"I have power in both hands. I can use both hands as dangerous weapons and I plan on doing that. I'm just putting the finishing touches on this training camp to make weight and get ready for the fight. I'm pretty comfortable making weight, so we will be ready," stated up-and-coming flyweight Damien Vazquez, who talked about his upcoming August 16 U.S. debut. Check it out!
PC: You will be making your US debut on August 16th. How does it feel to finally be fighting here?
DV: It feels good to be making my debut in the states and I'm excited.
PC: When you got all of the paperwork straight and got the word that the fight was taking place in the states, what was your reaction?
DV: I was excited, but I'm focused on the fight. I'm not so much worried about what the crowd thinks of me and where the fight is taking place, but I'm focused on my job inside the ring.
PC: Tell us a little bit about the fight.
DV: I'm going to be fighting a guy from Puerto Rico and I hope he brings the best he can because I'm gonna bring the best I can to put on a good show for Colorado fans, and that will take place on August 16th.
PC: How has training been going?
DV: It's been going good. I'm looking good and everything. I train with the legendary Cuban trainer Ismael Salas, Miguel Diaz, and ex-world champion Richie Sandoval. We are working out at the Top Rank Gym.
PC: What have you been working on in the gym and how is everything going?
DV: Everything has been going good. We are just smoothing out the edges and fixing the cracks that I have in my style, and working on my footwork and staying more planted.
PC: I'm sure you are getting a lot of good sparring at the Top Rank Gym.
DV: Yeah! We getting really good work there.
PC: What are some of the things you are looking to showcase to the US fans?
DV: I want to showcase everything that I've learned since I been out here.
PC: Do you know a lot about your opponent or you gonna figure him out on the fly?
DV: I don't know much about him, but it doesn't matter. I can adjust to any style and I will be ready for whatever he wants to bring. I'm just focused on what I'm bringing to the table.
Oscar Vazquez (Damien's father): Like I said before Percy, there ain't no blueprint for Damien, man. They could look at tapes and do whatever they want to do and think they can come in with a plan and they would be making a big mistake. Damien could adjust to whatever plan they bring. If they think they bringing a plan to adjust to Damien, Damien's gonna adjust to that. We got them pro fights in Mexico and we had to wait a couple of months with him just training and learning things and perfecting things from Salas; it's been a long road. We had to wait for him to turn 17 and now he is licensed here in Nevada and got his federal ID and I'm real happy, man. I pushed very hard with Antonio Gates, our promoter, and he is guaranteed in that contract 6 fights a year and 3 of them are guaranteed in Colorado.
PC: What has this process been like for you?
DV: It's just been like a learning experience to me since it's all brand new to me, but I just went with the flow.
PC: Being that you are so young, do you think your opponents will press you and see if your youth shows or sit back and try to let you make a mistake because of your youth and capitalize on it?
Oscar Vazquez: I'll put it to you this way Percy, those 4 fights we had in Mexico wasn't easy. They come at him straight up and try to bully him and everything, but they made mistakes; 3 of the 4 fights he had, his opponents got knocked out.
PC: What can we expect from you on the 16th?
DV: I have power in both hands. I can use both hands as dangerous weapons and I plan on doing that. I'm just putting the finishing touches on this training camp to make weight and get ready for the fight. I'm pretty comfortable making weight, so we will be ready. I walk around at 121 to 122 and when we were 2 weeks away, we are at 117 to 116.
PC: I wish you the best of luck. I can't wait to see how it all turns out and keep me posted on everything. Is there anything else you would like to say in closing?
Oscar Vazquez: Here is the catch to everything bro, we are gonna test the waters at 110 pounds for this fight and the reason is, we wanna see how Damien feels at 108 pounds. If Damien feels good at 108 pounds, we been guaranteed a title shot in 3 to 4 fights from Antonio Gates. He said he will pay for the world champion to come in and defend the title against Damien. And I gotta say man, we had a very hard time getting an opponent for this US debut. I had 4 people that were demanding the contract and when we actually sent it to them, they all backed out. They had a chance to check Damien out and see who he was and they backed out. I had Richard Hernandez out of El Campo, Texas and he wouldn't answer my phone calls no more. We were gonna fight Santos Vasquez, who was a 2012 USA National Champ at 108 pounds. He backed out at the last minute and we had 2 other fighters back out; two Puerto Rican fighters. And now we have Alexis Diaz fighting him now. We don't want any layovers and that's why we willing to fight National Champions or whatever, and in order to get to that world title, we gotta start eliminating people like this.
[ Follow Percy Crawford on Twitter @MrLouis1ana ]