Exclusive Interview with cruiserweight Olanrewaju 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.”— Olanrewaju Durodola

Olanrewaju DurodolaNigerian-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?

read more

Exclusive Interview with junior welterweight contender Cleotis Pendarvis

“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!”—Cleotis Pendarvis

Cleotis PendarvisThis 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?

Audio:

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.

read more

James Toney and John Arthur: Discussing All Things Boxing

IMG_4792Current IBU heavyweight champion and future hall of famer James Toney (74-7-3, 45 KOs) and his father, trainer and manager John Arthur took time out to exclusively speak to ESB today ahead of Toney’s heavyweight showdown with unbeaten Australian Lucas ‘Big Daddy’ Browne (15-0, 14 KOs) in Melbourne, Australia this Sunday.

Toney and Arthur discussed all subjects, including his time in Melbourne and fight preparation, recent ring inactivity, managing of weight, time in the UFC and future plans.

Arthur explains the bout with Browne came after the proposed bout with Tomasz Adamek fell through, that was scheduled for last September. “We were supposed to fight Adamek in September” where after that “I started to reach out to everybody and it seemed like every door that got called in the United States was closed. I reached out to some people and they put me in touch with some promoters in Australia and they said they wanted to make this happen and this is where we have ended up at… This kid (Browne) has wanted to fight James and James has never ducked and dodged anybody his whole career so I said let’s take it.”

read more

Canelo Alvarez – Exclusive One-on-One Interview

IMG_4667After the final press conference concluded, Saul “Canelo” Alvarez took the time to partake in brief one-on-one interviews. I had the unique privilege to sit down with the Mexican superstar to get his perspective on the upcoming fight in San Antonio, TX.

Here’s a transcript of the questions and answers that were discussed with Saul Alvarez.

Steve Lopez: “Canelo, how are you feeling with just a few more days left for the fight?”

Saul Alvarez: “I’m ready, I’m ready. I prepared myself very well. Ready for anything. Obviously, we all come with the mentality of winning and that’s what I’m here for.

Steve Lopez: “How are you as far as weight? The weigh-in is tomorrow. How do you feel?”

Saul Alvarez: “Really well. The most I do is 20-30 minutes to lose whatever extra weight I gain from eating. I eat just enough to maintain the weight. Everything is great.”

read more

Austin Trout – Media Roundtable Exclusive Interview

IMG_4866After the final press conference concluded, Saul Alvarez and Austin Trout took the time to address members of the media for one-on-one and roundtable interviews. I, along with other media correspondents, took the exclusive opportunity to sit down with the WBA champion.

Here’s a transcript of the questions and answers that were discussed with Austin Trout.

Question: “Are you worried much about the judging for the fight?”

Austin Trout: “It’s something I can’t focus much on or worry about because, at the end of the day, I have to focus on what I have to do in the ring. If it goes to the judges, it’s in God’s hands. If they want to jerk me, then it’s between them.”

Question: “How are you able to go through all these lion’s dens? Kind of a ‘no fear’ attitude? What is it?”

Austin Trout: “You can’t have any fear in this sport. I think there’s been a lot of fighters, say their Mexican, aren’t worried about anything. But in my opinion, it’s because they’ve been spoiled. We’ve gone to hell and back to get to where we are. I’m not going to let a variation of judges stop me from fighting.”

read more

Ik Yang and the Chinese Invasion of America

Ik Yang and the Chinese Invasion of America

“I want more Chinese to pay attention to boxing and like boxing because of me”—Ik Yang

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”.

read more

Kennedy McKinney: “How Come I Ain’t In The Hall Of Fame!”

mckinney56564Former IBF and WBO super-bantamweight ruler “King” Kennedy McKinney feels he is more than deserving of being enshrined in The Boxing Hall of Fame. An Olympic gold medallist, McKinney made a name for himself by showing he was a warrior willing to go anywhere to fight anyone at pro level.

With a number of highlight reel moments to choose from in his thrilling, up and down career, it’s a tough job picking where to start when speaking with the 47-year-old who walked away with a 36-6-1(19) ledger in the spring of 2003.

A good enough place to start is Kennedy’s 1992 IBF title win over Welcome Ncita: a fight that saw awesome two-way action, an incredible turnaround and a truly epic one-punch KO.

read more

Malik Scott: “Malik “King” Scott is the Best Skilled Heavyweight on the Planet Bar None and I Believe Vitali’s Time is Up and I Have No Problem Putting Him Out His Misery”

YouTube video
Exclusive interview by Charles C. White

Well Malik, I won’t ask you how you’re doing after your recent draw with Glazkov as I think most will agree that you were robbed of a seemingly clear cut victory. Give us your thoughts on this poor decision my friend?

MS: It is what it is bro…shit happens in boxing the same way it does in life…the judges saw it the way they saw it and that’s that. As long as the fans and my family saw it I’m perfectly fine with that…the milk is spilled and I’m extremely too blessed and too talented to cry over it.

What do you think was the key factor in your ability to dictate the fight against Glazkov?

MS: Well it was one main thing…and that was I just was myself. Glazkov is a good fighter and I believe his future is still a bright one but he’s just not in the same league as me, period!

read more

Austin Trout Exclusive Interview: Canelo Vengeance Factor, Strategy and the Future

IMG_4444By Steve Lopez — After the press conference in Houston, TX concluded, Saul Alvarez and Austin Trout took the time to address members of the media for brief one-on-one interviews. I had the opportunity to sit down with Austin Trout to get his perspective on the fight, Canelo’s mission to avenge his older brother’s loss and what the future may hold for the New Mexico native.

Steve Lopez: “There’s a little bit of a vengeance factor. You beat his older brother a while back. How does it feel being in the ring with younger brother trying to avenge the loss?

Austin Trout: “That’s not really a factor for me. The thing that I think is cool is that I can take two world titles from two brothers. Other than that, his brother was in my way. Really, if you look at it, he was in the path to get to him. In hindsight, looking back, it was just part of the process.

Steve Lopez: “Back in December when you fought Cotto, a lot people had you as the underdog. Kind of a similar story again. I, myself, give you a great chance. In another interview, you mentioned that Canelo won’t be taking advantage of the weight gain he has over other fighters. How do you think that’s going to play out? Usually, he’s the bully.”

read more

Exclusive Interview with Iceman John Scully

Exclusive Interview with Iceman John Scully

“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.”—Iceman John Scully

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:

Audio:

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?

read more