By Geoffrey Ciani, Eastside Boxing
This week’s edition of On the Ropes Boxing Radio featured exclusive interviews with reigning IBF/WBO heavyweight champion Wladimir Klitschko, Hall of Fame boxer Carmen Basilio, and reigning WBC welterweight champion Andre Berto. Highlighting this week’s episode was the exclusive interview with Wladimir Klitschko, who recently stopped American contender “Fast” Eddie Chambers by twelfth round knockout. Here are some excerpts from that interview:
On his performance against “Fast” Eddie Chambers:
“I feel great about my last performance and there was another title defense and Eddie Chambers is actually much better than people think. He was a great contender, he was very fast. His nickname is “Fast Eddie” and he was really fast. I should say that eventually I did make the final shot that was very important to win this fight by KO. I think that Eddie Chambers was really just trying to survive actually in the late rounds and as we in the heavyweight division say, ‘You have to pay attention every second of the fight because only one punch can make the final decision and the fight’s going to be over very fast’ so that was exactly what happened in the fight with Eddie and I hope he’s doing well. I think that he’s probably going to beat any other contender in the division because of his amazing boxing skills.”
On Emanuel Steward urging him to go for the knockout in the later rounds of the Chambers fight:
“We saw also one week before my fight with Pacquiao, he was running after a guy for twelve rounds and he couldn’t really finish him because if a person doesn’t want to get knocked out, you can chase him forever. In the last two rounds, actually the last three rounds—the 10th, 11th, and 12th rounds—I was really trying to catch Eddie and I couldn’t. When Emanuel was in the corner raising his voice and saying, ‘Come on! Do it!’, I was actually arguing with him. I said, ‘Dude, I will try! You know, just relax. Don’t push me too much, relax. I know what I’m doing. I’m trying.’ In the last two rounds, the 11th and 12th, I was really chasing Eddie and eventually stopped him in the 12th..”
His views on trainer Emanuel Steward:
“I also recently talked to Emanuel, and I said, ‘Emanuel, something is amazing about your professional courier. You took Lennox Lewis, as an example, at his worst and you brought him to his best. The same thing is kind of happening with me. We started to work when I lost, and then we actually got the titles and got the Ring Magazine championship getting back the respect from my opponents that I lost in ’04.’ It is amazing to see what Emanuel is able to do and what a coach he is. I think he is a genius in the ring. He is a genius in the ring, and I definitely enjoy to work with him because it’s great work. It’s not just the relationship between an athlete and a coach like between a dog and the owner of a dog. You’re just getting commands and you do what your coach is telling you to do. That’s going to not work with me and Emanuel, so we’re creative. We respect the experiences that each of us has inside and outside of the ring and it’s just such enjoyable work.”
Regarding his next fight:
“Hopefully David Haye is going to be my next opponent. We’re working on this right now. In boxing there’s a lot of things in negotiations with the promoters and to find a site to get the deal first, so hopefully we’ll get David Haye as another unification fight. That’s the only the title, the WBA title that David Haye has, the Klitschko brothers don’t have. So we have all of the titles but the WBA. So I’m looking forward to getting David Haye in the ring and fight him, and I wish and I hope that this year it is going to happen.”
His views on David Haye as a fighter:
“David Haye says a lot about the Klitschkos being boring. Have you seen his fight with Nicolay Valuev? It was twelve rounds, it was decision win, but he was scared to death and I don’t understand why you can be scared to death from Nicolay Valuev. It’s actually absurd for saying it, but this man is a giant. I mean, he’s huge and in certain ways a freak show, and he’s as slow as an elephant. David Haye was just dancing around and trying not to be hit and winning the fight on points.”
Regarding Haye’s victory over John Ruiz:
“So with John Ruiz, I have to give respect to John Ruiz because it was like another title shot, and he had really a lot of title shots, but it was his ninth loss—let’s face it. But David Haye did well, he won the fight. I am very thankful to David that he won the fight because I would be very upset if he had lost the fight, and now we can talk about our fight. He bitched out twice from me and from my brother Vitali, and I think he owes it to the fans to get in the ring with one of the Klitschko brothers and fight—and not just speak and show the cartoons with decapitated bodies and blood and whatever else he presents himself as a clown. I think he owes it to the fans that he has to fight one of the Klitschko brothers. Not to talk, let’s make it and not bitch out again.”
His views on the upcoming mega fight between Shane Mosley and Floyd Mayweather:
“Well, to be honest with you I would love to see Floyd Mayweather against Manny Pacquiao. I would love to see that fight. I know I’m not really answering your question, but I think that fight would be really exciting. That’s what I’m looking forward to. Who’s going to win in this fight between Mayweather and Mosley? I think, yeah, well…each of them could lose or could win. Am I really excited about this fight? It could be a good fight, but Pacquiao-Mayweather could be a better fight.”
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Andre Berto
We also had the chance to speak with Andre Berto fresh off his title defense against Carlos Quintana. Here are some excerpts from what Berto had to say:
Regarding his eighth round stoppage over Carlos Quintana:
“I feel I was alright. I was a little rusty. I had to get in a groove a little bit and actually I injured my arm in like the second round. In the second round I injured my arm so I was pretty much fighting with one arm. My overall performance was just okay.”
On whether he was surprised he was able to knock Quintana out:
“No, because I thought I had the power to do it. He’s a crafty guy, like a lot of people seem to forget, he’s a crafty southpaw and those are always the worst ones to fight. He also has a win over Paul Williams, so I knew he was going to be crafty but I knew if I was able to land a few solid punches on him that he was going to notice it and I was going to be able to slow him down.”
On the decision to pull out of his January fight with Sugar Shane Mosley:
“You know, it was a tough situation with the decision that I made. I mean it was for a good reason. I lost a few family members in the earthquake.”
Regarding how he thinks he would have done against Sugar Shane Mosley:
“Oh, I think I would have done good. I mean, you had seen the other night it wasn’t my best performance, because like I said, I was a little rusty, but my speed and my power and me just imposing that type of pace early on in the ring. I was just going to get stronger as the rounds continue to go and I it probably would have caused a little problem for Shane—to have somebody in there just as fast as he is, just as strong as he is, but young and to continue bringing that pace. I think the fight was going to be a little difficult for him.”
His views on the upcoming May 1 clash between Shane Mosley and Floyd Mayweather:
“Realistically, I think Floyd is going to outpoint him. I see that at the beginning of the fight, Shane Mosley is going to be there and he’s going to impose his will, he’s going to impose his strength and the speed, but I think after a couple of rounds Floyd will pretty much figure him out once Shane slows down a little. That’s when Floyd is really going to get into his rhythm and start picking him apart a little bit and just do what he does and come out with the victory.”
Regarding who he would prefer to fight, Mosley or Mayweather:
“Oh man, it doesn’t matter, either one of them. I mean Floyd Mayweather, Shane Mosley, or (Manny) Pacquiao, you know it would just be an honor to be in the ring with those guys. These guys are future Hall of Famers. I grew up at the gym watching these guys and mimicking a lot of these guys, so I’d be honored just to be in the same ring with them so it doesn’t matter at all.”
On how he believes he would match-up with Manny Pacquiao:
“I believe it would be a very entertaining fight because, unlike with Joshua Clottey and a lot of people, I would definitely let my hands go. It’s definitely going to be an entertaining fight. I mean have the hand speed, I have the power, and as the action gets turned up I get turned up. I think that’s the thing with Manny Pacquiao that a lot of people really just don’t understand. Manny Pacquiao has a lot of energy, he has really great legs, but then again, you have to fight fire with fire. He lacks defense. He’s easy to hit, but he sets a pace that’s a little too much for his opponents and he’s incredibly strong, also, so he always tend to outwork and outpunch his opponents, but if I get in the position I know it will be an entertaining fight because I know I’ll be able to touch him whenever I wanted to touch him and get in there with some power and I think it will be able to stop a lot of that jumping around and stuff. It would be an entertaining fight.”
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To read the entire transcript of the Carmen Basilio interview please CLICK HERE
If you missed last week’s special edition of On the Ropes, be sure to tune in and listen now!
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Source: eastsideboxing.com
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