by James Slater – As fight fans may know, 25-year-old middleweight Billy Lyell of Youngstown received news last week of how he had been offered a shot at IBF 160-pound ruler Sebastian Sylvester of Germany. Snapping up the surprise opportunity in a heartbeat, the 21-7(4) contender who rose to fame with his April 2009 win over John Duddy, is confident he can score another notable upset this coming Saturday.
Lyell himself has already left for Germany, alongside his trainer Jack Loew, but his manager, Patrick Nelson, who flies out tonight, very kindly gave the following answers to my questions about the upcoming fight.
James Slater: Thanks so much for your time, Patrick. We understand Billy had already been in training for another fight when the big opportunity against Sylvester came about?
Patrick Nelson: That’s correct. I tell you, since he graduated college last year, Billy Lyell has devoted all of his time to boxing. He’s stayed very active, he’s a gym rat and he’s in great shape now. He was in shape and on weight for an eight-round fight this Friday, against Bruce Rumbolz, 22-19, and he is ready for this fight with Sylvester; believe me..
J.S: This is obviously a dream fight, which came right out of the blue. Billy must be very excited?
P.N: He is very excited, and also very happy to have been given this opportunity. But at the same time, we had thought we’d one day have a good chance of fighting Sylvester. We thought it would be for an intercontinental title, not a world title, but then Arthur Abraham moved up in weight to fight in the Super-Six, which vacated the IBF world title. So it was a fight that we had talked about. Billy even went as far as top get a passport in anticipation of one day going to Germany to fight Sebastian Sylvester. So it’s come a lot quicker than we thought and not as we’d planned it, and it’s a really fortunate opportunity.
J.S: So have Billy and his team been studying Sylvester on tape?
P.N: Yes. Billy and his trainer, Jack Loew, who also trains world middleweight champion Kelly Pavlik, have studied Sylvester. Billy is very confident he can use his height advantage to good effect. It’s not often Billy has that advantage over an opponent (Lyell is 5’9,” Sylvester 5.7.5″ according to BoxRec). He also feels his activity level and how busy he is in the fight will frustrate Sylvester. He knows it’s hard to win a decision abroad, and that he has to win decisively. This is a perfect opportunity for the kid. He’s primed, he’s in condition and it’s a deserving opportunity for a hardworking young fighter.
J.S: Obviously, Billy came to prominence when he beat John Duddy last year in a real upset. He is confident he can score another big upset?
P.N: Billy Lyell has made a career of fighting favourites in the favourite’s home town! Against Duddy, which was an excellent win, he fought in front of Duddy’s home fans and won. He’s definitely coming to win on Saturday – he’s primed to fight, and that’s important.
J.S: Whilst he’s in Germany, will Billy do any further training at all, or will he just wind down so to speak?
P.N: There will be a public workout on Tuesday, but he’s already sparred dozens of rounds against quality fighters. He’s studied Sylvester’s strengths and weaknesses for a year, and he couldn’t feel any better than he does right now. Billy is peaking as a fighter now.
J.S: Does Billy feel a KO win for him is a possibility? Obviously, a KO would be a huge result for him.
P.N: Lyell’s KO ratio is very low (just 4 KO’s from his 21 wins). But every fighter, including Billy, believes he can stop any fighter on a given night. But his track record doesn’t suggest a KO, no. He’s in shape to do 12 rounds though, there’s no doubt about that.
J.S: Without the upset win over Duddy, would Billy have the same confidence he has going into this fight?
P.N: That was a very important and big win for Billy, but I don’t feel it has any bearing on this fight really. Billy has been in with better fighters than Sylvester has though – he’s been in with at least ten world class fighters; that’s why he has seven losses. I’m talking about very good fighters like James Kirkland, Charles Whittaker, Vanes Martirosyan, Ramon Campos and David Lopez. That’s quite a list of world ranked fighters at either 154 or 160-pounds. And if you look at the Martirosyan fight (from Feb. 2009 – a points loss for Lyell) you will see how Billy won the last few rounds – as was reflected in the judges scorecards. So since the last few rounds of that fight, which preceded the Duddy fight, Lyell has really been at his peak as a fighter.
J.S: Do you feel that after Kelly Pavlik, Sylvester is the best middleweight in the world?
P.N: No, Felix Sturm is clearly the second best after Pavlik. Nobody really knows who Sylvester is either, but then, he is fairly new [as a champion] and Abraham is a hard act to follow. But this fight on Saturday will have a sell-out crowd of over 5,000 and it’s a big fight. It’s also a pleasure to get this fight and to be able to travel to such a nice place like Germany.
J.S: Do you expect a hostile crowd though?
P.N: The German people and the German fans are some of the best boxing fans on earth. They’re very knowledgeable and they enjoy their boxing. They will get a great fight on Saturday, too. Billy Lyell only knows one way to fight – exciting; that’s it.
J.S: Just adding a little bit more about the Kelly Pavlik-Jack Loew thing. How recently has Billy sparred with Kelly?
P.N: He sparred a lot of rounds with Kelly when Kelly was getting ready for his fight with Miguel Espino last month. He got out of that camp and just stayed in the gym right until last week.
J.S: Well, it’s been great talking with you, Patrick. Best wishes for Saturday night.
P.N: Cheers.