by Geoffrey Ciani (Exclusive Interview by Jenna J & Geoffrey Ciani) – This week’s edition of On the Ropes Boxing Radio featured an exclusive interview with the #7 WBC heavyweight contender “Boxing Panda” Chauncy Welliver (53-5-5, 20 KOs) who defeated Bert Cooper (38-15, 31 KOs) earlier this month. Welliver spoke about his victory, and also talked about his future, the possibility of a fight with Seth Mitchell, and recent rumors stating he is next in line for WBC champion Vitali Klitschko. He also shared his views on other aspects pertaining to the current boxing landscape including HBO’s 24/7 series promoting the May 5 bout between Floyd Mayweather Junior and Miguel Cotto, Manny Pacquiao, and more! Here is what Welliver had to say:
Regarding his recent unanimous decision victory against ‘Smokin’ Bert Cooper:
“First off going into it, and as we all know on these East Side Forums and things like that, people are going to be like oh he fought Bert Cooper! Yes. We did fight Bert Cooper. Was he the best available guy? Absolutely not, but we were scheduled to fight Oliver McCall for that fight. It was set, it was ready to go, twelve rounds, but Oliver got sick and Oliver said he wanted to give me the respect and if he wanted to fight me he wanted to be 100%. And that makes me feel good because I don’t want an excuse after the fight with oh he had the flu, or anything like that. So when I do fight Oliver McCall he will be 100%. So we were looking for an opponent. This was the week of the fight, and nobody wants to take a heavyweight title fight. It was a small card so we didn’t have huge finances to pay the guy, and Bert Cooper accepted. He was already training for a fight. He accepted the amount of money we offered, and he was a solid guy. This fight was all about learning stuff. We are in there working on changing my style a lot, so in this one we were actually able to do it. We treated it as a great big learning experience. Bert Cooper was definitely a strong man, but I won every round. I won fairly easily. I didn’t get tired, which is usually the case. I don’t get tired. But it was fun. It was good to get in the rounds. It was good to get a win, and it was great to be in there with a guy like Bert Cooper. Once again it wasn’t the step up we’ve been hoping for, but when those last minute things come up there’s really nothing we can do.”
His response to fans who are being critical of his performance since he could not stop Cooper inside the distance:
“Well these are all the same people who say Chauncy Welliver can’t punch, but now they act surprised when I go the distance with Bert Cooper. I mean hey! I’ve never been a guy to say I’m a big puncher and that I’m going to knock anybody out. I’m not! I’m just not a strong guy. I’m not a physically strong physically fast guy. I wasn’t born to be an athlete. You know so to go out there and just be able to go ten rounds was good. As I said it was great to get the rounds in. Everybody’s going to shoot their mouths. If I would have knocked Bert Cooper out in one round people would have said Chauncy was a bully, he goes out there and fights an old man and knocks him out. I was in a lose-lose situation. I knew that going in, but it was the only situation that I had. There was no other option.”
Regarding recent rumors that he is next in line for a shot against WBC heavyweight champion Vitali Klitschko:
“It was very surprising. It was going in the day before the Bert Cooper fight. So it was very distracting for one. It wasn’t like I was able to make any phone calls or anything like that, but to see my name being mentioned right there with Vitali Klitschko is definitrely showing that the work is paying off! Now have negotiations gone anywhere? Absolutely not, because I think the date that was being discussed on the internet was not true. Now the Klitschkos haven’t even started looking for his opponent. They’re saying let’s give it time. Let’s see what happens with these guys over the summer. So it’s one of those things once again, my name is being thrown around. I’m more than happy to be in the mix. Do I think I’ll be picked? I don’t know. He’s coming off an injury, and as much as all these guys on the forums want to say Chauncy is easy and he won’t hang with Klitschko. Well hey! Being on the outside looking in, if I’m on Team Klitschko then I want Klitschko to work his shoulder out on a guy that has no power and isn’t any good. Hey! I’m all those things apparently, even though I know I can fight. So Klitschko will go out there expecting the absolute worst Chauncy trying to rehab his shoulder on me. I’m ready! I’ll be absolutely ready for the world champion.”
His views on how much the HBO 24/7 Series help for the promotion of high profile boxing matches:
“Oh a lot, because Floyd goes out there and he makes himself a classic bad guy. You know he’s the wise kid you want to see get slapped in the head. He’s just the guy you want to see get knocked out, and you know Miguel Cotto it sounds like they’re building him up as the guy that you want to have knock him out. You know Mayweather’s the bully and Cotto’s the victim that’s going to try and get him, and I think that’s always been Mayweather. You know he’s a wise guy. As I said, he’s a wise ass. Excuse my language. It definitely helps build it. Mayweather’s attitude and everything, it makes you hate him a little more. So it definitely sells because just like in anything, you got to have a bad guy with the good guy, and of course we know who the good guy is in boxing and it’s a fight that we’re all hoping for with Floyd Mayweather. But I think that just helps Mayweather build up for the big fight when he does eventually fight Pacquiao, because it’s eventually going to hit the boiling point where people are going to say screw Mayweather! All these guys are getting knocked out, well finally who’s going to be the savior? The ultimate good guy, the politician, the guy that saves homeless children—Manny Pacquiao! So I think 24/7 are good for building up the good guy and building up the bad guy.”
On when we can expect to see him back inside the ring:
“As of right now, officially July 5. Against who? I don’t know. There are lots of names being tossed around, but none that I can really say because nothing is solid and I don’t know where they’re at in negotiations. But it will definitely be one of the bigger names. I’m 100% ready. It will be in New Zealand, my adopted home, so I’m going to fight patriotically for America because the fight will be on American TV on the Monte Barrett-Shane Cameron card. But I’m going to fight patriotically for New Zealand as well. So I’m going to be very ready because I will be competing for two countries. I’m absolutely ready for that, but another fight that was being talked about was Seth Mitchell. Now that one could very much hinder the fight in New Zealand, and that would be fine and dandy because I would love a fight with Seth Micthell. Seth Mitchell I think is the next great American hope, but I think he’s not there yet. I think he’s too green right now and I think now is the time for me to fight him because I think I can beat him. He’s a young, strong, very physically able guy, but I think I would outsmart him. Now with the fight being talked about on HBO and Golden Boy saying it’s as good as done once he’s done with Witherspoon, but we have to wait for them to give us paper in order to get excited about it.”
His views on where he fits into the current heavyweight picture given the fact he’s now won 18 fights in a row:
“You know everybody says I have to step up the opposition. I’m the most active guy out there. I don’t have a promoter. So we’re fighting whoever we can get with the budgets we have. With 18 wins I have more wins than Dereck Chisora has fights, and he goes on to fight for the heavyweight title. You know I think I’m right there in the picture. I think guys like me, Boystov, Dmitrenko—we’re the three guys that are going to get the shots. It doesn’t matter who you fight as long as you keep active, and stay old school, and just keep the wins coming. It doesn’t matter who you fight as long as you shine on the night.”
His views on the overall heavyweight picture:
“You know it’s the same. The Klitschkos are dominating everybody and there’s nobody for them to fight. You know with Chisora and Haye, as sad as that was and as unsportsmanlike as that was, how sad is it that that reignited a flame in the heavyweight division? It got people talking about the heavyweight division for all the wrong reasons. But at the end of the day, excitement is excitement. People are talking about it, or at least were. It seems to have died down now, but the heavyweight division is still where it was, though. The Klitschkos are dominating and a savior to beating these guys doesn’t seem to be coming around any time soon.”
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For those interested in listening to the Chauncy Welliver interview in its entirety, it begins approximately one hour and two minutes into the program.
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