By James Slater – Queens, New York heavyweight tough guy and crowd-pleaser Vinny Maddalone gets what is arguably the biggest fight of his 33-6(24), eleven-and-a-half-year career in December, when the 36-year-old will face Poland’s Tomasz Adamek. Knowing the sky will be the limit if he wins, Maddalone is ready to once again give his all – in the gym and in the ring.
Looking ahead to the December fight, Vinny very kindly gave me the following interview earlier today:
James Slater: It’s great to speak with you again, Vinny. Congratulations on getting this huge fight with Adamek!
Vinny Maddalone: Thank you, James. Yeah, I’m looking forward to it, I’m one hundred-percent ready for this fight and I know it’s a great opportunity.
J.S: Did this fight come right of the blue for you?
V.M: Yeah, pretty much. Joe [DeGuardia] called me and asked me if I was interested in the fight – which I said I was of course – and now it’s time to get ready in the gym.
J.S: I first read about the fight on Dan Rafael’s column, but is there a date yet?
V.M: It’s either gonna be December 4th or December 9th – which is great, because I have a lot of time to get ready; which hasn’t always been the case for some of my fights.
J.S: Have you seen a fair bit of Adamek, on tape or live? Do you know his style?
V.M: Yeah, I know him in person a little. We shared the same gym in Jersey for a while. He’s a tough guy, he was light-heavy champ and cruiserweight champ and now he wants to win the heavyweight title. I’m going to have to ruin that goal for him.
J.S: Have you seen his four heavyweight fights?
V.M: Not all of them, no. I saw his fight with [Chris] Arreola on HBO. He did what he had to do in that fight, he was in-and-out, he didn’t want to really mix it up. And that’s what I expect him to try and do with me. But this is a great fight for me. I know his people will look at me as a fighter who will be right in front of him and easy to hit, but let me tell you, I have a couple of surprises in store for him!
J.S: This is a risky fight for Adamek, seeing as how he is seemingly the leading contender to get the next shot at a Klitschko. Why do you think he is taking the fight with you? Obviously, you’re glad he is, as it’s a big opportunity for you – one in which you will spoil a lot of plans if you win!
V.M: Yeah. Well, I commend the guy for taking the fight, for giving me a shot. I thank him. He’s a guy who wants to stay busy, stay active, and he needs respect for that – not all guys take that approach these days. I know this will be a crowd-pleasing fight; our styles will make sure of that.
J.S: I know you’re a guy who is always in the gym – a gym-rat, as you are – but when will the “real” training start for this fight? As you say, you have plenty of time for this one.
V.M: Yeah, I have what, ten weeks or so? Probably mid-October I’ll start sparring. Right now we’ll work on conditioning.
J.S: Is there a venue confirmed yet?
V.M: It will either be Atlantic City’s Boardwalk Hall, or the Prudential Centre in New Jersey.
J.S: This really is the big chance for you, Vinny, and all your fans wish you the best of luck of course. You said you have a few secrets up your sleeve – which of course you won’t reveal here – but you will come out smoking as usual, won’t you? We Know the way you fight!
V.M: I’ve been a pro for around 12-years now, and my style’s my style. No-one can change over night. But, yes, I have a couple of things I’ve been working on in the gym – things I’ve seen that I can capitalise on – and I have to make certain adjustments, that will work to my advantage.
J.S: I’m intrigued, Vinny! I wish you all the best with this fight. Is it a definite now, with the contracts signed?
V.M: It should be signed in a day or two. Everything has been agreed by both sides.
J.S: This is the big one for you, Vinny, as you know. Even bigger than that fight with Shannon Briggs that was in the works. Briggs got Vitali Klitschko, as you know. How do you see that fight going?
V.M: Briggs will be dangerous in the first one or two rounds, but after that, I don’t see him going into the later rounds. I see Klitschko winning in the mid-to-later rounds. I say a TKO in 6 or 7-rounds.
J.S: It’s been great, Vinny. With your fight Vs. Adamek, you will have been out for around nine-months by December. Do you see any problems with that?
V.M: I’ve been in the gym and I’ve been in the ring – I sparred Monte [Barrett] for the David Tua fight. But now I’ll put it into high gear in training and I will be ready for this fight. I’ll be in the best shape I’ve been in in my career!