Interview: Fighting Nordin

Photo: www.fightingnordin.com

By Teddy Stenmark

28.03 - Although 31-year Old Dutch super middleweight Nordin Ben Salah (35-2-1) lost his latest outing in Rotterdam, Holland against Francesco Mora in a WBA International title fight, he is still a hot item on the European scene and could be eying an interesting future after all. Here is what the well-conditioned fighter had to say when interviewed recently..

Teddy: Hello Nordin. You were born in Morocco in 1972 but you are campaigning out of Holland, where do you live and when did you (and your family) move to Holland?

Nordin: I live in Purmerend, The Netherlands. I came to Holland 1974 when I was 2 years old.

Teddy: Tell me a little bit about your upbringing and why you picked boxing as your sport

Nordin: Well, I grew up in a family with 5 children. With a father who worked his ass of for the family. For the rest nothing special. I had a big brother who was doing Thai boxing and I adored him. I used to look up to him. He was my hero! I wanted to be like him…so when I was 15 I started training Thai boxing also. That resulted in being European Champion in 1993 and World champion in 1994. So in 1994 my Thai box trainer moved from Purmerend to Amsterdam so it was difficult for me to go and train in Amsterdam every day. So I started to train in Purmerend by Michel van Halderen, my current boxing trainer to get in shape for my Thai boxing fights and sometimes I started to train with the group Michel was training with professional boxers and then we found out that I was a pretty good boxer. And that's how my boxing career started.

Teddy: Did you have a good amateur career? What does your career as an athlete look like? Have you participated in other sports as well?

Nordin: I had three amateur fights and then I became professional. My athletic career is sometimes great and sometimes terrible with all the ups and downs. I had them all and I am still not finished.
Other sport: Thai boxing, soccer when I was a little kid.

Teddy: Describe that latest fight of yours...

Nordin: My latest fight was terrible. I missed my normal power; my normal way of thinking and that resulted in a twelve round TKO loss to Francesco Mora. A fight I normally wouldn't loose, but I did loose. But yeah ….that's boxing!!!!

Teddy: You will turn 31 years old this year do you believe that you have enough time to be able to make it in the Super middle weight division?

Nordin: I still have five strong years left and if things work out my way I will make it in the super middleweight division.

Teddy: You have that loss to South-African Sidney Msutu as a sour blemish on your record, what went wrong in that fight?

Nordin: I still don't know what went wrong in that fight. It wasn't me; it was like someone else was boxing there instead of the real Fighting Nordin and now it happened another time. So once again these things happen. But it's boxing!

Teddy: What are your biggest assets as a fighter in your own mind?

Nordin: I have power in both hands. My technique is good and I have the will to win! But then again you have to feel good otherwise all the positive things won't be there!

Teddy; You are Dutch Champion, Benelux champion and WBA international champion which one of these three titles do you value the most?

Nordin: Well I value the WBA Championship the most that can get you a step higher. So that's why next fight has to be against Mora to get the Title back.

Teddy: Which fighters in the World today have you targeted as possible opponents, in short what are your plans for the future?

Nordin: My plans for the future are to get the WBA Title back as soon as possible and then any high ranked Super Middleweight is welcome to fight me!

Teddy: Tell me! Who are your closest friends in Boxing?

Nordin: My trainer, my brother (Habib), my management and my training buddy's.

Teddy:Are you a so-called "training-junkie" Do you crave hard training? Do you enjoy working out?

Nordin: No. I came to a point that I'll do what I have to do to be in best shape. But being a trainings junkie was when I was young and wild. I still enjoy working out but sometimes it's just too much and then you get sick off it.

Teddy: Whom do you spar with on a daily basis, who are your Gym-mates?

Nordin: My gym mates are: Cruiserweight Radmilo Soda, Light Middleweight Regillio Aaron, Super Middleweight Jamal Sellini and Middleweight Karim Saadi. These are my gym mates and sparring partners. All professional boxers as well.

Teddy: Are you able to focus 100% on your career or do you have a job on the side?

Nordin: I am a 100% professional. I don't have a job beside it. I give classes to Children and grownups at the gym.

Teddy: I am a reporter from Sweden and mostly I cover Scandinavian fighters but in some way you kind of intrigued me, I liked that web-site of yours are you into computers? Do you like surfing the net?

Nordin: Yes I do like surfing the net and the website is made by miss website Branca van Horssen.

Teddy: Do you know anything about Scandinavian Boxing? Have you ever been over here?

Nordin: My European Championship Thai boxing was in Finland, Helsinki. For the rest I only know the Danish Super Middleweights.

Teddy: Which type of fighters do you prefer to box, brawlers technicians, tall ones or short stocky ones that comes right at you?

Nordin: Tall ones and short stocky ones that come right at you. Those are good to fight. The technicians think too much.

Teddy: Did you have any role models once you started out as a professional?

Nordin: Not really I always have fighters that I like. Some stay some go, I like Roy Jones, Oscar de la Hoya, Barrera, Vargas and a lot more.

Teddy: One Dutch fighter that we are quite familiar with up here in Scandinavia through his many appearances on Danish cards is heavyweight, Richel Hersisia, Have you guys met? Are the two of you close?

Nordin: I know him pretty well. He lives in Den Haag (The Netherlands) and I used to go there and train with them sometimes. I hope he'll make it as a Heavyweight. And I find it pretty nice that Scandinavia is backing him up.

Teddy: Who do you believe is the greatest Boxer ever to come out of Holland?

Nordin: I cannot tell you, I will tell you in five years.

Teddy: What's the best with being a Super middleweight from Holland?

Nordin: Actually it is very bad, because we don't have any back up from television. So that makes it very hard to get me in a big World Championship fight and it makes it very difficult to get promoters interested.

Teddy: Who is the toughest boxer you have come across (amateur or pro)?

Nordin: I have two losses and one draw in all three the fights I wasn't myself so I cannot say that that were my toughest fights if I have to pick one out I will say the first fight against Sidney Msutu, because I broke my thumb of my left hand in round one or two and still had a decent victory in ten rounds.

Teddy: Which bout of yours are you most proud of so far in your career?

Nordin: My fight against the Spanish Champion Jose Barruetabena because I was very clear in my head through the fight and very sharp.

Teddy: If someone where to star in a picture about the story of your boxing career which famous actor would you pick for the job?

Nordin: First place myself and secondly Ben Affleck

Teddy: What are your hobbies when you are not boxing?

Nordin: Watching movies and taking it easy.

Teddy: Finally Nordin, are there any good stories to tell about you? If there is, can you share one with the readers?

Nordin: Yeah there is a good story:
I was supposed to have a fight in Holland in 2000. The opponent who I was to fight was Middleweight Manny Sobral from Canada. So the day came for the weighing. I weighted 72.6 kg then Manny got on the scale and he weighted 86.6 kg. So I was thinking by myself:" he is heavy" but I didn't care, I was thinking of all the money he had to pay me for being overweight or making the 72.6.

End of the story: it turned out that it wasn't Manny Sobral but just some stupid cook from a ship who wanted to get knocked out in the first round to make some money. So there was some crazy manager from Canada who was trying to make a dollar or two by bringing someone and acting like it was Manny Sobral. This event even made the eight o'clock news in Holland where they even had a live phone call with Manny Sobral in Canada and he said that they approached him to fight me but he just had broken his leg. So he couldn't. And then the crazy manager brought someone else who was 13 kg to heavy and couldn't even box. What a story.