"I don't really have an amateur style. It doesn't compliment as an amateur, but I still win. I'm a defensive counter puncher, but don't get me wrong. I can slug with 'em. I try to don't get hit and do all the hitting, but with that said, I am a little more offensive than I am defensiveÂ…Tell everybody to watch out for me, Idemore Cordero out of Philly, so you know I'm Philly tough and I can fight," stated amateur Idemar Cordero, who talked his passion to turn pro while serving in the military. Check it out!
PC: You have a couple of fights coming up on Friday and Saturday. How is everything going leading up to it?
IC: Just getting ready to put on a show and trying to stay busy. We trying to go to the national tournament here in January and hopefully qualify for the Olympics, so we just staying busy, gaining more experience so that when that time comes around, we're ready to win it. I don't want to just qualify for the Olympics, I wanna win it too and keep making history. My big brother Jamel Herring is one of the few Marines that actually made it to the Olympics and I'm trying to follow suit, man.
PC: Where will you be fighting on Friday night?
IC: Actually, my big brother told me about it because my two nephews are involved in boxing too. It's actually in Cherry Hill, New Jersey. So my brother put me on to that and I have been staying busy this summer and I want to keep staying busy. I told him every time a fight comes up that he hears about, put my name on that.
PC: How has training been going?
IC: We been putting in some crazy work. We go about 3 hours a night, but by me being a Marine and being active duty, I work my 7:30 to 4:30, so I can't do my traditional two-a-day boxing workouts. During my lunch break, I'm here in the fitness center working on my conditioning and strength, but at night, I team up with a friend of mine here, Brandon Quarles, who is a pro and the pride of Alexandria, and we be in there getting it, man. It be about 110 degrees and we just be in there getting it, doing all kinds of work.
PC: Tell us a little bit about yourself and where you are from.
IC: Born and raised in Philly, I got Hispanic parents. I got into the military because one of my uncles was a Vietnam vet and he was a big role model of mine and he kind of brought the Marine Corps to me. In high school, I was speaking with a recruiter, but it all started with him. I was honoring him. He served his time and he was wounded and he's just a role model of mine. Why wouldn't I serve my country as he did? It's kind of like a two-part thing for me; I'm serving him and I'm serving our country as well.
PC: What weight class are you competing at and what weight do you feel you will eventually make your mark at?
IC: Right now, I'm competing as a welterweight at 152 pounds. I make 52 with no problem, but I believe that by the time I turn pro, I can compete at 140. With the proper strength and conditioning coach, nutritionist, and doing things the right way, I can compete at 140. I'll be training out of Philly and probably working with Billy Briscoe and my man Angel Garcia. I've worked with them before and they are good mentors to me, but for now, we are at 52, but I believe we can do the 140 thing.
PC: How is it right now trying to balance the military and boxing at the same time?
IC: It has its tough days because in the military, you have a whole different type of commitment and dedication that you have to go through, not just Monday through Friday, but Monday through Sunday really, but you work Monday through Friday. But if you are dedicated like I am and you love the sport of boxing like I do, I find time to give 100% to both. That's my story. I put my all into both. I love them both and I love what I do as a Marine. I also think about the future and I wanna be a world champion and recognized as a great fighter, not just a good fighter, but great, so therefore I gotta make a sacrifice.
PC: Who are some of your boxing influences?
IC: I have a lot of people I watched. Ricardo Lopez, down in those little weights, that guy was a beast. My all-time favorite was Felix Trinidad of course. Bernard Hopkins and my brother is a big part of why I got into boxing and he used to watch every Mike Tyson fight that was on and I was like 2 or 3 years old trying to stay up with those guys and watch Tyson. I watched Mike a lot and Floyd Mayweather of course. That's just some to name a few.
PC: What style do you feel you bring to the table?
IC: I don't really have an amateur style. It doesn't compliment as an amateur, but I still win. I'm a defensive counter puncher, but don't get me wrong. I can slug with 'em. I try to don't get hit and do all the hitting, but with that said, I am a little more offensive than I am defensive. As of now, I am 11-4 and we been staying pretty active. I took a little break a little bit ago in between coaches. My coach was a retired Marine and he had moved out and moved away and the military took me away from a few fights because I'm not a part of the Marine Corps boxing team because we don't have one anymore, so I can't just do the boxing thing here. There was times where work came before and I had to do what I had to do. But we're getting busier. We have fought 3 times in the past 30 days we got two more fights coming up, Friday and Saturday, and we're just gonna continue to stay busy. I wanna pile up another 7 or 8 fights and get in the mid-twenties and, like I said, do the best we can in the national tournament.
PC: I want to thank you for all that you do for our country and I wish you the best in the ring as well; stay safe and keep me posted on everything. Is there anything else you wanna add?
IC: Tell everybody to watch out for me, Idemar Cordero out of Philly, so you know I'm Philly tough and I can fight. I come out to entertain the fans, but I also come out there to win. They can follow me on Twitter or Instagram @IdemarCardero and thanks Percy, I appreciate it.
[ Follow Percy Crawford on Twitter @MrLouis1ana ]