09.04.06 – By Tony Nobbs: In what will be a battle of former world champions, Brisbane’s Robbie “Bomber” Peden hopes to face Thailand’s Yodsanan Sor Nanthachai in an IBF elimination bout in the next couple of months. The winner is then expected to fight Mexico’s ageless war horse Manuel Medina for the vacant world crown later in the year.
Eastside spoke with Peden and teed up this interview while he was in the Northern NSW country town of Lismore last weekend supporting his father Brian’s team at the Arthur Maloney Glove Club’s amateur tournament.
Robbie proved a popular figure at the tournament, held at the Workers Club where he fought as a youngster, catching up with all the old faces, signing autographs and being photographed with many. He took the time to answer the following questions during the week.
Eastside: Robbie, tell us how this opportunity come about?
Robbie Peden: Well Marco indicated his intention to move up to 135 to challenge Jesus Chavez but Chavez got a cut. I hear he is now going to defend at 130 against Rocky Juarez for the WBC title only.
ESB: Robbie, when and where do you think this fight will take place?
RP: Actually I’m just waiting for my promoter Dan Goosen to give me my details with Yodsanan. There was a date of May 31 but I hurt my hand last week and have had to take a week or so off at my doctors request.
ESB: What do you know of Yodsanan?
RP: I do know him and he is a very strong southpaw. His record speaks for itself and he’s a legend in Thailand.
ESB: How have you fared with southpaws in the past?
RP: I’ve worked with them all my life . My brother (Troy) was a lefty so were Pernell Whitaker and Zab Judah. I had a lot of sparring with all of them.
ESB:It’s only early days but how is your prep shaping up?
RP: I think I’ll train here in Australia for this fight. I’ve been back in work a couple of weeks but as I said I hurt my hand. There are a few very good southpaws here. Vic Darchinyan and Anton Solopov come to mind. I might bring in one or two from America as well. Actually I’m going over to the States for a short time at the end of this week.
ESB: How many rounds do you usually box before a fight?
RP: I usually spar around 100 – 120 rounds for a fight over a seven or eight week period. But I will leave that up to my team.
ESB: Manuel Medina has been a tremendous world champ over the years. Give us your opinion on him and how a fight with him would go.
RP: I’m not even going to think about Manuel Medina. Yodsanan is the only guy I’m thinking about. As for Manuel, he is a five time world champion. That is an impressive thing to accomplish in any sport let alone boxing.
ESB: What happened in the Barrera fight?
RP: It was a disappointment for me. I had sparred him and knew I could have beaten him. Unfortunately I had so many issues that I had to deal with during that camp and I wasn’t focused on the fight. My brother went to hospital and my ex girlfriend tried to commit suicide, I had weight problems and I wasn’t communicating with my team like I should have. But anyway Marco was the better man on the night and I can take nothing away from his victory.
ESB: Tell us about the Nate Campbell fights.
RP: Nate Campbell 1 was a rough fight. He hit me with the best punch that I have ever been hit with. Nate has a very awkward style to try and work out. I had difficulty trying to get my distance with him the first time but the second fight I had his measure.
ESB: How good was it to win the title at home (Melbourne)?
RP: What more could I ask for? I really wanted to fight for the title at home ever since I left for America ten years ago.
ESB: You sacrificed to be a world champion. You began your pro career in the US after the ’96 Olympics. How easy was it to settle in over there away from your family and friends?
RP: I had my ups and downs over there. Many times I thought if I had done the right thing but in the end life is about choices and I chose to test myself against the best in the world. I think having Roger Bloodworth as my coach has made it much easier. I have a great promoter in Dan Goosen and guys like Fernando Vargas, Andrew Golota and Jeff Lacy have helped me
immensely.
ESB: Tell us about Roger.
RP: Roger is a great man. He is like my best friend. We may not see eye to eye on everything but as he says “if two people agree on everything then one of them doesn’t need to be there”! He is a very loyal man and that is very hard to find in any business when money is involved. He will remain a very important part of my team until I retire.
ESB: You went to a school on Monday at St Laurence’s College in South Brisbane and spoke with the students. I hear the kids got a great thrill.
RP: Well I do a great deal of work for charity and speaking engagements for schools but I’d rather keep it out of the media. I feel it about the children and I will do whatever to encourage kids to make the most out of their talents whatever they may be. (Graham Clark, the father of Robbie’s mate Matt Clark, a freelance writer, is the principle of the school. Robbie addressed the Year 7 students – age 12 & 13- and Matt told Eastside that Robbie signed autographs for every student-well over 100 and took his IBF & USBA belts to show allowing the kids to be photographed with).
ESB: Thanks Robbie, is there anything else you want to add?
RP: I am preparing to win my next fight and I will regain my IBF title. I believe I’m still one of the best 130 pounders in the world and I’m willing to prove it against anyone.