“Let me tell you something, this fight with Lawson is going to be a good fight. Like I said, I respect the guy. He’s going to come in strong and tough and I expect nothing less than a good fight. I see people on social media saying Fredrick Lawson is going to knock me out and destroy me. Say what you want to, but I tell you this, we’re going to put on a good fight,” stated welterweight contender Chris Van Heerden, who talked about his upcoming clash with Fredrick Lawson. Check it out!
PC: Congratulations on your win over Timo Schwarzkopf back in April to advance in the WBC Tournament. How do you feel about your performance?
CVH: Considering that it was a 2-year layoff; I haven’t fought in almost 2 years. Coming into the fight, you think about ring rust and the time off. So to come in and put on a performance like that and making it one-sided, I was really happy with the performance. I thought I did a lot of good things. I showed that I’m a fighting guy. I let my hands go and the night of the fight, there was no ring rust. I’m glad I got the win.
PC: We have spoke about the layoff in the past and you told me you used the time to get better. Do you feel like that helped you on fight night, the fact that you were active in the gym as opposed to sitting around waiting for a date?
CVH: Absolutely, my man. The people that know me know that I have been in the gym these last 2 years 99% of the time. It keeps me honest and keeps my mind sharp. You gotta understand, between politics and management issues...the only thing that keeps you sane, the only thing that keeps a fighter's mind intact is being in the gym; at least mine. Not hanging out or eating and getting heavy, it’s been in the gym and hanging out with the boys and sparring. That works for me. So the last 2 years of being in the gym and not getting overweight and out of shape kept me sharp, even though I didn’t have a fight. I kept sparring, and maybe the time off was a blessing because I felt fresh, I felt good, and I showed that I was ready. Now, the only thing is, I gotta stay busy and active and I can only get better.
PC: This unanimous decision win was a more difficult task than others because they actually used five judges for this fight, so in turn, you had to convince five people that you won convincingly instead of three, and you were able to do that.
CVH: It was definitely different. Instead of having three judges, they had five judges and, like you said, now I gotta convince five judges. Knowing that all of the judges saw the same fight made me feel good. I always knew I was going to beat Timo. I knew that I was on a different level than Timo. I’m taking nothing away from him. I respect the guy, but call a spade a spade. I knew I would beat him. I had a big question mark over myself as a fighter. I was thinking, if I can’t beat this guy, then I better sit down and look at myself in the mirror and say, “Where are you going?” He was never in that fight. The people that say that he was, why? Look at the output and the volume of my punches. I threw so many punches. I forced him to be conservative. I limited him to what he was capable of doing. Look at the amount I put out, and to have all five judges agree, that was good.
PC: This fight was in Louisville, Kentucky. Any time I hear that, I think of the late, great Muhammad Ali. I’m sure fighting in his hometown was an extreme privilege.
CVH: Absolutely! The moment I got to Louisville, I saw the posters and monuments of Muhammad Ali. They were everywhere you go. I even went to the Muhammad Ali Center. I was very proud to be there and fight in Louisville because of Muhammad Ali. It just lifts you up and motivates you. It’s like, “Wow, this is where the great Muhammad Ali is from.” The energy there was motivating.
PC: You’re in the semi-finals now. Fredrick Lawson is the opponent. Do you guys have a date yet, and if not, are you in the gym just staying ready?
CVH: Yes! I will be fighting Fredrick Lawson in the semi-finals to advance to the finals to face the winner of Brad Solomon and Derrieck Cuevas. No official date has been set for it. We are waiting on an official date to be announced. I’m right back in the gym. I started sparring again last week. I’m in the gym regardless and I’m just waiting on a date because I never want to be caught off guard.
PC: Have you watched a ton of Lawson’s fights?
CVH: I’m having a little look at him. We are actually friends. I loved the guy. He’s an African brother from Ghana. We have a good relationship, but I know come fight time, we are going to put that to the side and he’s going to come out to knock me out and I’m going to come out to get my win. I have watched a little bit of him, but I leave it up to my trainer. I just want to get an idea of what I’m facing and I did. The rest is on my trainers to figure out what we need to do to walk away victorious.
PC: You had an awesome birthday surprise. You got to hold mitts and spend some time with Charlize Theron. What was that experience like for you?
CVH: Charlize Theron is the golden girl of South Africa. Everyone wants to be able to say, “I met her,” and I have been dying to meet her and I can now say that I met her. Peter Berg, my good friend, the movie director, done a few movies with her and he surprised me for my birthday because he knows how much I love this woman. That was the biggest surprise. It’s going to be hard to top that as a birthday gift. I don’t think I can top that. The only thing that can beat that is the day that I win the WBC title. Being with Charlize, what a lovely woman. She was so down to earth and so awesome in the gym with everyone. She was so friendly, talkative, and loving. Being around her was great. I like the way she makes you feel. She doesn’t make you feel uncomfortable or like she’s better than you. And the woman can punch. She’s got some fighting techniques because she’s played in some roles where she’s had to throw punches and things like that. I enjoyed it.
PC: I appreciate the time. Best of luck to you during training and whenever the Lawson fight goes down. Is there anything else you want to add?
CVH: People can follow me on my Instagram and Twitter. Let me tell you something, this fight with Lawson is going to be a good fight. Like I said, I respect the guy. He’s going to come in strong and tough and I expect nothing less than a good fight. I see people on social media saying Fredrick Lawson is going to knock me out and destroy me. Say what you want to, but I tell you this, we’re going to put on a good fight.
[ Follow Percy Crawford on Twitter @MrLouis1ana ]