Current WBC heavyweight champion Vitali Klitschko (38-2, 37 KOs) was recently interviewed ahead of his fight with Kevin Johnson (22-0-1, 9 KOs) which will take on December, 12th at the Post Finance Arena in Berne, Switzerland. Here's the interview...
Vitali, you’ve just scored a victory on September 26th against Chris Arreola, and you’ve already taken on a fight on December 12th versus Kevin Johnson. Doesn’t it frighten you to have two big fights in such a close amount of time?
No, I am physically fine, and because of that, it doesn’t bother me at all to have fights so close together. My preparation time for a fight is about 8 weeks, and as long as I get that, all is in order.
Not much is known about Johnson. Why did you choose this fight?
Johnson and Arreola both have an excellent record, and are dangerous fighters. At heavyweight all you need is one strong punch to win a fight. I’m not going to underestimate him, but at the same time, I’m not going to overestimate him. I can, and will, protect this belt.
This is an unusual venue for your match. More often, you fight in Germany, and you just came back from fighting in America. Now Switzerland?
My brother and I have been invited to fight in Switzerland for a long time now, and Wladimir and I usually prepare for our fights not far from that region, so I’m glad I finally have the chance to hold a bout there.
There are rumors that the WBC president, Jose Sulaiman, has inquired about you fighting in Mexico…
I haven’t heard too much about this, but believe me, it would really be worth it. I’m ready to discuss such an opportunity. It’d be great to fight in Mexico.
When will the Klitschko brothers own all of the world championship titles?
It’s just a matter of time. Believe me, Wladimir and I will do all that is possible to make that happen.
What did you think of David Haye vs Nikolay Valuev?
I congratulate Haye! He won that fight deservingly.
Would you want to fight Haye?
Yes, now that he is a world champion, he is interesting to my brother and I. I hope that now he won’t be able to cancel any fights against us. After Johnson, I am ready to sit down at the negotiating table.
You’re 38-years-old, but you leave the impression that you have many more years of fighting to go. Do you wish to surpass George Foreman’s record?
No, I don’t want to pass up George Foreman. I won’t box until I’m 45-years-old, but I still have more fights that I need to finish in my career.
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Kevin Johnson: “I can stand outside and box the hell out of Klitschko!”
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And to here Johnsons full interview skip to the 85:35 mark of the tape
Next up we were afforded the opportunity to have a nice chat with heavyweight contender Kevin Johnson. Here are some excerpts from this portion of the show:
On training and preparations for his upcoming fight with Vitali Klitschko:
“Things couldn’t be any better. Perfect. Wonderful.”
On whether or not he feels he is ready for challenging Klitschko:
“Oh yeah, 100%.”
On fighting outside of the United States for the first time in his professional career:
“It’s making me work harder so I could go over there and clarify this win.”
On being able to get inside on someone as big as Vitali:
“Well that’s the thing about this fight. I don’t have to worry about getting inside for this fight right here, because I don’t have to go to him. I have the reach advantage. I can stand outside and box the hell out of him all day.”
On having a back-up plan in a fight:
“Plan B, C, D, E, F, and G—you’re always supposed to have fifteen backup plans just in case one don’t work, you need another and another and another.”
On implementing his game plan against Klitschko:
“There’s several things I can do to beat the guy. You can’t really say what you’re going to do until you step into the ring and hear that bell ring.”
On what he believes is the key to beating Vitali Klitschko on December 12:
“Not getting hit.”
On his lack of amateur experience:
“If you know me and you do your research on me, you would know I have the best amateur background that anyone else would dream to have.”
Hey thanks krazylegs82 -- I put up a post about this...
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