07.01.06 – Interview by Travis Marks: Jamaican Born O’ Neil Bell (photo: Tom Casino / Showtime) has been fighting professionally for seven years in the cruiserweight division. Bell has been blessed with phenomenal power and engages in very exciting bouts. He feels that he is boxing best kept secret and he can’t wait to ascend to stardom.
Bell is currently IBF cruiserweight champion and is looking to add the WBC and WBA titles by defeating Jean Marc Mormeck this Saturday night. This unification bout is the first match for the undisputed cruiserweight championship in over 17 years when Evander Holyfield held the titles.
This bout is part of a great card that is being promoted by Don King Productions and will be shown live on Showtime at 9pm EST. Zab “Super” Judah will be co-featuring as he defends his WBC belt against tough veteran Argentinean Carlos Baldomir. At the final press conference held in the Theatre at Madison Square Garden for this great boxing card Eastsideboxing.com sat down with Bell asked him a few interesting questions..
Eastsideboxing.com: O’Neil, what happened in the Dale Brown fight?
Bell: (Agitated). Dale Brown fight, this shit keeps going back in my face. I was not a hundred percent. I had managerial problems; I had lawsuits over my head. Yeah granted, I took that into the ring with me and thinking about it the whole fight. You didn’t see a hundred percent of O’Neil. In the (Sebastian) Rothmann fight you saw ninety percent of me. The lawsuit was still hanging over my head, the fight was longer than it should have been but I still managed to knock him out in the 11th round.
ESB: What have you learned from that experience? Would you take those types of issues in the ring with you again?
Bell: I would be better equipped to deal with it. I taught the onlookers and the critics something. I was able to take some of Dale Brown’s best shots and came back. (Pointing to his chin then forehead) I gave him three lacerations. (Pointing to the area between his eyes) I gave him the mark of the beast with the jab. What else can I say, who walked away victorious? Who was busted up?
ESB: So tell me how you see this fight with Mormeck going?
Bell: (Smiling from ear to ear) I see this as an excellent match up. It’s an excellent view for the crowd to see. Audiences don’t want to see any boxer ducking and dodging not willing to fight. I’m here to fight, I’m a fighter and he’s a fighter. This is a heck of a boxing match. I see myself as a superior fighter, I’m well rounded. I see myself out boxing and out slugging Mormeck. Its balls to the walls, chins up in the air, whatever he wants to take tell him to come and get it.
ESB: Now that there has been some time since the cruiserweight limit was increased from 190 pounds to 200 pounds, in retrospect do you think it was a good move? Do you feel it was beneficial?
Bell: It’s benefited us already. We are actually like
heavyweights. If you go back in time you will see that (Mohammed) Ali was 210 lbs, (Mike) Tyson 225 lbs until recently, Joe Louis 185-187 lbs, Ezzard Charles was the same weight. I hit as hard as a heavyweight so it doesn’t take away anything from me, it actually adds to my potential.
ESB: If successful what do you want to do next?
Bell: (Looking very determined) When successful!!! I want to dominate the cruiserweight division. I want to make a stamp on this division, not get the titles and run away to heavyweight. But if there is an interesting fight in the heavyweight division I would take it. But my main focus is to bring the limelight back to this division. The last big payday was Holyfield and that was a little over $800,000. That was not that much based on the caliber of fighter that Evander was. I’m trying to get a million dollar payday actually in fact a two million dollar payday.
ESB: Other than Mormeck, who do you see as a challenge out there?
Bell: I see myself as a challenge to me. I must rise to the occasion and defeat the obstacles that I encounter. I don’t see a challenger out there necessarily as far as opponents. I think the challenge lies within me. But I do respect all out fighters.
ESB: Why did you change your nickname from “Give Em Hell” to “Supernova”?
O’Neil Bell: I did research and realized that nothing good comes from hell. I can’t relate anything positive that came from hell. I carried that name for about 6-7 years. There have been things going on in my career outside of boxing that I didn’t want to really mention, so I disassociated myself from the word hell and came up with the name supernova. Supernova sparks creation; it’s a new day, a creation of faith. Supernovas destroy and create at the same time. I’ve created a new environment, a new perspective, a new mentality. Like I said nothing good comes from hell, I’ll preach that till the day that I die. It’s not a good thing.
ESB: Is there anything you would like to say in closing?
Bell: Stay tuned tonight. It’s going to be an explosion.
Eastsideboxing.com would like to thank O’Neil Bell for sitting down with us. We also wish him the best of luck in his career defining fight against Jean Marc Mormeck.