Exclusive Interview by Geoffrey Ciani – Undefeated San Francisco welterweight Karim “Hard Hitta” Mayfield is all set to square off against Mario Ramos this Friday at the Grand Sierra Resort in Reno, Nevada. The 29 year old pugilist has a professional record of 11-0-1 with seven wins coming by way of knockout. I was recently afforded the opportunity to have a nice chat with the young prospect and here is what he had to say:
Q: Karim, how are you preparations going for your March 19 fight with Mario Ramos?
A: Everything is going well. The camp was good, I’m feeling strong, and I’m ready to go.
Q: Now you were originally slated to face Jason Davis. Has the switch in opponent had any effect on your training and preparations?
A: Not necessarily. I was in Houston and had a southpaw to work with so I just made a few adjustments and now I pretty much figured out a way to adjust to a southpaw. Not to mention, I got some good work in with Zab Judah in my time as a pro so yeah, I’m ready to go.
Q: You’ve been training with Virgil Hunter in the Andre Ward camp in Houston. How specifically has Virgil been able to help you in your game?
A: Well, he has a lot of wisdom, a lot of knowledge in the game and he’s also an innovator. He’s definitely helped me out and pretty much just getting me ready for the bout and help to adjust my style—helped actually for me to adjust my style to just be stronger, and faster, and quicker, and everything else..
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Q: Did the injury in the Ward camp do anything to slow down your training progress?
A: No, not at all. Not at all can I say that it did anything to slow down the training progress at all.
Q: Now you’re an undefeated fighter in your young career and you’ve beaten a lot of opponents in their own backyards. Does fighting on someone else’s home turf do anything to provide you with any type of extra motivation?
A: Yes, definitely. I know I’m already going in against somebody on his home turf that there are a lot of odds against me, but that definitely just makes me train harder, get more motivated, and know that I need to make a decisive either knockout or definite decision.
Q: As I understand, Karim, you have experience sparring with some pretty big names in the sport including the likes of Sugar Shane Mosley. Can you tell us a bit about your sparring experiences with him?
A: Well that was a definitely a great experience sparring with Sugar Shane Mosley. He’s fast, he’s quick, he has a lot of knowledge, he’s very experienced. I definitely figured out that I definitely can compete in the sport at that high class elite level so it definitely gave me a good look at that level.
Q: Now Mosley has a fight coming up in May, it’s a mega fight with Floyd Mayweather Junior. I’m curious, Karim, what are your thoughts on that fight?
A: Well I see it actually being Floyd’s toughest fight to date, but I do see Floyd coming out with the victory because, I mean, not only is he undefeated but regardless of the opponent he figures out a way to win. Even if it’s just by one point, he figures out a way to pull out the victory and I do see Floyd coming out with the victory—a close victory, but him winning the belt.
Q: Now Floyd, of course, was originally supposed to face Manny Pacquiao this past weekend but when negotiations for that fell apart Pacquiao wound up fighting Joshua Clottey and he won a pretty dominant decision. I was wondering if you saw that fight, and if you did, what your impressions of Pacquiao were?
A: I definitely saw the fight. My impressions of Pacquiao were I see that he improved definitely his jab. He had a very high jab output, the most that he’s put out ever in a fight and I definitely see he picked up his punch volume, so that was definitely a good look for Pacquiao and it definitely didn’t decrease anything on him. Now as for Clottey, I definitely feel he could have done more. When he did punch, he looked good, but it was too much too defensive, he was too much of a defensive fighter and it wasn’t a good look on his side.
Q: Back to your career Karim, you’re a young undefeated fighter and my question for you is what would you ultimately like to accomplish in the sport?
A: Definitely I would like to accomplish retiring undefeated, definitely becoming the undisputed champion—in maybe two to three weight classes, actually. I feel I can dominate two to three weight classes, and definitely making some type of legacy in the sport whether it’s retiring undefeated, beating the top guys—I fought a lot of top guys already, and hey, maybe going after Mayweather before he retired and being the first one to defeat that guy.
Q: I was just about to ask you about what would your dream fight be in your division right now and you mentioned Mayweather, but who would be a big name in your division that you would like to fight by the end of this year if you were given the chance?
A: I would say my dream fight at the end of the year, definitely fighting like a Timothy Bradley at 140. I definitely could see me fighting a Timothy Bradley at 140. I mean I know he’s at a different level at this point, but realistically it may be just like a Lamont Peterson or a Demetrius Hopkins, but definitely would be a Timothy Bradley at this point, maybe at 140 pounds. But also, my dream fight is Mayweather and Mayfield fighting May, we’ll call it “The Mayhem” or maybe “May Day”.
Q: Karim, do you have any prediction for your upcoming fight this weekend?
A: Yes, definitely. I don’t like to prophesize the fight but I definitely see myself with the victory, a very decisive victory and my hand raised up victorious and having a great show.
Q: Do you have anything else you would like to say to all the fans at East Side Boxing?
A: Definitely I’d like to say that they definitely can expect a real sportsman in and out of the ring, definitely good shows, me not ducking anybody, and I would like to definitely bring a championship to San Francisco.
Q: Karim, thank you very much for your time and good luck on your upcoming fight?
A: Alright, I appreciate that.
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