"I really don't care. I got the belt, so there are some opportunities there, so when it comes to who is next, I don't pick my opponents. I want to get back in there this fall, like November; get in there late and hopefully next year, I can get in about two or three defenses. It should be cool, man. I'm excited about that," stated WBC heavyweight champion Bermane Stiverne, who talked about his title-winning performance against Chris Arreola, his future plans, and more. Check it out!
PC: Congratulations on capturing the WBC title. It looked like they treated you well in Mexico.
BS: Thanks man. Yeah, it was amazing.
PC: You have been doing a lot of traveling and enjoying life. What has this whole experience been like for you?
BS: I mean, what can I say, man? I can't ask for more. Right now, I am just living in the moment. This is my first time having these type of honors and accolades and these awards, so it was a great win. I couldn't ask for more.
PC: You guaranteed me that you would knock him out. He seemed very conscious of the right hand going into the fight. Were you surprised you were still able to catch him with that shot?
BS: Well, I was a bit surprised...well, I knew he was going to come out with his hands high to protect his nose from the first fight, but I also knew he would make the mistake of bringing his hands down or bringing his jab back and putting his right hand by his head, but keeping his left hand low. I know Chris likes to have his opponents up against the ropes so he could get off his punches, but when he does that, he doesn't protect himself and that's when I caught him.
PC: You threw this right hand a little more sweeping as opposed to down the pike like in the first fight.
BS: I didn't even throw it to knock him out. I threw that shot just to move to my left and I was surprised I hurt him with that shot.
PC: Chris Arreola likes to smother his opponents against the ropes, like you mentioned earlier. When I spoke to your trainer, Don House, he actually said you were happy to see the small ring because you knew you weren't gonna have to find Chris.
BS: They were trying to set me up or whatever, but little did they know, we were sparring in a ring that was 15x15. I can move and create separation, so it didn't matter to me if it was a bad or small ring. But for them, if they were smart, they would have gotten a bigger ring because when you got two guys that can punch, you don't want to put the one that can not only punch but could also box in a smaller ring. I think they had the wrong idea about me.
PC: I think a lot of people did. At any point, did he hurt you or shake you up?
BS: No! The only punch that he did some work with was a right hand to the body. He hit me with that punch and I actually moved off of the ropes when it landed. But other than that, even when it looked like I was in danger, some of them landed on my gloves and the ones that looked like they landed on my head actually landed on the side of my head. But I wasn't buzzed at all with the exception of the one shot; that right hand to the body.
PC: You hurt him early and you didn't blow your load trying to get him out of there. Was that because he showed so much resiliency in the first fight or did you not feel he was hurt badly enough that first time?
BS: I knew I was gonna catch him. I was just being patient. It was just a matter of time, especially with Chris because his mindset it to start fast and he wants to unleash his punches. What I expected is what he did and I didn't want to chance anything. I'm not taking anything away from Chris because Chris is a helluva fighter.
PC: Were you surprised when they let him continue after the knockdowns?
BS: I was. That's when I hurt my hand. When I dropped him the first time and he got up, then I dropped him again and I thought it was done, but the referee let him continue and in my mind, I was like, "Look, you gotta take this boy out right now." So that's when I didn't really care how I hit him. I just went for the kill and I hurt my hand a lil' bit. I had to do what I had to do.
PC: You are not a big talker, but you were doing a lot of talking during that fight. Do you remember what you were saying or was it the typical shit talk during fights?
BS: (Laughing) I can't remember it all, but I know around the 5th round, I remember saying, "I'm on the ropes because I want to be on the ropes, not because you put me on the ropes." And then I was throwing punches and slipping them and I told him he couldn't touch me (laughing). I can't remember everything.
PC: You are enjoying life, but now there is new interest in the division, so everyone is interested in your next move. Does it matter to you who is next or not?
BS: I really don't care. I got the belt, so there are some opportunities there, so when it comes to who is next, I don't pick my opponents. I want to get back in there this fall, like November; get in there late and hopefully next year, I can get in about two or three defenses. It should be cool, man. I'm excited about that.
PC: It's been a long road, like I told Don House, and you guys deserve it. Keep me posted and congratulations again. Is there anything else you want to add?
BS: It's cool, man. I just wanna thank the fans. We couldn't do it without the fans.
[ Follow Percy Crawford on Twitter @MrLouis1ana ]