation. It is something Bernard Hopkins and his team of surrounding boxing minds led by Naazim Richardson have made into an art form. They draw up a game plan that affords Hopkins the best chance to utilize his biggest strength—his boxing IQ. This is what enables Hopkins to continue to defy Father Time for so long. He is 48 years old—forty-eight! He had his first professional boxing match when Ronald Reagan was still President of the United States. Physical skills and athleticism deteriorate with age, and mental strength and determination can oftentimes get older fighters into trouble. With Hopkins, he of course still has talent and the physical tools and abilities required to compete and succeed at the top level, but it is his knowledge and understanding of both boxing and his own limitations that are the real driving force behind his prolonged success. From selecting relevant opponents he matches up favorably with to developing and fine-tuning fight strategies and back-up plans, Bernard Hopkins’ boxing IQ extends itself to important matters that happen outside the squared circle, long before a fight takes place. Combined with his abilities to execute, adapt, trap, disguise, improvise, and when all else fails, to find a way—Hopkins is one of the most unique and amazing specimens the sweet science has ever seen, and that was all on full display with his impeccable execution tonight.

This history making upset might not be the most memorable performance in Bernard’s long and illustrious career, one which is largely defined by his celebrated success as an underdog, but considering his age and the dominant nature of the win, it is still remarkable and certainly deserves to be added to the list that includes Felix Trinidad, Antonio Tarver, Kelly Pavlik, and Jean Pascal. With Hopkin’ tremendous record breaking display of dominance, it is not unreasonable to believe that he actually could still be competing and winning at the championship level beyond 50, especially when one considers Hopkins’ intelligent calculations and behind the scenes legwork that enable him to enhance his still growing legacy.

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This article was also published at East Side Boxing

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by Geoffrey Ciani – In the sport of boxing it is not uncommon to see a truly great boxer hang around for too long. This largely stems from the fact that it takes a very special athlete with an unrelenting mindset to excel and become a dominant world champion. Among other things, it takes courage, confidence, determination, and the ability to maintain one’s composure and overcome adversity in the heat of battle. It also requires a great deal of consistency, dedication, and sheer willpower. These are key ingredients in the mental makeup of any elite fighter. Unfortunately, these very same traits that enable standout boxers to regularly succeed at the highest level are also the exact same that can get them into trouble later in their careers when their physical tools have eroded. Remarkable champions throughout boxing history have often suffered this fate, and Roy Jones Junior represents a good recent example.

Bernard Hopkins just turned 48 in January. That is considered old in any professional sport, and by boxing standards it is absolutely ancient. Nevertheless, even at age 48, Bernard Hopkins still remains a formidable force. He is not some old gatekeeper just looking to cash out on his name. He is actually still competing at a championship level and always making strong accounts of himself. Sure, he has suffered some losses, and he has also begun to show his age a bit more with each passing year. But to this day, Bernard Hopkins has still never been dominated inside the squared circle, and for someone who has been campaigning at an elite level since early-on in the first term of former President Bill Clinton—well, that is an absolute marvel! It is simply mindboggling stuff.

In my eyes, Bernard Hopkins has only truly lost three fights since his debut, and those were his first meeting with Jones (which I scored 116-112 for Roy), the first fight with Jermain Taylor (that I had 115-113 for Jemain), and his most recent loss to Chad Dawson (where I had it 115-113 for ‘Bad’ Chad). I also felt he deserved a victory in his first bout with Jean Pascal, which was ruled a draw (I had it 114-112, Hopkins). Of course my scorecards are by no means official; they simply reflect one man’s opinion. That said, according to the actual decisions rendered by the judges, Bernard was also beaten by Taylor in their rematch (I had it 116-112 for Bernard), and he lost to Joe Calzaghe (which I scored 114-113 for Hopkins). These were both close fights that were not necessarily easy to score, especially the Calzaghe bout, but in my view Bernard grinded out enough rounds to take both contests. The point here still remains constant though: Bernard has always fought competitively, even the two times he clearly lost when he first faced Jones and most recently lost to Chad. Simply put, no man has ever beaten up Bernard Hopkins in professional prizefighting.

On March 9, Bernard is challenging undefeated IBF champion Tavoris Cloud, and this will afford him yet another opportunity to defy the odds and make history. Bernard, of course, is no stranger to making history or shocking the boxing world as a heavy underdog. In fact he is probably best known for scoring big upset wins against Felix Trinidad (Sept. 2001), Antonio Tarver (June 2006), and Kelly Pavlik (Oct. 2008). He is also firmly established in the boxing record books compliments of his impressive 20 consecutive title defenses in the historically prestigious middleweight division. Most recently he etched his name into history when at age 46 he became the oldest fighter to ever win a major world championship after defeating Jean Pascal in their May 2011 rematch. This broke the previous mark set by then 45 year old George Foreman when he scored his famous knockout against Michael Moorer in November 1994.

Can Bernard Hopkins again make history and break his own record, once more becoming the oldest boxer to win a championship, this time at age 48?

Many fans feel this is a tall order, and even the oddsmakers have Hopkins pegged as the underdog. The common perception here seems to be that Bernard looked dull and lethargic in his nearly 14 rounds of action against Chad Dawson. A lot of observers simply do not believe Hopkins has the stamina or reflexes anymore, especially since he is up against a young hard-punching high-volume guy like Cloud. This overlooks a couple of factors, however, which is simply amazing given that less than two short years ago Hopkins was riding high and had arguably reached the zenith of his illustrious career.

One thing people need to remember is that Hokins’ boxing IQ is by no means limited to what he does inside the squared circle. Better than anyone, Hopkins knows his own limitations as he has aged, and he has worked arduously to perfect the art of what he still can do, and one of the things he can still do is choose wisely when it comes to selecting relevant opponents whom he matches favorably against. Bernard is surrounded by extraordinary boxing minds, Nazim Richardson chief amongst them, and he has a brilliant boxing mind in his own right. There was a reason behind Hopkins’ decision to jump two weight classes and chase down 175 pound king Antonio Tarver. There was a reason Hopkins pounced on the opportunities to face Kelly Pavlik and Jean Pascal when they each arose respectively. And there is also a reason why in recent years, Hopkins made a strong push to face guys like Lucian Bute (before he was bludgeoned by Carl Froch) and Sergio Martinez.

Conversely, there was also a reason why he was never overly eager at the prospects of facing Chad Dawson. It had nothing to do with the erroneous view some fans have held, that Hopkins “feared” Dawson. That is and always was nonsense. This was all about Bernard understanding what both him and his potential foe were capable of, and Bernard knew that Dawson possessed the physical tools and style that would make it less favorable for him to shine and more difficult to grind out a victory. Simply put, he saw things in guys like Bute, Pascal, Tarver, Pavlik, and Martinez that he believed he could exploit and capitalize on—things he did not see in Dawson. And Chad was never a big name that commanded big money to begin with, so Hopkins being the genius he is at selecting opponents had no reason whatsoever to actively seek that fight. When Hopkins and Dawson were both angling to secure guaranteed rematches each had with Pascal, Hopkins was given the nod to get first crack with the condition that he must face Dawson should he win. It was only then, when he was afforded a second opportunity to make history, that he finally (and probably somewhat reluctantly) agreed to the prospects of facing Chad.

So forget the Dawson fight. Throw it out the window. Hopkins himself had already known Chad’s style would be more difficult for him to exploit, and even then Bernard still made a good account of himself. In fact, he was doing well early and appeared to be getting into Chad’s head before head trainer Iceman John Scully reeled him in and helped Dawson regroup and focus. The important thing for the boxing world to remember here is that Tavoris Cloud is no Chad Dawson. That is not to say that Cloud could not perhaps beat Dawson, but in terms of styles they are night and day. Cloud lacks the technical consistency, timing, and accurate jab Dawson utilized to trouble Hopkins. Cloud is far more reckless, which often leaves him off balance and out of position. The evidence of this is abundant in all of Cloud’s fights, and in particular his most recent controversial split decision victory against Gabriel Campillo last time out. Hopkins sees something here, and when he sees something it is usually for good reason.

The one important question that really needs to be answered is the same one that some have been asking for more than a decade now: Will Bernard Hopkins grow old overnight?

Amazing to think this question has been floated about since around the time he beat Trinidad. But one of these days it has to happen, right? I mean Bernard is 48 years old now. Even Bernard himself has often acknowledged the fact that no one beats Father Time. He knows he is racing against the clock. Will his time finally arrive when he faces off against Tavoris Cloud, and worse yet, could Cloud administer a beating on Hopkins the likes of which we have never seen? Hopkins is a modern day ageless warrior whose dedication and life style has enabled him to long escape the ill fate suffered by many boxing greats who have hung around for too long. But is Bernard pushing his luck? Should he have gracefully bowed out following his spirited losing effort against Dawson? Will Tavoris Cloud become the first man to beat up the great Bernard Hopkins in a prizefight?

The situation that presents itself here in the lead-up to Hopkins-Cloud is eerily similar to predicaments we have already seen from the past. Prior to his bout with Antonio Tarver, fans were harping on Hopkins’ losses to Jermaine Taylor. Before his fight with Kelly Pavlik, observers were fixated on Hopkins losing effort to Calzaghe. Even in the build-up to the first Pascal fight, attention centered on his ugly win against Roy. And now going into his match against Cloud, many members of the boxing community are strictly focused on the difficulties Dawson provided him. Fool me once, shame on you; fool me twice, shame on me! Hopkins has already pulled this rabbit out of his magic hat several times before, and the way some fans are counting him out now feels like Déjà vu all over again. After all, Hopkins has proven repeatedly that he should never be underestimated.

My early feeling is that if Hopkins is anything close to what he was physically the night he lost to Dawson, he should still have enough left in the tank to outthink and outmaneuver Cloud. One of the telling signs early-on should be how well Cloud withstands Hopkins’ right hand and whether it does enough damage to keep Cloud at a modest work rate. Another thing to look for is how well Hopkins controls the range to maintain his distance in between attacks. If Hopkins can force Cloud to fight at his pace, as I suspect he can and will, then look for Bernard to grind one out and once again make boxing history.

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This article was also published at East Side Boxing

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by Geoffrey Ciani – Andrew Golota is a poster boy for unfulfilled potential in boxing. His unique adventures through the heavyweight rankings were interesting, unpredictable, and sometimes downright bizarre—and apparently his journey is not yet finished. This Saturday, 45 year old Golota (41-8-1, 33 KOs) will step inside the squared circle for the first time in more than three years when he is pitted against fellow Pole, Przemyslaw Saleta (43-7, 21 KOs). Saleta himself turns 45 this March and has not seen action in over seven years, effectively rendering this into a pick’em fight between two old war horses both absent from the battlefield for quite some time.

The boxing history books will show that Golota was unsuccessful in four bids for portions of the heavyweight crown, one against each of the four major sanctioning alphabet organizations. These were bookended by devastating first round knockout losses at the hands of Lennox Lewis (WBC) in October 1997 and Lamon Brewster (WBO) in May 2005. In between he had a solid showing in a twelve round draw against Christ Byrd (IBF) in April 2004, and followed that up with a good account of himself in a somewhat controversial loss against John Ruiz (WBA) that November. Even though he failed to secure a title belt in ‘04, many observers felt that Golota did well enough to deserve a victory in both contests.

Despite his lack of success in four championship fights, Golota still remains best known for another pair of losses, those of course being back-to-back disqualifications against Riddick Bowe in 1996. The two Bowe matches are basically remembered for repeated low blows and the unfortunate incident that erupted into the Madison Square Garden riot at the conclusion of their first bout. Golota would forever become identified with low blows following the Bowe fights. His reputation was severely tarnished. He was a dirty fighter. Members of the media even began referring to him as ‘The Foul Pole’. This reputation persists. To this day, any fighter penalized for repeated low blows during a match will inevitably have his name mentioned alongside Golota’s. In fact, I specifically even remember watching Mares-Agbeko with several fans, one of whom was quick to quip, “Man! Mares just went all Golota on King Kong!”

What many people forget about the Bowe fights, however, was that Golota exhibited great skills that nicely complimented his physical attributes. Golota possessed a powerful right hand and a sharp left hook. He was fluid in his movement, decently agile on his feet, and had deceptively quick hand speed. Andrew was big, strong, and somewhat elusive. His best weapon was his jab, and around the time of the Bowe fights some in the media were even actually comparing it to that of the great Larry Holmes. Golota clearly had talent and was mixing it up and often getting the best of Riddick Bowe, who despite not being officially recognized as a world champion at that time was still widely regarded as the best heavyweight on the planet.

In retrospect many observers now look back and say that Bowe was a “shot fighter” when he faced Andrew. After all, Hall of Fame trainer Eddie Futch parted ways with Bowe following the first Golota fight. Fucth felt that Bowe was wasting his time and was perturbed that Bowe was not fully dedicated to his training and living the lifestyle of a champion. Futch had seen it coming. On the other hand, going into the Golota fight Bowe was coming off of a stoppage victory against Evander Holyfield (who would go on to defeat Mike Tyson the following year), and Bowe had already been showing a downward trend in his work ethic since first winning the undisputed championship (in a hard earned and well deserved victory when he first faced Evander).

Riddick Bowe’s “prime” itself has become an interesting topic of conversation for boxing fans and historians. He essentially peaked on a single night. That was it! It was his first clash with Evander when everything came together, and on that night most agree that he would have been an extremely difficult opponent for any heavyweight who ever laced up the gloves, much like Buster Douglas the night of his extraordinary victory against Tyson. To be sure, Bowe’s decline was apparent. Even during his second fight with Holyfield just one year after winning the title, ‘Big Daddy’ was already visibly not the same fighter. He was clearly not as fit or as effective. With regards to his fights against Golota, while Bowe was certainly by then even further removed from his prime, he was still a formidable foe who was among the very best in the division at that time. Following their two brutal bouts together, Golota and Bowe were simply never the same again—and Larry Merchant was quick to bring attention to this possibility before the conclusion of their rematch broadcast. It turns out Larry was right on the money.

Looking forward to Saturday, whatever happens between the two Polish pugilists will obviously not make any significant impact on the heavyweight landscape. Golota has been a complete non-factor since he was mercilessly bludgeoned by Brewster in ‘05, and Saleta was never a major player at any point during his career. Even still, seeing Golota’s name silently slither under the radar has some fans talking. If nothing else Golota was always an interesting character with a loyal following. This of course helps partially explain why he received so many title shots, especially when you consider just one of his four opportunities came following a victory, and two of them actually came following back-to-back bouts without a victory. In fact Golota holds the rather unique distinction of receiving three title shots in consecutive fights, each for a different organization. But whether he was chomping into Sampson Po’uha’s neck like a vampire inside the ring, or impersonating a New Jersey police officer outside the ring—Andrew Golota was a unique pugilist during his long but ultimately unsuccessful run as a heavyweight championship contender. While Golota failed to succeed at the highest level, he rarely failed to amuse, entertain, or intrigue.

Golota is living proof that it takes more than physical tools and talent to succeed at the highest level in a difficult sport like professional boxing. There is a certain championship mentality and warrior spirit that is essential for a world class boxer to succeed. It is an intangible, a ‘special something’ that in itself is as rare as being a physically gifted athlete who can compete and consistently succeed against others among the elite. The very best in boxing often tend to have both. Then there are those who are still standouts, adequate in one and exceptional in the other. In the case of Golota, mentally, he was a loose cannon. Strangely enough, though, this behavior and lack of discipline, these very same mental shortcomings, were part of the charm and appeal for those who followed him, affording him a certain ‘human’ quality that sometimes gets lost when spectators are viewing combatants engaged in the sweet science.

As for the fight this weekend it is extremely difficult to envision what might happen. Golota has aged poorly. His reflexes and hand-speed have deteriorated at an alarming right following the Brewster loss, and his ability to absorb and withstand well placed power shots is almost non-existent at this stage. This combined with the fact that he has not had a match since being stopped by Tomasz Adamek in October 2009 does not seem to bode well for him. Therefore it would not be surprising to see Saleta sneak in some quicker, shorter power punches that get through with enough frequency to cause Golota problems and possibly stop him. At the same time, the good news for Golota is that Saleta has been on the shelf even longer than he has. What could potentially make things interesting in this one is that there is a little bit of history here, and that each man may be driven by a sense of national pride. Although a Saleta victory could be a real possibility here, I feel that Andrew’s more recent activity and higher overall pedigree should see him to victory.

OFFICIAL PREDICTION: Andrew Golota KO2 Przemyslaw Saleta

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This article was also published at East Side Boxing

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Exclusive Interview by Geoffrey Ciani – I was recently afforded the opportunity to speak with #1 ranked IBF super middleweight mandatory challenger Adonis Stevenson (19-1, 16 KOs). Stevenson is looking forward to the chance to fight for the title after the dust settles in the upcoming rematch between reigning IBF champion Carl ‘The Cobra’ Froch and current WBA title holder Mikkel Kessler. Stevenson shared his views on that match-up, and also discussed his plans while he waits for his opportunity. Additionally Stevenson also talked about his twelfth round stoppage victory against Donovan George, his opinion on 168 pound king Andre Ward, and the sad and untimely passing of his Hall of Fame trainer, Emanuel Steward. Here is what Stevenson had to say.

GEOFFREY CIANI: Hello boxing fans. This is Geoff Ciani from East Side Boxing and I am joined by super middleweight contender, Adonis Stevenson. How’s everything going today, Adonis?

ADONIS STEVENSON: Very, very good. Very good, everything’s good.

CIANI: Good to hear. Now a few weeks ago it looked as if you were in the running for a title shot against IBF champion Carl Froch, but instead it looks like Froch is going to have that rematch with Mikkel Kessler. Did this news surprise you and how disappointed were you by this?

STEVENSON: Yeah because we were going to the purse bid with Carl Froch, and a couple of hours before the purse bid he said he signed with Kessler. He signed with Mikkel Kessler, so I was surprised he signed because my promoter and the purse bid, I know I am going to win on the purse bid and he was going to come to fight in Montreal for this fight. So he signed with Mikkel Kessler for the rematch, so now he signed for unification and now I’m waiting for the winner. I know the winner has got 90 days to give me a fight. That’s what has signed with the IBF. Kessler is signed, and Carl Froch is signed, and as soon as the fight is done I’m next in line.

CIANI: Now what do you think of this rematch? The first fight was a pretty close fight that Kessler won during the Super Six tournament. What are your views regarding this rematch?

STEVENSON: This rematch I think that’s a good fight there with both guys. Kessler and Froch are good fighters and I think that rematch is going to be very close too, because it’s going to be an exciting fight. It’s exciting. Kessler’s a good boxer. Carl Froch is very good, too. So I think that match is going to be a very exciting fight.

CIANI: Now you mentioned the winner of that fight will have 90 days to face you. Do you have a preference on which guy you would rather face?

STEVENSON: Yeah! Yeah, my preference is Carl Froch. That’s my preference because he fought two boxers from Canada in Quebec City. He fought Jean Pascal and he got the win, and he fought Lucian Bute and he got to win the title. So I think with him that’s the dream, because Carl Froch is going to come to Montreal. Whenever we go to the purse bid, I know the match is coming to Montreal and it’s going to be big in Montreal with me and Carl Froch. That’s a big, big fight because he beat Bute and he beat Pascal. I think me and him, that’s a big fight in Montreal.

CIANI: Were you surprised that Carl Froch beat Lucian Bute?

STEVENSON: I was not surprised because I sparred with Lucian Bute. I know Bute very well. I sparred with Bute. I stopped Bute with 20 ounce gloves in sparring. I stopped him in like the third round, so when Bute fought Carl Froch I knew he was going to get hit because Carl Froch has a good style. You know Bute, he can box but you know Carl Froch is more aggressive. He’s more aggressive and that I think confused Lucian Bute because Carl Froch just kept coming to him, and he was getting to him, and he was very upset and surprised about Carl Froch.

CIANI: Now in your last fight you scored a twelfth round knockout against Donovan George to become the IBF mandatory challenger. Looking back on that fight from last October, how do you evaluate your performance?

STEVENSON: You know my performance was a good performance, because most people don’t think I could go twelve rounds because my last fight before that was a fight that was a two or three round knockout. Now I fought twelve rounds. I was hurt in my left hand in the third round. I was real hurt in my left hand, and I changed my game plan and I boxed him. I just boxed him and was moving and changed my game plan, and I just won the fight. In the twelfth round I won by knockout, but after three rounds I was hurt on my left hand. But I just changed my game plan.

CIANI: Now in the lead-up to your fight with George your Hall of Fame trainer, Emanuel Steward, had fallen ill, and sadly he passed away a couple of weeks after your fight.

STEVENSON: Yeah.

CIANI: How difficult was it preparing for that fight and the aftermath of that fight with the sad news surrounding the great Emanuel Steward?

STEVENSON: Yeah. You know it was sad news for me, because Emanuel is a good trainer. He trained me and I learned a lot from him with my boxing, and my skilled boxing. I learned a lot from him and I was really sad, because I didn’t want to believe that he was gone and passed away. You know I had just signed with him, and he trained me just a couple of months before, and now I heard that he passed away. You know. So I was very sad. I was really sad about that.

CIANI: As somebody who had the opportunity to work with Emanuel, how do you think he will be remembered by fans for his impact on boxing?

STEVENSON: That, you know, we lost. In Emanuel we lost in boxing one of the great, great, great trainers who was famous in boxing. You know this guy as a trainer has got a lot of talent, and he changed the boxers. He made 47 world champions. This guy, he’s a genius! He can teach you very, very well. He could teach you and I don’t think we have a lot of trainers who can do that. He’s got a lot of talent. We lost one of the great trainers in boxing with Emanuel, because this guy is a genius and he has a lot of talent. He can teach you very well, and I think you see it in Wladimir Klitschko. You have a lot of boxers you can see that in. He’s a world champion, and you learn about him. So he makes you very, very confident. That’s very, very, very important.

CIANI: Changing things up here, it’s been almost three years since you suffered your only career loss at the hands of Darnell Boone. How do you feel you’ve improved as a boxer since that time?

STEVENSON: Yeah, that’s a bullsh*t loss. But that’s my fault because I went 9 months, it was a lot of months without a fight, and I had bad people around me—bad people and a bad manager who were running me. I just took the fight like that. I didn’t really get into training for this fight, because I heard Darnell Boone was an easy fight and I just took the fight. When I fought him in the ring I was not 100%. So in the first round I dropped him on the floor, and in the second round he caught me with a very good right hand. I go down and I get up. I was really okay, and he started to count me, and the ref just stopped the fight. I was really shocked about that, because you know the referee is not supposed to stop the fight like that. So he stopped the fight, and I said, “Okay”. He stopped it and I learned about that, too. I learned that for next time. Any opponent I fight or any boxer I fight, I want to be very prepared and I know when I’m very prepared. And I don’t want the bad people around me, and you know that was very, very unfortunate with your people around you. I changed all my people around me, and I have good people on my side finally. I have a good promoter, and a good trainer, so that’s very, very important about that, too.

CIANI: When you look at the landscape of the super middleweight division, the guy who is considered the best right now is Andre Ward. What do you think of Andre as a fighter and what do you think it will take for somebody to beat Andre Ward?

STEVENSON: You know Andre’s a good boxer. He’s a good boxer and when you box with Andre, you can’t just throw a lot of punches like that. Like I saw Carl Froch fight him, and Carl Froch just threw a lot of punches with no thinking or anything. So you can’t fight Andre Ward like that, and I know that, too, because he’s a smart fighter; he’s a good fighter. Now Andre at 168, he’s a good boxer from the Olympics right now. Now he’s a good boxer, and now I’m focused with Carl Froch. But after Carl Froch or Kessler, I want to fight Andre Ward.

CIANI: What did you think of Ward’s last victory over light heavyweight champion Chad Dawson, and did you think that Dawson coming down in weight had a big negative impact on his performance?

STEVENSON: (laughs) You know that’s a bad move for Dawson. It was not smart. Dawson was not a smart move for doing that, because this guy is a big 175 pounder, and he goes down to 168 and he was really draining. So Dawson, I think any guy at 168 pounds who was stronger was going to knock him out because he couldn’t pull the trigger. He couldn’t pull the trigger because he was drained a lot. So after that fight I don’t know if he’s going to be the same Chad Dawson. He goes down to 168, and he fights at 175. That’s a big step down for him. That’s not the same weight, and he went down very, very easy because Chad is a big 175 pound guy. He’s very big. It was not smart when he went down to 168 to fight Andre Ward.

CIANI: With you being guaranteed a shot at the winner of Froch and Kessler, can fans expect to see you get in the ring to keep busy? Or are you going to wait to see what happens with those two before you make any decisions on that?

STEVENSON: No, no. You know, I’ll have a fight in March. I’ll fight in March. I’ll keep busy. I’m going to keep busy in March. I will fight, I will have a tune-up fight. My promoter is going to keep me busy. So I’m not going to wait. I will fight in March, and after he fights, he has 90 days to fight me—Kessler or Froch. So I’ll have a fight in March. I’m going to fight in March and keep busy.

CIANI: Great. Now Adonis, at 35 years old, what would you like to ultimately accomplish in your boxing career before all is said and done?

STEVENSON: Yeah, but I started late. I started late, so I know. I’m very in shape, and I keep in shape. I’m 35, but I don’t look like that and my body don’t look like that, too.

CIANI: For my final question, is there anything else you would like to say to all the boxing fans and all the readers of East Side Boxing?

STEVENSON: Yeah. I want to thank East Side Boxing. All my fans and East Side Boxing I want to thank. I will see all the fans in March. So I’ll fight in March, so I want all the people and all my fans to keep in touch and see my fight in March.

CIANI: Adonis, thank you very much for your time. It was a great pleasure having the chance to speak to you again. I wish you the best of luck going forward, and I’m looking forward to seeing you in that title shot sometime this year.

STEVENSON: Oh, thank you very much.

CIANI: Thank you. You take care!

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This article was also published at East Side Boxing

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