KING SAM SOLIMAN: I KNOW NADER
WANTS THIS FIGHT AS BAD AS ME
By Tony Nobbs
31.05 - Australian boxings Triple A Man, Sam 'King'
Soliman says he has prepared for nothing else than a
prime Nader Hamden when he defends his IBF Pan Pacific
Middleweight Title against the WBC number five 'Lion
Heart' on Monday night.
Soliman-Hamden is half of what is a much anticipated
double header and will preceed the Danny Green-Jason
Delisle clash for the IBF Pan Pac and vacant OPBF Super
Middleweight Championships at the Panthers Leagues Club
in Penrith, West Sydney.
Speaking from his home town Melbourne on Friday, the
29 year old former Commonwealth 160 lb Champion and
four division Australian Champion Soliman said he has
benefited from a solid preparation and knows he will
also have a one hundred percent fit opponent in front
of him determined to leave the
ring with the Belt he won by defeating shutting out
New Zealand veteran Sean Sullivan in July and successfully
defended against Hamden's stable mate Sakio Bika via
majority decision in October last year.
"With Nader, it's pretty much all out. He will
give it one hundred percent. He's had six weeks, the
same time as me and he will come to win, like he has
done in his previous thirty two fights. I've had good
sparring and been doing great work on the pads with
(trainer) Dave (Hedgecock) and my weight is good, as
you know, weight is the most important thing. He will
be well prepared by Jeff (Fenech), Billy Hussein and
their team. With the quality sparring he has in that
gym, he will be in shape".
A month before his superb victory over Jorge Castro
in April, WBC number two 175 pounder Paul Briggs told
me he had benefited greatly from boxing with the "now
you see him, now you don't" Soliman (17-7, 4 KO)
and Sam, for this fight has worked with Australian Lt
Heavyweight Champ Delisle and Briggs' gym mate John
Wayne Parr. Because of Soliman's defensive brilliance
he is seldom in a war and this allows him to spar as
much as he can to hone his magical craft.
"Sparring Jason is great. He is very strong, hard
and sharp and has a very good jab which Nader also has.
And with Wayne, his work load is tremendous. He gives
you plenty of pressure and with him having had a really
good fight with Nader where he pushed him all the way,
I've only benefited from sparring him. To be sparring
these kind of fighters is better than just going through
the motions with easy partners, getting lazy and bored.
You need the hard work, that is why a lot of guys shit
'emselves when it gets tough.
And Nader is getting great work too. It'll be a good
fight. I fly to Sydney tomorrow, that gives me two days
up there and I'm counting the minutes. There is no 'better
luck next time mate' or 'ifs and buts' with Nader. He
wants this fight as bad as me, he chased for it. He's
at a weight more comfortable for him and he's putting
his number five ranking on the line. He is a man and
he's is not going to give that up without a fight".
Hamden, 29, and with a record of 32-0, 15 KO's was recently
rated at two in the WBC's 154 lb listings and was last
in action winning a Twelve round UD over rugged Josh
Clemshaw in defence of his IBF Pan Pac and OPBF Titles
on March 28. Soliman's last outing was a ten round sweep
of Mike Cope on December 6. In his fight before that,
he defeated Team Fenech's Cameroon Olympian Bika in
Melbourne, who now holds the Australian Middleweight
Title and is 12-1-1, 9 KO. The fact that Bika was able
to win three, four and six rounds against Soliman will
certainly give Hamden added confidence.
"That was a good fight. He has a great talent,
it was my experience that got him in the end. When I
started to up the pace he didn't like it too much. His
mouth guard started to pop out late in the fight, well,
that is the last sign you have nothing left and you
don't want to be there.
But yeah, he is certainly not lacking in the talent
department, I take my hat off to him".
An Anyone, Anywhere, Anytime professional who won his
first National Title by outclassing Cruiserweight Peter
Kinsella (KO 12) on just a days notice in only his second
paid boxing bout in 1997, Sam is best known to casual
sports fans in this country for finishing all over Anthony
Mundine in losing a split decision in September 2001
and to genuine fight fans he is held in the highest
regard. He took the fight with Mundine on eight days
noticed and flew in from his then base in England and
"gave away four kilo (9 lb)". During his six
year career Soliman has fought ouside Australia on ten
occasions in the U.S, Fiji, England, Germany, Holland
and Scotland. Before turning pro he was an Australian
Amatuer Champion and a world class pro kick boxer.
Asked if he wanted to talk about the now WBA number
two Super Middle who is due to fight Antwun Echols for
the vacant WBA Crown in a couple of months, Soliman
said "No" before indicating that he wants
the man who relieved him of his Commonwealth Title back
in September 2000 in Bethnal Green.
"I want you to tell everyone I'm on the go for
Howard Eastman. If he was to retire or move up in weight
I'd be a shattered man. I don't want to lose that opportunity
for revenge. He beat me, I was not robbed, not like
Joval, it was a close fight, me and Eastman we gotta
do it again. Yeah, I still want Bernard (Hopkins), he's
the Champ and with my ranking getting better that fight
gets more of a possibility. When you move up in the
rankings, guys chase you, but let me tell you, I will
always be chasing Howard Eastman".
Soliman is currently sitting at number 15 in the IBF,
partially due to his recent inactivity but he and Melbourne
based Stuart Duncan manager know how boxing works and
realize a victory over Hamden will have him in a much
deserved position in two organizations.
"It's only because of Stuart, Dave and the boys
at the Underworld gym as well as my sponsors that I'm
still in the boxing game. Because the money that's in
Australian boxing is nothing to write home about, that's
for sure. But the ranking I'll get from this fight will
get people talking".
And it should be said, there have not been too many
Australian fighter's in recent time more deserving of
a World Title opportunity than Sam Soliman!
Monday night's card will be shown live on Main Event
and Sky Channel PPV through out Australia from 7 pm
with commentary from Grantlee Kieza and Matthew Brooks.
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