Remillard Now 20-0; Interview With John Scully

By Anthony Tibbs – In what appeared to be a night of former well regarded professional boxers turned trainers showing off their proteges, three up and coming professionals garnered victories recently on a card held in Tennessee. On Saturday, December 19 at Cotton Eyed Joe in Knoxville, fans were treated to a nine bout card headed up by local heavyweight Alonzo Butler’s two round technical knockout over William Perryman to hike his record to 28 wins with only one defeat.

Touted “Jazzi” Jeff Mayweather-trained prospect Mickey Bey also scored a victory on the card as did “Iceman” John Scully-trained up and comer Joseph “Chip” Perez, a talented looking junior lightweight out of Connecticut..

Former elite world champion Danny “Kid Dynamite” Romero was also in the house, cornering his own up and coming prospect, middleweight Joshua Gomez of Albuquerque, New Mexico who also came away with a victory.

The highlight of the undercard, however, was another Scully affiliated prospect, one I covered just last week, featherweight Matt “Sharpshooter” Remillard out of Manchester, Connecticut. Advancing to 20-0 with a clear decision over veteran slugger Marty Robbins, Remillard appears to have a very bright future in the game. And with a strong team behind him, most notably Scully, hard working manager Brett Hallenback (he also guides the careers of Cruiserweight contender Matt “Too Smooth” Godfrey and the afore mentioned Perez), rising promoters TKO Promotions (headed up by Chet Koerner), as well as his long time amateur coach Paul Cishon, it appears Remillard has all the pieces to the puzzles in place and ready to be put together.

I spoke to trainer/cornerman “Iceman” Scully again after the fight to get his take on the progress of the man they call the “Sharpshooter.”

Q: Iceman, congratulations on getting out of Knoxville this past weekend with a couple of wins. Joseph “Chip” Perez and rising featherweight Matt “Sharpshooter” Remillard both put in work and came away with victories. How did you feel about the performances of both guys?

ICEMAN: I was very happy and excited to tell you the truth. Chip (Joey Perez’ nickname) fought a guy who was actually a welterweight while we are going to campaign as junior lightweights so there was the size factor at work but Chip lets go some very serious body shots and sometimes when that happens, it kind of offsets the size advantage of the other guy. The guy came out very quickly but Chip stayed very composed and took his time and did what he had to do to the body.

As far as Remillard goes, I think his whole team was very, very happy to see him utilize the jab much more than he normally does and especially was happy to see him really dig into his body shots the way he has been doing in the gym. He’s been working very, very hard on getting more leverage on certain body shots and it showed in this fight. He also feinted much, much more than ever and it’s those types of things that you want to see improvement on. He’s just started adding the proper feints to his game and this fight was a perfect fight to work on that aspect of things. He was in there with a very crafty and tough guy who was shorter (Marty Robbins) and trying to work his way in. Perfect contrast in styles and Matt showed a ton of improvement. I heard two people say that they thought it was the best he’s looked so far as a pro so that’s obviously a great sign.

Both guys fight again in January (January 29th at the Mohegan Sun Casino in Uncasville, Connecticut with junior middle Peter Manfredo Jr. in the main event) so I am sure they will both be right back in the gym this week to continue on their paths.

Q: Having spoken to an observer from down south, I am hearing that Remillard looked very good in that six round victory over the veteran Robbins. You have worked with Remillard in different capacities, most notably as a cornerman since his 2005 debut. This is the first fight where you have officially been deeply involved in training him in preparation for a fight, though. How do you feel things went in camp and then how did things go in the fight in terms of what you worked on in the gym?

ICEMAN: From what I have always seen and from what I have always heard when I wasn’t in the gym with him, Matt is always a hard worker in the gym. So the preparation went very well as usual for him as far as the physical work getting done. We’ve been working on quite a few new things, though, so it’s been a little bit different lately. I am trying to put more emphasis on technique as opposed to just working him hard every day. He’s a hard worker by nature so he really doesn’t need a ton of pushing every day, he just needs to keep working on all of the little things that come together and add up to the big things. Every day that I see him I have him working on execution and technique and proper weight distribution, things like that. It’s probably more mentally fatiguing than physically but I think he doesn’t mind it at all, I think he’s one of those gym rat kind of kids, the kind that is always looking to pick up new things and work on new things.

Q: On the technical side of the game, in the corner you seem to have a good rapport with the kid, he seems to respond well to your advice between rounds. Reports from down south, as well as from having seen you two in raw feeds on cable-TV broadcasts, indicate that he has the ability to follow your advice to the letter. Is that something that contributes to his success and how does a trainer acquire such a rapport with a boxer?

ICEMAN: Of course that’s something that has to be seen as a positive thing. You definitely have to have a connection with the person who is telling you what to do in there. A fighter fights and he’s the one in there actually physically doing everything but in terms of the mental aspects of the night of a fight, he has to have trust and confidence in the corner, otherwise he might just feel like he’s all by himself despite the fact that someone is sitting there talking to him. I like to think I give him good advice in the corner but the fact is that I could give him the greatest advice ever but if the fighter doesn’t have the skills or the opportunity to execute them then it doesn’t really matter what I say, you know? Sometimes people have said I gave him dead on advice in a particular and maybe I did but it can only look that way when the guy actually goes out and follows it.

In this particular fight it was a lot of jabbing and keeping proper distance and, especially, digging body shots the proper way when he got the chance. And he did those things very well, yeah.

Q: Robbins is a veteran of over sixty professional bouts and has been in the ring with some top tier opposition. It sounds like Remillard handled himself extremely well against him. So in light of that how do you see the immediate future looking for Matt “Sharpshooter” Remillard? Any specific names in the featherweight division you guys are looking to go after?

ICEMAN: You know, every single guy at the top of the division is formidable. Soto, Guerrero, Gamboa and the others are all a problem. There are also several top contenders who are very formidable roadblocks so I think at this point just about any road north that you decide to take is going to have some bumps on it, some bigger than others. Matt has a very good manager (Brett Hallenback) and a very good promotional team (TKO Promotions) who all have his best interests at heart so I don’t really worry about the business end of things at all. I have no say in who he fights or where or for how much or anything like that. I just find out about it after they have all done their thing and scheduled it.

If I was asked my opinion I would only say that I’d like to see him in a good, solid twelve rounder before he gets the opportunity to step up to face one of the champions. He’s young, still getting accustomed to the pro game, no need to rush into things. Not that he couldn’t even handle one of those top ten guys right now but it’s just to say that a lot of times when a kid starts looking good and gaining some notoriety people are quick to push him, quick to say he should face this contender or that contender but to me its all a process. Not the business side but the actual boxing side.

Matt is just now coming into his own, just now starting to really exhibit his skills and he’s going to keep learning as he goes. The best way to learn and to show what you’ve learned is to fight the rounds, get the rounds in, gain the experience, face the different styles. So I’d personally like to see him in a twelve rounder with a tough veteran to really get his feet wet in that way. If possible, I mean, you don’t really want your first experience with a real distance fight against an extremely tough and skilled opponent to be when the title is on the line.

In relation to that, I remember being in camp with Roy Jones Jr. back when he was on the way up and he was getting into his first really notable fights. And his father said something very wise at the time that I never forgot, something I’ve always kept it with me. He said he knew that Roy could fight for a title and win it back then but he didn’t want him to just win it. He wanted him to have the experience and the skills and mental strength to be able to hold onto it for a while once he had it.

Q: Great answer. Interesting take. It will be very interesting to see the next step for Remillard and I am sure we will link up when the time comes again.

On a similar note then, I know that Matt Godfrey was recently informed that Don King has won the purse bid for his fight against Steve Cunningham for the vacant IBF title at cruiserweight. Can you tell us when and where this fight will take place and do you feel that Godfrey is, as Roy’s dad might say, experienced enough to win the title and keep it?

ICE: Oh, for sure. I mean, Matt (Godfrey) has been in with some tough, tough competition as an amateur and as a pro. Top contender (Rudolph) Kraj in Germany. A huge puncher in Emmanuel Nwodo. Undefeated Shawn Hawk on ESPN. (Felix) Cora. Shaun George before he stopped Chris Byrd. Plus a serious amateur career that spanned something like eight or nine years and two (2000 and 2004) times qualifying for the U.S. Olympic Trials. He’s a mature guy with a ton of skills and now he has very good conditioning on his side. I think mentally he’s gotten stronger over the last couple of years, too. Now, I realize that Cunningham is also a very good fighter. We’re in the fight and he’s in the fight, too. As I told you last time, whoever wins this fight and becomes world champion will have beaten a good fighter to do it. No idea as of yet where or when it will be but whenever it is, we will be 100 percent ready.

Q: Indeed. Don King always puts on a great show as well. True fans are looking forward to that fight and I hope we get information soon on all the details. Good luck with that, John, and good luck with Perez and Remillard and all your amateurs, too.

ICEMAN: Thanks a lot, my man. I appreciate that.