|
June 5, 2003 By Matt Clark : www.fightnews.com
What
can you tell your fans about your upcoming fight?
I was supposed to be fighting on the 29th of June against Lamont
Pearson for the vacant USBA title. I have since been informed that
the fight may be moved to the first or second week of July.
How
has your preparation been so far and what has it entailed?
Well we haven't finalized the details of the fight, but I am in
good shape like always and very ready to make my return to the 130
pound division a good one. I have been training pretty consistantly
since the start of the year and I think that my performance will
show that I am back, ready for
this challenge.
What can you tell us about your opponent, Lamont Pearson?
Well Lamont is a very good boxer-puncher. He was the #1 contender
in the IBF at one stage and fought for the WBA title last year.
I admit he got stopped in that fight, but he broke his hand in the
second round. I feel it will be
a good test and a hard fight.
What
do you believe you bring to the table against Pearson?
Well this is a cross roads fight for both of us. For the winner
it puts them right back into the mix. I feel that we are very evenly
matched. In my career I haven't made the best choices and things
didnt bounce my way sometimes. I feel that with my losses I wasn't
ready to fight for the title. I am more than ready now. I have,
like I always do, worked hard and I feel that people will be surprised
with what they see from me against Pearson.
Has
your trainer Roger Bloodworth got you working on anything specific
yet, perhaps something we haven't seen from "Bomber" Peden
before?
RP: Well I kind
of got away from the basics of boxing for a while. The basic things
win fights. I think that my choice to move down to Featherweight
wasnt good for me physically and it showed in my performance. You
will see a more complete fighter when I step into the ring against
Pearson. I have been working on a few things that people might think
I was not capable of doing.
The
last time many fight fans would have viewed you was against Juan
Manuel Marquez, over a year ago. What went wrong for you that night?
Well Juan Manuel Marquez is a very good boxer and a great champion.
I think that night was the worst possible perfomance that I could
have put in. I went into the fight with a viral infection and was
also having managerial problems at the time. But take nothing away
from Juan Manuel Marquez, he was the better fighter on the night
and in saying that if I won a title at this weight, I would love
to do it again.
Can
you explain to some of us who may not be aware, the extent of your
managerial problems? No doubt as a fighter you'd like to be boxing
as often as possible, however you've fought only twice in the last
two years.
I was with Kevin Barry and Martin Pugh. We didnt see eye to eye
on some issues and honestly I would rather put that part of my career
behind me. In regards me being so inactive, I had took a little
time off after the Marquez fight to feel what I wanted in life.
I came here to America seven
years ago on a mission to win a world title, not just fight for
one. Until that has been accomplished I believe I would feel that
I still have something to acheive. As to do with my activity before
the Marquez fight, well I was put with America Presents by Kevin.
It was really good when Dan Goosen was there. However, after he
left the company, my fights were few and far between.
It
must have been a big relief when you finally made your comeback
from the Marquez fight. Tell us how you went against Rudy Lunsford
in March.
Well it was the perfect fight for me to come back on. He was very
tough, but couldnt stand up to what I had been saving up since my
last fight. He has fought a lot of good opponents and I thanked
him for the fight. He is a good guy.
For
an Australian fighter, you've done a remarkable thing in the fact
that you have based your entire career in the United States. What
are some of the obvious advantages and disadvantages of staging
such a move?
Well I think some advantages are that I am surrounded by the best
fighters in the world. I train, spar and live with many of todays
great fighters.
Being around them just makes you a more complete fighter. Picking
up little tricks, just minor changes, can make you a much better
fighter.
The biggest disadvantage would be not having your support system
there. That of course being your family and friends. It can be rather
lonely here by yourself, but after seven years, I am now used it.
Do
you have future plans to perhaps one day box in Australia?
Yes for sure! However, I don't want to have a fight in my country
until I am the world champion, or I am fighting for the world title.
I think then that
everyone back home in Oz will understand what I have been doing
here for the past seven years. At least then I will know that I
have acheived what I set out to do when I moved here.
Do
you have a preference to any of the current 130lb champions you
would like to fight?
Well I feel that Acelino Freitas is the man at 130lb, right now.
Of course he's the leader of the pack. But I would like to fight
another good guy in
boxing, Carlos Hernandez, the IBF champ. I have talked to him on
the phone about my willingness to fight him and he has said he would
love to fight me. I think it would be a very exciting fight, one
for that the fans would love!
Finally,
do you have a message for your many fans in Australia, the United
States and around the world?
Well I wouldn't say that I have that many fans around the world
but to the few that I do have, I am back and more determined than
ever to show what I am about! Please tune into my next fight televised
on Fox Sports and I promise you that you won't be disappointed.
I thank you for your patience and I will deliver with a victory
come fight time. Also I would like to thank Goosen/Tutor and Lamont
Pearson for this opportunity, as well.
|
