'The Pazmanian Devil': Behind The Gloves Speaks to Vinny Paz
- By Behind The Gloves
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- 02 Jan, 2018
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Vinny Pazienza was a fight fans' favourite.
After turning professional in 1983, Pazienza - who legally changed his name to 'Paz' in 2001 - began his career as a lightweight. The effervescent, brash Rhode Islander blazed through the division, going 22-1 with 18 KO's en route to his maiden World title shot against then-undefeated IBF lightweight champion Greg Haugen.
Paz would overwhelm his opponent on his way to World title glory, ripping the belt from the champion via fifteen round decision in June of 1987, aged just 24-years-old. After surrendering his title in the immediate rematch to Haugen, Paz moved up in weight to super lightweight, continuing to compete at the top level of the sport.
However, his next three attempts at capturing a World title would end in defeat, with decision losses to both Roger Mayweather and Hector 'Macho' Camacho, before being disqualified in his WBA World super lightweight bout against the tricky Loreto Garza in December 1990.
Undeterred by these setbacks - a theme that would become a fixture throughout his career and, indeed, life - Paz stepped up in weight once again, this time to super welterweight, and would become a two-time World champion within a year after wresting the WBA crown from Gilbert Dele with a stunning twelfth round TKO in October 1991.
Soon after becoming champion in a second weight class, Paz was involved in an automobile accident that broke his neck and nearly cost him his career. Despite being told by doctors that he may never walk - let alone fight - again, Paz was determined to resume his boxing career, pursuing a workout regimen with screws still in his skull, as he sought to make a most unlikely of comebacks.
Against all odds, 'The Pazmanian Devil' would make his return to the ring some 14 months later, defeating future World champion Luis Santana over ten rounds in December 1992. He would go on to book wins over former World champion Lloyd Honeyghan, and two victories over ageing ring legend Roberto Duran, picking up the lightly-regarded IBC World super middleweight title in the process.
However, there would be no more World title glory for Paz, suffering a sixth round TKO loss to pound-for-pound phenomenon Roy Jones Jr. when challenging for Jones' IBF World title in his next bout, his first stoppage loss in over a decade and one of only three in his sixty fight ledger. Though he failed in his final attempt at World honours against Eric Lucas in March 2002, Vinny Paz's career will go down in history as one of the most colourful, storied and remarkable campaigns in boxing history.
The fact he was not only able to return, but also compete at the highest level, following a life-threatening injury deserves the utmost respect. Especially when considering he did it while balancing his infamously outlandish out-of-the-ring lifestyle, with Paz's notorious womanising, gambling and partying almost as renowned as his in-the-ring abilities. Such was the scale of his successes and the dramatic nature of his career, Paz's life was brought to the big screen in 2016 in the movie Bleed For This , which earned rave reviews from critics of both film, boxing and, not least of all, the man himself.
Now happily retired, the 55-year-old sat down with Behind The Gloves about his career and his life post-boxing...
BTG: What have you been up to since you retired?
BTG: You come from a time in the sport when everyone fought everyone. The best fought the best. Now fights get put off or aren’t made at all. How do you feel about that?
VP: "It’s really annoying. I mean, really annoying! What are you going to do, you know? I chalk it up to it’s life. It happens. But it is annoying. Because I look at it as anything can happen in life. You can get in a car accident and break your neck. You just never know what’s going to happen."
BTG: Do you still follow boxing?
VP: "I get up every morning, I work out, I lift weights and I shadow box. But no, I do not follow boxing anymore. I only really watch the big fights and that’s about it. I'm not up-to-date with the what’s going on right now. I look at it as a saying, you know, if you work in a donut factory eventually you’re going to get tired of the donuts, right? I’ve been boxing since I was 5 until I was 40. I’m just done with it right now."
BTG: You fought some of the toughest fighters in your era. Who do you believe was the best fighter you fought? Who was the most talented? And who hit you the hardest?
VP: "I fought Roger Mayweather, Greg Haugen, Roy Jones Jr., and Hector Camacho. It was probably Hector’s last great fight."
"Duran? He was the greatest... and he hit me like a ton of bricks! In our first fight, he still had something left. I couldn’t hit him. It was frustrating me the whole night. I kept thinking if I can’t him now, imagine when he was 25! The second fight was different. Like he got old overnight. Yet, I want to say it may be the 6th or 7th round, he caught me with the right hand. Boom! I don’t know where I was, who I was or what I was doing! I just thought are you serious right now? It was unbelievable!"
"Now, talent wise? that one’s hard. Because we've got Camacho, Jones Jr. and Duran: and they were tough! Against Jones, I don’t like making excuses, but they told me that we were going to fight about 9:30pm. We didn’t get into the ring until about 12:15am. Now, because they told me 9:30pm, I got warmed up, all set, you know? Ready to go. Then we didn’t get in there until 12:15am. On my way to the ring, I thought "Oh, God! Please let this man have a bad night!" - I had five "Oh, God!" fights, and I lost all five. I look at it as God protected me, because it could’ve been a lot worse."
BTG: Was there any fighter you wish would’ve fought?
VP: "Now this might sound crazy, but I wanted to fight Nigel Benn. He was badass and he could fight, but I felt I could outbox him. I always thought that. I knew he had power, but I wasn’t afraid. Nobody knocks me out. I liked what the name would’ve been: it would’ve been called “The Dark Destroyer vs The Pazmanian Devil.” I always thought that would’ve been cool!"
BTG: Was there a fighter you liked to watch?
VP: "I began boxing at 5 because of Muhammad Ali. I loved that guy, he was everything to me. I emulated him and if it wasn’t for him I wouldn’t be who I am today. I went to his funeral. I loved that guy. Also, I loved watching Julio Cesar Chavez Sr. He was badass!"
BTG: Who was the hardest you ever hit?
VP: "I had 30 knockouts... I hit a lot of people hard! I would say Melvin Paul. He was a big name at the time, it was my first big fight. It was in Atlantic City, and I wound up and threw a right over the top and he went down like a tree. It’s up there as one of the greatest knockouts ever, so that was really good for me! Also, one of my favourite fights was when I fought this guy Glenwood Brown. We fought at the Foxwoods Casino on ESPN and it was a great fight. He could fight. We got a standing ovation. Everyone should look up that fight. It was one of my favourite fights!"
BTG: At what point after your accident did you realise that you were going to come back to boxing?
VP: "Day one. Day one, man. I never believed that I would never fight again. I trained, I fought and I worked hard and I kept that idea in my head that I would come back - and thank God, I did."
Behind The Gloves would like to thank Vinny Paz for taking time out to speak with us. We wish him the best in his future endeavours.
Article by: Michael Rueda
You can follow Michael on Twitter at: @wolf2988
The Mancunian heavyweight soundly outpointed the long-reigning Ukrainian champion on November 28th 2015, in what was a sensational upset - also claiming the WBA, WBO, IBF and IBO titles in the process.
However, he has not fought since, due to a combination of mental health problems and substance abuse, and was required to announce a fight against a top-five contender before the end of January or face being stripped of his Ring title, his only remaining belt.
Despite his protracted hiatus, a seemingly reinvigorated Fury remained the Ring's champion for over two years and therefore regards himself as the legitimate, 'lineal' champion of the division. The undefeated giant, accompanied by a new trainer, appears to be back in love with the sport and has entertained comeback fights with the likes of Tony Bellew, Shannon Briggs, and Manuel Charr.
Although, having failed to meet the aforementioned deadline, the 'Ring' belt - a prestigious representation of the mythical lineal championship - is now vacant and will presumably be at stake when the respective winners of Wilder-Ortiz and Joshua-Parker finally square off for the undisputed title.
Following his upset points victory over Klitschko, Fury was entangled in contractual stipulations regarding Klitschko's immediate rematch clause, which the Ukrainian exercised.
As a result, Fury was unable to face IBF mandatory challenger Vyacheslav Glazkov and was almost immediately stripped of the organisation's world title in 2016.
He voluntarily relinquished the remaining belts later that year, after the Klitschko rematch was postponed due to injury and eventually fell through.
Domestic rival Anthony Joshua has since captured three of Fury's old belts, with stoppage wins over Charles Martin in April 2016 and Wladimir Klitschko the following year.
The WBO belt, incidentally, is held by Joshua's forthcoming opponent, Joseph Parker of New Zealand. Parker won the vacant title in December 2016 after defeating Andy Ruiz on points, and most recently defended his title against Hughie Fury - Tyson's cousin - on away soil in Manchester.
Nevertheless, Fury still proclaims that he is the 'man to beat' in the heavyweight division - as he never lost his belts in the ring - and many fans will indeed recognise him as such when he finally makes his return.
Lawrence Okolie says he will make ‘jealous’ Isaac Chamberlain pay for disrespecting his amateur achievements when they clash at The O2 on Saturday night, live on Sky Sports.
Okolie represented Team GB at the Rio games in 2016 before turning pro with Matchroom Boxing under the management of Anthony Joshua’s AJ BXNG.
Chamberlain has been vocal about Okolie’s amateur success in the build-up to the clash, downplaying the Hackney talent’s journey that took him from flipping burgers in McDonald’s to amateur success and the 7-0 record he puts on the line in Greenwich.
“The rivalry on his side stems from jealousy,” said Okolie. “They say that they've been watching me since I went to the Olympics as we've known each other a long time. They see me as a big money fight and here it is – we'll see if it's too early for him or too early for me.
“Can Isaac take my power? Can Isaac take me into the later rounds? We're all going to find out the reality. I see boxing in a different way to most people. Isaac is a good fighter, he’s fast, good boxing IQ and he's resilient, but I don't see that being enough as I am going to get to him and get to him viciously.
“People in Isaac's gym know what it takes to get into the Olympics because they didn't get there. He has never taken a risk as an amateur or a professional. He's been the a-side in all of his fights and all bar two of his opponents have come in off a loss. He's done nothing to show levels of pedigree, he's had a life-or-death with Wadi Camacho at Southern Area level.
“They say that everything has been given to me. I get the praise and attention because of what I did in the amateurs and the performances I've put in as a pro. If I'd been putting in the performances in the pros that he has, I wouldn't get this attention.
“I dislike what Isaac represents, it's a cult of Cruiserweights who are active, come together on social media and backing each other up to talk down to me, "so what he was in the Olympics he's rubbish" blah blah, they discredit everything I have done.
“They say I've had an easy ride, but Eddie Hearn didn't come to Hackney and take me out of McDonalds, take me to Team GB then take me to Rio for the Olympics.
“Team GB didn't say ‘only 10 GB fighters can go to Brazil and only 16 fighters can fight in the tournament at each weigh - but do you know what, we're going to give you the golden ticket and you don't have to qualify or work hard’.
“The reality is, I've worked so hard to get me and it annoys me that he and his team have disrespected what I've achieved and how hard I've worked to get here and how hard I will work to get to where I want to be.”
Chamberlain and Okolie clash on a huge night of action in Greenwich as Watford’s Reece Bellotti puts his Commonwealth Featherweight title on the line for the first time against Crawley’s Ben Jones.
Rising Essex force Ted Cheeseman faces a real step-up in international class against a familiar face in Carson Jones, the Oklahoma man who twice met former Welterweight World ruler Kell Brook and Brian Rose, and won on his most recent visit, stopping Ben Hall last November and comes into the fight after facing modern great Antonio Margarito in September.
Team GB Rio Olympian Joshua Buatsi laces them up for a fourth time in the paid ranks, Paul Butler gets valuable rounds as he hunts a shot at the WBA World Bantamweight crown, former World title challenger Charlie Edwards looks to get back on the road to major honours, and Felix Cash is full of confidence after moving to 7-0 with a second successive first round KO win last week and is looking to land a first title shot at Middleweight in 2018.
Limited tickets remain on general sale at www.theO2.co.uk priced at £40.
Face value tickets for February 3 are available from http://www.stubhub.co.uk/matchroom-boxing-tickets/ . StubHub is the official ticket partner and marketplace of Matchroom Boxing and Anthony Joshua.
Source: Matchroom Boxing [Press Release]
Tonight, IBF cruiserweight champion Murat Gassiev (25-0-0, 18 KO's) will face WBA titleholder Yunier Dorticos (22-0-0, 21 KO's) in the second semi-final of the World Boxing Super Series cruiserweight tournament.
At stake are not only two World championship belts, but also a place in the final against the tournament number one seed, Oleksandr Usyk, who outpointed Mairis Briedis last weekend in Riga. In Gassiev facing Dorticos, the tournament pits two of the division’s heaviest hitters against one another, both of whom are coming off sensational knockout victories and full of confidence as they seek to book their place in the final.
At only twenty four years of age, Murat 'Iron' Gassiev is the young lion of the tournament. The Russian native, who will hold home advantage on Saturday night in Sochi. Despite a low-key amateur career, Gassiev has progressed quickly in the professional ranks under the expert tutelage of Abel Sanchez, best-known as the trainer of middleweight champion Gennady Golovkin.
In his last two fights, Gassiev has stepped up the level of his opposition: impressing on both occasions. In the first, he outpointed and dethroned one of the cruiserweight division’s toughest and most-respected veterans, Denis Lebedev, capturing the IBF title in the process. Gassiev then followed up by becoming the first man to stop long-time former champion Krzysztof Wlodarczyk, knocking him out with a pulverising bodyshot in their World Boxing Super Series quarter-final bout in October 2025.
Alexander Povetkin will defend his WBA Inter-Continental and WBO International Heavyweight titles against David Price at Principality Stadium in Cardiff on March 31, live on Sky Sports Box Office.
Former WBA ruler Povetkin is the mandatory challenger for the WBA Super title held by Anthony Joshua MBE, who meets Joseph Parker in a unification blockbuster at the top of the bill. The Russian powerhouse will be targeting a showdown with the main event winner, but must first make a second successful defence of his titles having seen off Christian Hammer in December after winning the belts in July against Andriy Rudenko.
“I’m very excited to be fighting on this huge show,” said Povetkin. “I expect to put on a great performance and then go on to fight the Joshua vs. Parker winner later this year.”
Price has other ideas as he lands a golden opportunity to take a seat at the top table in the Heavyweight division. The Liverpool favourite returned to action in December in Essex after his loss to Hammer in February, and the 34 year old is determined to take this golden chance on a ‘life changing’ night.
“It is a massive, massive chance for me and it has come from nowhere,” said Price. “I wasn’t expecting an opportunity like this to appear so it was a no-brainer.
“It is a big ask for me to go out and win this fight but upsets do happen in sport. I have been on the wrong end of upsets in boxing and I think I am due a bit of luck. I have a belief that this fight has come at the right time for me and I have a belief that I am going to win the fight.
“Without doing myself a disservice, every dog has its day and I have a feeling that this is doing to be my day and everything that has happened has led to this.
“I have never found myself in this position where I have been the big underdog and I have everything to gain. I will go in there completely free of any pressure and I think people will see the best of me for that very reason.
“Make no mistake, I am coming to win. At first, I was just grateful for the opportunity but now in my mind I have to win this fight. There is plenty to gain and too much upside for me not to win this fight – it could be life changing. I am desperate to win this fight and I will do everything in my power to do so.
“I know it will be a hard fight, anything can happen in a fight and I may have to get off the floor to win. It is going to be the hardest fight of my life but something is telling me it is going to be my night.
“Sparring will be key for me. I am going to have to take myself out of my comfort zone when it comes to sparring for this fight. I need to bring in world-class sparring partners who will test me every day. We will go away to Germany for some sparring, we haven’t got any names yet but we are having a look.
“In the past I have performed my best when I have been really tested in the gym and in sparring, so that will be key for this fight. I need to be prepared for what is to come because it is going to be a hard fight and as long as I am prepared physically and mentally then nature will take its course.”
Povetkin and Price clash on a huge night of boxing in Cardiff as Joshua and Parker battle for the IBF, WBA Super, IBO and WBO World titles.
Limited tickets remain on sale for the event priced at £300 and £600 from www.stubhub.co.uk
Coach packages are on sale via www.seetickets.com with various pick up/drop off locations available throughout the UK.
For accessibility and wheelchair tickets – please contact the Principality Stadium via 02920 822432.
Official hospitality packages are available to purchase directly from Principality Stadium Experience. Both private suite and premium lounge packages are available to purchase, with prices starting from £450 per person + VAT. For further information please call the team on 02920 822 413.
Official Hospitality packages are also available via Sportsworld via www.sportsworld.co.uk or by calling 0208 9712966
Authorities are strongly advising fans to allow plenty of time to get into both Cardiff and Principality Stadium and to plan their travel before purchasing a ticket. Details can be found via the Information tab at: http://www.principalitystadium.wales/events/v/joshua-v-parker-2018-03-31
Source: Matchroom Boxing [Press Release]
Isaac Chamberlain wants to celebrate three years as a pro by inflicting a first career to Lawrence Okolie at The O2 in London on Saturday night, live on Sky Sports.
Chamberlain headlines at The O2 after making his debut there three years ago today (January 31) and the unbeaten Brixton talent has grafted hard to get to his place at the top of the bill.
The 23 year old passed a gut-check in his sixth fight when he battled through a dislocated shoulder to take the Southern Area Cruiserweight title from Wadi Camacho in September 2016 – and it’s that grit and determination that Chamberlain feels is the difference between the pair.
“It's going to be an amazing experience headlining my own show at The O2,” said Chamberlain. “From coming from nothing to this stage is humbling. I'm not one of these guys that goes out partying after fights and blow all my money, I'm trying to buy a house, get a mortgage, set my life up and live right, and this is a big fight and one that pays well.
“I want to be great, I want to win belts and I want to fight top fighters. I've tasted titles against Camacho and I'm fighting on top of a big bill at The O2, this is what I am in the sport for.
“Nothing has been given to me in boxing, that's been the case from day one and it still is. I will always have that underdog mentality and go into fights to take everything. I won’t stop at any cost, I'm always going to be in the gym and living right because I don't want this journey to end.
“I think it's a good thing that I've had to work hard for what I've got. Boxing is hard at every level, from bottom to top. When you are a World champion there's a target on your back and everyone hunts you down, that's not easy.
“My ride has made me mentally stronger, if I'd had things handed to me, I wouldn't know what it's like to dig deep and grit my teeth to get through the tough moments. I know that when it gets tough, I can bite down on the gumshield and get to the other side with the win.”
Chamberlain and Okolie clash on a huge night of action in Greenwich as Watford’s Reece Bellotti puts his Commonwealth Featherweight title on the line for the first time against Crawley’s Ben Jones.
Rising Essex force Ted Cheeseman faces a real step-up in international class against a familiar face in Carson Jones, the Oklahoma man who twice met former Welterweight World ruler Kell Brook and Brian Rose, and won on his most recent visit, stopping Ben Hall last November and comes into the fight after facing modern great Antonio Margarito in September.
Team GB Rio Olympian Joshua Buatsi laces them up for a fourth time in the paid ranks, Paul Butler gets valuable rounds as he hunts a shot at the WBA World Bantamweight crown, former World title challenger Charlie Edwards looks to get back on the road to major honours, and Felix Cash is full of confidence after moving to 7-0 with a second successive first round KO win last week and is looking to land a first title shot at Middleweight in 2018.
Limited tickets remain on general sale at www.theO2.co.uk priced at £40.
Face value tickets for February 3 are available from http://www.stubhub.co.uk/matchroom-boxing-tickets/ . StubHub is the official ticket partner and marketplace of Matchroom Boxing and Anthony Joshua.
Source: Matchroom Boxing [Press Release]
Qais Ashfaq has signed a promotional deal with Matchroom Boxing.
Ashfaq represented Team GB at the 2016 Rio Olympic Games, the culmination of a blossoming amateur career that included Commonwealth Youth Games gold and silver in the Commonwealth Games in Glasgow in 2014.
The Leeds talent can now focus on getting his career up-and-running in the paid ranks with a debut to be announced shortly, and Ashfaq is determined to make up for lost time and build a fan base all over the UK.
“I’m so happy to be joining Matchroom Boxing and be on Sky Sports, it’s the best place for me to be to showcase my skills and I so excited to have a date in place for my debut,” said Ashfaq, who will campaign at Super-Bantamweight.
“I’m out to prove a point and I want to be part of the big shows coming up in the next few months. I’ve got a lot of catching up to do and I want to be as busy as possible.
“It’s been stop start and I’ve lost a year of my pro career so I feel that I have something to prove, not just to the public but to myself. That’s why being with Matchroom is great because there’s so many fight nights coming up all over Britain and I think I can progress quickly and pick up fans everywhere. I’m a Leeds boy though so of course I would love to box in my city.
“I really want to fight on Amir Khan’s comeback show in April. He’s got at least three fights with Matchroom and it would be amazing to be on those bills. When I was a kid, I hadn’t had any fights and I walked in the gym, I looked at Boxing News and Amir was in the middle of a Team GB pic as he was the only one to qualify for the Olympics. My coach said ‘if he can do it, you can do it too’. Amir’s been such a huge inspiration for me and it’s great to be part of the same stable as him.”
“I’m delighted to welcome Qais to the team,” said promoter Eddie Hearn. “Qais is a richly talented fighter and one that will become an instant hit with fans all over Britain. I’m looking forward to his imminent debut and then showcasing him all over the UK.”
Source: Matchroom Boxing [Press Release]
Eddie Hearn and Matchroom Boxing are delighted to announce a radio broadcast deal with talkSPORT for SEVEN huge fight nights – including Anthony Joshua MBE’s World Heavyweight unification battle with Joseph Parker.
The deal begins on Saturday night as unbeaten Cruiserweight talents Lawrence Okolie and Isaac Chamberlain settle their ‘British Beef’ at The O2.
Next up, Kell Brook makes his debut at Super-Welterweight in Sheffield on March 3 against Sergey Rabchenko and a week later, Scott Quigg aims to become a two-weight World champion as he challenges Oscar Valdez for the WBO Featherweight crown in Los Angeles.
Heavyweight boxing is the focus in a huge fortnight of action at the end of March, starting at The O2 on March 24 where Dillian Whyte defends his WBC Silver title against Lucas Browne before Cardiff takes centre-stage as Anthony Joshua MBE and Joseph Parker clash in a huge unification battle.
Amir Khan returns to action for the first time since May 2016 as he meets Phil Lo Greco at the Echo Arena in Liverpool on April 21, and then Tony Bellew and David Haye renew hostilities at The O2 on May 5.
Liam Fisher, National Radio controller at talkSPORT, said: “Another day and more mouth-watering boxing rights for talkSPORT. Our team of pundits will be there for a host of exciting clashes as talkSPORT cements its place as radio’s home of boxing.”
Eddie Hearn said: “Fights don’t get much bigger than this and I’m delighted that we have talkSPORT, the world’s biggest sports radio station, to broadcast all the drama. There’s nothing quite like two titans meeting in the ring and this will be one not to miss.”
Source: Matchroom Boxing [Press Release]
The O2 Arena plays host to the fiercely anticipated 'British Beef' showdown this Saturday, with long-standing Cruiserweight rivals Lawrence Okolie (7-0-0, 6 KO's) and Isaac Chamberlain (9-0-0, 4 KO's) squaring off in a battle of two undefeated prospects.
With just one Southern Area title and a combined sixteen fights between the pair, neither man has experienced headlining a big fight night live on SkySports. However, that will count for little when they enter the ring on Saturday night, with the WBA Continental Cruiserweight title on the line - as well as considerable bragging rights.
Hackney’s Lawrence Okolie, trained by Brian O’Shaughnessy, has yet to go past the sixth round as a professional, entering the paid ranks just one year ago under the guidance of manager Anthony Joshua and promoter Eddie Hearn. Despite having only boxed 15 professional rounds against modest opposition, the former Team GB star is still regarded as a special talent.
Standing at 6ft 5", Okolie enjoys a three inch height advantage over Chamberlain, and while still appearing rough around the edges, the 25-year-old has impressed in the early stages of his career with an excellent variety of shots and rangy, fight ending power.
By contrast, despite being two years Okolie's junior, Chamberlain has amassed a total of 43 rounds from his nine fights, going the full ten round distance once in a 2016 dogfight with veteran Wadi Camacho. The bout, which saw Chamberlain claim the Southern Area title, was regarded by many as one of the standout contests of the year, with the Brixton man dislocating his shoulder in the third round before going on to grit out a gruelling decision victory in front of a raucous York Hall crowd.
Training out of Miguel’s Gym in Brixton, 23-year-old Chamberlain is trained and managed by his uncle - and former European super lightweight champion - Ted Bami. Despite having less than ten amateur fights, Chamberlain turned professional in January 2015, ironically at the same venue he will face Okolie on February 3rd: London's O2 Arena. Since his debut, he has racked up nine consecutive victories, and enters the bout with Okolie on a run of four four stoppage wins in his last five outings.
Boxing behind a solid jab and boasting a smooth in-ring manner, Chamberlain's slick skills have seen him used as a sparring partner for some of the world's finest cruiserweights. After sharing the ring with the likes of Mike Perez and Mateusz Masternak, Chamberlain visited consensus best fighter in the division Oleksandr Usyk in preparation for the Ukrainian superstar's two most recent contests.
It is testament to the skill and willingness to pit himself against the best in the world that have seen Chamberlain's reputation grow within the boxing community. Time will tell if those attributes will be a determining factor when he enters the ring against Okolie.
Following a heavily-hyped build-up, there seems to be genuine animosity between the pair. In the past week, the two men have exchanged relatively good-humoured barbs. First is was Chamberlain, who took out an advert mocking Okolie in the Hackney man's local newspaper, while Okolie replied by driving a burger van to Chamberlain's Brixton base in response to his opponent's taunts about his former occupation in McDonalds.
This fight itself is going to answer a lot of questions about both men. It is a boost to British boxing to see two relative novices - albeit with tremendous potential - risk their unbeaten unbeaten records by meeting so early on in their careers. The bout represents a significant risk, though win or lose, there is still a place in the current boxing scene for either fighter to continue down their chosen path.
The Barry stylist and Warrington have been embroiled in a long-running rivalry, with Selby accusing the Yorkshireman of ‘bottling’ an opportunity to face him in 2016. But now the bitter foes will settle their feud once and for all in the first ever World Title fight to be held in Leeds.
Leeds hero Warrington (26-0, 6 KO’s) brought the blockbuster all-British showdown closer to reality by stopping previously unbeaten Dane Dennis Ceylan in a Final Eliminator clash at the First Direct Arena back in October.
Welshman Selby (26-1, 9 KO’s) claimed the IBF Featherweight crown against Russia’s Evgeny Gradovich in 2015 and will be defending his belt on away soil for the fifth time when he steps into the lion’s den on May 19th.
Both men know there is potentially a greater prize on offer than the belt itself, with victory in May likely to provide a passport towards a summertime showdown with former two-weight World Champion and Frank Warren stablemate Carl Frampton MBE.
“On May 19th I’ll achieve my dream of becoming a World Champion at the home of my beloved Leeds United,” said Warrington. “The city of Leeds is craving a World Champion and I’m going to give them what they want.
“With the support of an entire city behind me I’m going to create history. I’m going to give absolutely everything to get my hands on that World Title. I’m grabbing this opportunity with both hands!”
“Fighting away from home in his backyard doesn’t bother me in the slightest,” said Selby. “This is a huge fight and it makes sense to take it to a football stadium. There will be tens of thousands of his fans backing him on May 19th but it’s only me and him in the ring.
“Let’s see what Josh is really made of. He’s done everything that has been asked of him and he’s earned his shot at my World Title. Josh is standing in the way of my opportunity at joining the boxing elite. I’m going to thrive off the hostile atmosphere.”
Conor Benn will be back in action on the undercard of Amir Khan’s return to the ring at the Echo Arena in Liverpool on April 21, live on Sky Sports.
Benn’s last action was an incredible six round roller coaster against Cedrick Peynaud at York Hall in December where Benn hit the canvas twice in the opening round before flooring the Frenchman in the fifth and sixth rounds to edge an east London classic.
‘The Destroyer’ fights on Merseyside for the first time in the paid ranks as he aims to get to 12-0, and the 21 year old is excited to show the improvements he’s made since that electric night in Bethnal Green.
“The fans enjoyed my last fight but that's not the way I should've been fighting,” said Benn. “I got the win and showed heart to come back from the first round. The support in York Hall was amazing and it really drove me on. I'm 21 and I've come into the game as a kid, but I've been tested a couple of times already.
“This is a tough, tough sport and I was scared that I was going to lose but it says a lot about me that I came back and won. I know I've got a lot to learn but I'm working hard in the gym with Tony Sims and I'm looking forward to showing improvements on my debut in Liverpool, a city that loves it's boxing - I can't wait.”
Benn’s return is part of a huge night of action in Liverpool as Khan fights for the first time since May 2016 against Canadian Phil Lo Greco.
Birkenhead’s Sean ‘Masher’ Dodd defends his Commonwealth Lightweight title against Tommy Coyle, and former Team GB Olympians Natasha Jonas and Anthony Fowler and unbeaten Super-Welterweight Scott Fitzgerald are all in action.
Tickets are priced £40, £60, £80, £100 and £200 VIP and go on sale at midday tomorrow (Tuesday January 30) to Matchroom Fight Pass members from www.stubhub.co.uk andon general sale at midday Wednesday January 31 at midday via the Echo Arena at www.echoarena.com and on 0344 8000 400.
Source: Matchroom Boxing [Press Release]
