Interview: RICHEL HERSISIA

Interview by Henrik Risum

27.09 - On August 9, undefeated WBF heavyweight champion Richel Hersisia will make his first defence – only 12 weeks after winning the vacant crown – on unlikely soil in Salzburg, Austria against Finnish challenger Sami ‘The Bull’ Elovaara. Having fought eight of his 19 pro fights in Denmark, the Dutchman of Curacao origin is a well-known commodity in Scandinavia and thusly a highly logical opponent for the stocky Helsinki banger. As the promotional drums are starting to make noise, Danish writer Henrik Risum decided he better talks to the fighters directly to get an inside view of what is in store. Read here what the colourful champion has to say about himself, the fight and his challenger!

Henrik Risum: Hello Richel! Thanks for taking the time to do this interview. How is your training coming along and at what stage are you right now in your preparations for the fight against Sami Elovaara?

Richel Hersisia: It’s going fine, thank you. I’m not chopping trees, but that’s not a problem, because there are no trees in the boxing ring. Only me and Sami…

Elovaara once called out all Scandinavian heavyweights, considering you as a Scandinavian because of your Danish connection. Did you notice that challenge when he put it out, and did it have anything to do with the fact that you are now fighting him?

I don’t spend much time reading these things. My thing is to train so I can win the fights that (my manager) Olaf (Schroeder) makes and I don’t bother (what others say). But from what I heard from Olaf, he likes the fact that Sami made some noise, so maybe it has something to do with us now fighting. But I hope, when he put out this challenge, he was aware of the consequences, because his problem now is that he’s got to fight me.

I know that Sami will most likely read this interview at one point, so do you have anything that you want to say to him directly?

There’s nothing to say. What I have to say I will say with my fists.

As an amateur, you only had 25 fights, and won them all, 23 by knockout. How did you experience your amateur career?

Well, it was just a start, and I don’t consider my amateur years as anything special. I couldn’t fight as regular as I wanted because so many guys didn’t want to get in the ring with me.

You won your first title as a professional, the WBA Central American belt, on your birth island of Curacao. What was that like?

Phenomenal! That was one of the greatest experience I’ve had so far. It’s really nice to get the opportunity to win your first title in country were you come from, really nice…plus I got to meet relatives that I haven’t seen since I left Curacao as a teenager with my mom.

You are now also the Dutch champion and the WBF ‘world’ champion. How much do these titles mean to you, and how did it feel to win the WBF crown in your hometown Den Haag?

It felt great, Henrik, I’m telling you. These titles gave me more recognition, other boxers now know about me and hopefully take note. And they better take me serious. I know what some say about the value of the WBF belt, but, hey, I got it and the others don’t.

Where are you most popular do you think? Curacao, Holland or Denmark? Tell me what the difference is in fighting those places!

Of course, Curacao, being such a small island, is where I’m real popular, but also at home in Holland and Denmark, fans know me, treat me good, and it feels good to have three places you can call home.

How do you think the Danish boxing fans have welcomed you to Denmark? I mean, they have seen you from your second pro fight, and have therefore been able to follow your progress all the way.

It feels great fighting in Denmark and I sure hope to come back soon. I couldn’t believe it when after my first two outings I was stopped on the street – people recognized me and asked for my autograph! I really appreciate how the Danish fans treat me, they are really knowledgeable about boxing.

Okay, back to Elovaara. What do you know about him?

I’m not sure whether I saw him fighting on Eurosport before…could be. I know he’s smaller than me and that’s pretty much it. Video tapes are for managers and trainers and I know Mourad (Louati, his trainer) has got some. I’ll just do the fighting in the ring. Let him worry about me…but looking at his record, he simply hasn’t fought the calibre of opponents that I have, I mean some of them can almost be described as bums. He’s not worrying me, I will go out and kick his ass.

What is his best weapon, and do you think that he will be your biggest challenge so far?

I honestly don’t think he’ll be my biggest challenge. Sure every fight is different and I respect Sami, but that’s it. As for his best weapon, like I said, let him worry about me.

What is your best weapon then? What do you feel is your biggest asset in the ring?

My heart and my will to win. That’s something you just cannot train, you either have it or not.

The fight will take place in Salzburg, Austria. Don’t you feel it is a bit of a shame that it won’t be fought in Scandinavia or Holland?

Sure it would have been nice to have this fight in Holland or Denmark, but I consider myself a European fighter, having fought in half a dozen different countries already, whereas Sami will surely know why he never left the cozy environment of his native Finland. So it’s okay for me to fight him anywhere and at least nobody can cry hometown robbery when we get it on in Austria. The ring is the same everywhere, so I’m just making sure I’ll take my title back home again.

In your last fight, when you won the WBF title, your opponent Sandro Vasquez knocked you down. If I understand correctly, that was the first time in your career, amateur or pro, that you have been floored genuinely. What went through your head at that moment?

My first thought was “Oh, this is new”. Sounds funny, doesn’t it? Then I got up and won the rest of the round. Simple as that, I just didn’t see that shot coming. Happens to everyone once in a while…

Okay, finally Richel, how will the fight against “The Bull” play out? Take me through how you think the fight will unfold!

Henrik, you saw most of my fights and you know what my game is. I always want to see ‘em bit the dust, early, late or in the middle of the fight doesn’t make a difference to me as long as I can deliver the knockout. That’s what I’ll do in Austria. Simple, isn’t it?

RICHEL HERSISIA vs SAMI ELOVAARA

WBF ‘World’ Heavyweight Championship – Aug. 9, Salzburg, Austria

QUOTES ON RICHEL HERSISIA

“(Hersisia) is one of a very few European heavyweights of real high-class calibre that has yet to be crowned European champion!” - Teddy Stenmark, boxinginsider.net

“Oh, this is new!” - Richel Hersisia, on his first thought when knocked down in the 2nd round of his WBF title bid against Sandro ‘Tyson’ Vazquez

“Richel is undoubtedly a very effective inside boxer with loads of power and he is probably the best bet that Holland has for a European champion in the years to come!” - Teddy Stenmark, danish-boxing.dk

“While no Sonny Liston, he has stamina and guts…” - Per-Ake Persson, Boxing News

“Hersisia’s style sometimes resembles that of David Tua: Fast combinations of hard punches.” – M. Kurt Saygin, boxingpress.de

“Richel Hersisia delivers what the spectators want: Knockouts!” – danish-boxing.dk

“I’m still expecting big things out of this fighter.” – Wes Moore

“Richel Hersisia is the Dutch boxing hope.” – Ingo Barrabas, german-boxing.de