FightHype.com

KEANDRE GIBSON DISCUSSES ANTONIO OROZCO CLASH: "I'M MORE PREPARED FOR ANTONIO THAN HE IS FOR ME"

By Percy Crawford | March 29, 2017
KEANDRE GIBSON DISCUSSES ANTONIO OROZCO CLASH:

"I've been studying Antonio Orozco for awhile because I always knew that he would be one of the guys that I faced in my career. I feel at this point, I feel like Golden Boy hasn't been babying me....I just feel like I'm more prepared for Antonio than he is for me. He hasn't really fought slick, quick boxing guys like my style. So I feel like I'm more prepared to fight a guy with his style than he is to fight a guy with my style," stated welterweight contender Keandre Gibson, who talked about his upcoming clash with Antonio Orozco. Check it out!

PC: April 1st, ESPN, on the big stage against the 25-0 Antonio Orozco. How is training going?

KG: Man, it's been going good, man. This is probably the best camp I've ever had. This has been a real professional camp. In the past, I was always lacking something. I was either lacking the nutritional support or the sparring partners or just having my trainer there the whole time that I'm in training camp. Everything has been perfect. Everything is on the money right now with this camp. I'm feeling good, my weight is down, and everything is good. I know I'm going to have a good night on April 1st.

PC: You are coming into this fight after facing guys with a lot of experience, a 32-5 guy, a 57-win guy; how much do you feel like that will help you against an undefeated kid like Antonio?

KG: It'll definitely help me a lot. I've been studying Antonio Orozco for awhile because I always knew that he would be one of the guys that I faced in my career. I feel at this point, I feel like Golden Boy hasn't been babying me. They haven't been protecting me. They have been putting me in tough with some tough veterans and tough Mexican fighters. So I just feel like I'm more prepared for Antonio than he is for me. He hasn't really fought slick, quick boxing guys like my style. So I feel like I'm more prepared to fight a guy with his style than he is to fight a guy with my style. I believe that styles make fights, at the end of the day, and I feel like that's what makes me more prepared for him than he is prepared for me.

PC: Based on your style and what you have seen from him while studying him, what type of fight are you expecting from him?

KG: It ain't no secret, man, you can tell just from my size to his size, I'm clearly the taller guy. I'm 5'10" and he's 5'6" to 5'7", so for him to be successful, he has to make it a fight. He can't try to sit back and fight me from the outside and I'm the longer and faster guy. We already know and we expecting...when I see all of his fights, I see the same thing. You see the guy that tries to outwork you and tries to outhustle you, but we do see in some rounds, he'll take off a round or two and then he'll try to come back and pick it back up. We're expecting a tough fight from him. We know it's going to be some tough times where we're going to have to fight through them. We are prepared for all that.

PC: Knowing what you know about what you think he has to do to have success against you, how important is it for you to fight a very disciplined fight and not get caught up in what he's trying to lure you into?

KG: It's important, man. That's the main thing in this fight. It ain't that he has more experience than me or he's better than me. It ain't none of that. The only person that can beat me in this fight is me if I don't get in the fight and stay focused and stick to my game plan. So in camp, we been having some tough guys. I've been sparring with a guy that's a junior middleweight that is 17-0; he's Russian and man, he could punch. He's been coming at me the whole time. We've been getting 10 and 12 rounds in with him and another tough Mexican fighter. The main thing we've been focusing on, we know what we can do, but we have been focusing on can we consistently do it for 10 to 12 rounds. That's what is going to make me a champion.

PC: That was my next question for you. He's been scheduled and has gone 10 rounds before. This is your first scheduled 10-rounder. Do you feel like you have done the things necessary during training to enter that deep water if necessary?

KG: Of course! We know he's been 10 to 12 and I've been 8 so many times; I'll finish 8 and know I could go 2 to 4 more rounds. But the thing is it's the preparation. We knew for this fight this was my first time going 10, so we got a lot of rounds in during sparring where I'm constantly pushing myself; and not just easy sparring, tough sparring. I hired a nutritionist to help me out with my weight cut to make sure I'm healthy and that I stay healthy throughout the fight. I added another strength coach to help me out. I've been working with him for awhile to help me stay strong in those later rounds. So we definitely prepared, man.

PC; You've been televised before, but just listening to you talk, it doesn't sound like you feel the world has actually seen the best KeAndre Gibson has to offer.

KG: Exactly! I get out the ring and people say, "Man, you look good." And I always tell them, "It was cool. It was a good fight, but I know I can do better. I done seen it." Everybody know I done been in camp with top level guys and they wasn't doing nothing with me. So I know where I'm at and I know where I'm at skill-wise. I'm one of those fighters where the better my competition is, the better I step up and the better I look. I definitely feel like Antonio Orozco is a guy that's going to bring it. I know he's going to bring it and it's going to make me elevate my game even more. I'm hoping he comes prepared and he comes to fight, so it'll be a good show and it will make me step my game up.

PC: This is the type of opponent, undefeated kid with a good knockout ratio, and platform, ESPN, for you to really make a statement. Is that the mentality heading into this thing?

KG: Exactly! I definitely want to put my name out there and keep going and facing the best out there. I see myself facing Terence Crawford and matching up with a lot of these guys. I'm just prepared. I'm ready. I'm happy and blessed to have this opportunity to get to fight the number one guy in my weight division. I'm definitely blessed, I'm soaking it all in, and I'm ready. Come April 1st, everybody's going to know who I am. I'll pick Antonio Orozco to fight out of any of the guys in the division. He's tailor made for me. I'm just ready, man!

PC: I look forward to the fight, good luck on the 1st, and we will get together afterwards. Is there anything else you want to add before I let you go?

KG: Stay tuned and thanks for the interview. You always look out for me when I get a fight. You always do an interview with me and I just want to tell you, thank you! Everybody be sure to tune in!



[ Follow Percy Crawford on Twitter @MrLouis1ana ]

MARCH 18, 2024
MARCH 17, 2024
MARCH 14, 2024
MARCH 12, 2024
MARCH 11, 2024
MARCH 07, 2024
MARCH 04, 2024
FEBRUARY 29, 2024
FEBRUARY 27, 2024
FEBRUARY 22, 2024
FEBRUARY 19, 2024
FEBRUARY 15, 2024
FEBRUARY 12, 2024
FEBRUARY 08, 2024
FEBRUARY 05, 2024
FEBRUARY 01, 2024
JANUARY 31, 2024
JANUARY 30, 2024
JANUARY 29, 2024
JANUARY 25, 2024
JANUARY 22, 2024
JANUARY 18, 2024
JANUARY 15, 2024
JANUARY 12, 2024
JANUARY 11, 2024
JANUARY 08, 2024
JANUARY 04, 2024
JANUARY 01, 2024