Travis Walker
Travis Walker “I see a stoppage coming!”
By George Jimenez
Noche de Boxeo Radio had the chance to sit down with Travis “Freight Train”Walker (39-7-1, 31 KOs) to discuss his next fight with former two-time world champ Tomasz Adamek (46-2, 28KOs). The fight is titled “Ironbound Throwdown” and it will be a 12 round main event at Newark, NJ’s Prudential Center on Saturday afternoon, September 8, 2012. At stake will be Adamek’s IBF North American Heavyweight Title, and the chance at a future bigger fight and payday. The interview was conducted by hosts Cesar Hernandez and George Jimenez as part of their weekly boxing show which airs every Monday at 8pm EST. Below is a transcript of the interview:
Noche De Boxeo: Thank you for being on the show. We know you have a very tough fight coming up against Tomasz Adamek, are you ready for it?
Travis Walker: I am so ready for it, thank you for having me
NDB: We know that your last fight was a great victory against Kali Meehan inAustralia, what does that fight do for your confidence to fight somebody like Tomasz Adamek?
TW: Well actually my confidence was already there, but it definitely helped me mentally to know exactly where I am at in this game, that I can still compete in this game, because I was actually getting a little frustrated with some of the rulings that I’ve had in the past and it helps me with my confidence to know what I need to do to make myself a better fighter.
NDB: How is your preparation going for your upcoming fight?
TW: Everything is going super, man!
NDB: How do you prepare for a guy like Adamek who is smaller than you and moves a lot in the ring? Is there anything you are working on especially for this fight?
TW: Yes, definitely, I need to work on keeping my defense up real tight, because he throws a lot of punches, he get in-get out. I have to get in a certain kind of shape in order to fight a guy like this because he is a “mover”. And as a Heavyweight boxer we are not too used to movers.
NDB: Going into this fight not a lot of people are giving you a chance against Tomasz Adamek, but looking at your record you have fought some of the top Heavyweight fighters around, yet they have him as the favorite. How do you respond to that?
TW: Most of my fights I have been looked as the underdog, but I still came out with a win, or they had to rob me in order to get the win. So that really don’t bother me, I just have to do my thing. I don’t mind proving to the people that I am here.
NDB: What do you think is the most dangerous thing about Tomasz Adamek?
TW: His speed. He has great speed and with Tomasz you have to get to his speed level. Although people have brought to my attention that he has slowed down as a boxer. But I still have to prepare myself as if he has it.
NDB: What have you done as far as conditioning to prepare yourself for a fighter that has movement? Have you worked more on your cardio, strength, or both? What is your game plan physically to prepare for Adamek?
TW: One of the things you have to do more is get your sprints in because you are going to have to throw punches in combinations, and then you get a small break, and then you go back at it. I do a lot of “suicides” and stuff like that.
NDB: What is your motivating factor for this fight? What is pushing you to excel?
TW: What is pushing me is my confidence, what I got to do, this is going to make me or break me. I really don’t have another four years to try to climb back up to the top so I gotta get it, I gotta make it happen.
NDB: We usually give our guests a chance to send a shout and thank the people that support them; this is your time, go ahead.
TW: I want to thank my real friends and family members who always stuck by me, always kept me uplifted in my career, believed in me; and all my fans that really believed in me. I have a lot of Facebook friends and Twitter friends that always hit me up and give me good motivational speeches and stuff like that, and that always helps me keep sharp.
NDB: Where can they follow you?
TW: On Facebook (and Twitter) they can find me under “Travis Walker”
NDB: Before you leave we have a few more questions. How do you deal with Adamek’s fans? His fights atPrudentialCenter usually get about 6 to 8 thousand fans, mostly Polish fans. How do you prepare for something like that? And does that bother you at all?
TW: It really don’t bother me at all. Actually it kind of “amps” me up for the fight, because a lot of people are going against me and I like to shut them up. So that gives me the opportunity to quiet the crowd and I enjoy doing that.
NDB: As a follow-up question, are you worried at all if the fight goes to the score cards and something weird happens and they go against you? Some people claim that in the last fight, Adamek vs Chambers, they robbed Chambers? What is your opinion on that?
TW: I definitely believe they robbed Chambers but I feel like this, it’s going to be a tough fight regardless and I am used to that happening to me. And the only way to stop that from happening to me is by stopping my opponent. So I see a stoppage coming in my next fight, by me.
NDB: Are you giving us your official prediction? What’s the round?
TW: I am not going to force the knock out, I am not going by the round, I am just going to allow it to come, and I know it’s going to come.
NDB: That’s all the questions we have, thanks for being on the show, good luck on the fight and we hope it’s a good one.
TW: Thank you very much for having me.
FIGHT INFO:
“Ironbound Throwdown” September 8th at Newark’s Prudential Center features Tomasz Adamek vs. Travis Walker. Tickets priced at $180 ringside, $105, and $55 are available through Ticketmaster: online at www.ticketmaster.com; Charge-by-phone: 1-800-745-3000; Ticketmaster Express 866-448-7849; and Ticketmaster ticket centers. Tickets are also available at Prudential Center’s Box Office and www.prucenter.com.
The fight will be available in Polando n PPV. WealthTV will begin airing undercard bouts live at 3PM ET nationally on Verizon FiOS TV channel 169 and 669 in HD, AT&T U-Verse TV channels 470 and 1470 in HD, along with over 100 cable systems across the country.
Prudential Center doors will open at 1:30PM; first fight is 2:00PM. The card is presented by Main Events in association with Peltz Boxing, and Ziggy Promotions.
Noche de Boxeo Radio airs every Monday at 8pm EST and can be heard here http://leaveitintheringradio.com/
Noche de Boxeo is part of the Leave it in the RinG Radio family which also includes “The boxing Fix” radio show.
