Danny Batchelder Sounds Off On Matt Godfrey Interview!

Danny Batchelder Sounds Off On Matt Godfrey Interview!

Intreview by Bob Carroll, Doghouse Boxing (Mar 31, 2009) DoghouseBoxing.com

Since I have been involved with the boxing media, first with Fightin’ Words Radio show, and then when I was blessed to be able to join the staff of Doghouse Boxing, I have formed very strong relationships with several fighters.

One of the relationships I have formed is a friendship with heavyweight contender and all around great guy, Danny Batchelder (I am able to look over the fact that he roots for the New York Giants, yuck!).

Recently, I completed an article with cruiserweight Matt Godfrey (click here) in which Danny was mentioned. The day that the article was posted, I received a phone call from a very upset Danny Batchelder. Danny, an avid reader of Doghouse Boxing, was pissed at the comment Godfrey made about their fight. Danny recently sat down with Doghouse Boxing, to clear the air on his fight with Matt Godfrey, and to talk about a future bout with Bowie Tupou.

Bob Carroll: Danny, I received a phone call from you after you read my most recent interview, a piece with Matt Godfrey. You were pretty upset about a part of this article and wanted to set the record straight. What in this article upset you?

Danny Batchelder: Well, he had said that it was an easy fight and that he had won 9 of 12 rounds, and that was ridiculous. The only thing he did in that fight was hold on for his life and maybe throw a few pot shots at me as he ran around the ring! He couldn’t have hurt me with a baseball bat, I was chasing him through the whole fight, going after him. I was the one making that fight. But it was a Jimmy Birchfield card in Connecticut, and I had been warned before the fight. Several people I knew from the east coast had warned me that on a Jimmy Birchfield card, if you are fighting one of his fighters, you won’t win unless you knock out that fighter. The fighters that fight for Birchfield, they are very protected fighters. You see in their records, fighters like Jason Estrada and Matt Godfrey, they have been protected! Every time they are not on a card that Birchfield does not have control, they lose. The thing is, I was in a place in my career that I had nothing else to do but take that fight. I had read the article with Godfrey on Doghouse Boxing, and it really hit a nerve. I read Doghouse Boxing every day. I love the way Doghouse covers fighters and how in-depth Doghouse goes with fighters in interviews. So I was reading Doghouse Boxing that day and this interview popped up for me to read. Normally, things don’t bother me, I usually don’t say to much about things that bother me, but when I saw that article and question, it really bothered me. That was one of the losses that I received that I shouldn’t have got. Godfrey held the whole fight, every time we got close, he held. He tried to stay away from me, run for his life and try to hit me now and again. He would throw a quick flurry and then hold on. He wasn’t in the fight to fight, he was in there to survive. He knew if he survived against me, he would get the decision. There was no question that I beat Godfrey, I mean, there was no question at all.

BC: Knowing you Danny, I knew that this answer would bother you. Tell our listeners how long it took you to call me after reading this article.

DB: Oh man, ah, probably five minutes (both the writer and Danny laugh). I read the article and as soon as I found my phone, I picked it up and called you. Man, that answer just disgusted me! It wasn’t the decision, that happens in boxing. It wasn’t the fact that I have been written about, I have read a lot lately saying that Batchelder has lost 5 of 6 fights, and that’s fair I guess, but Bob, you know me, I don’t cry about it or say much about it. But Bob, you know, all of those losses are really losses, and Godfrey was one of them. That fight wasn’t a loss, it was a robbery. There were several people at that fight knew I won, everyone knew I had won that fight. My friend George was sitting with Vinny Pazienza and after the fight, my friend said to Paz “we got this fight!”. Paz looked at my friend and said “Well, you know that this is Birchfield territory, so I hope, but I just don’t know.” , and sure enough, that was the case. They knew, even Paz knew, and a lot of people there knew who won the fight that night. You know, I went against a lot of people’s advice in taking that fight, including my brother, but you know how it is Bob, when you don’t have big time people behind you, you have to take every opportunity you get.

BC: What would you like to say to Matt Godfrey?

DB: Well, what I’d like to say to him is that I hope in his head that he is not too delirious to think that he actually beat me. I’d also tell him that I would fight him anytime, at any venue that he would like. I would like to fight him off a Birchfield card, so it would be a fair fight, and I would beat him. If he ever gets the guts up, wants to rematch me, and thinks it was such an easy fight, I’d like to see him come back and try it again! I realize that I am fighting at heavyweight now and he’s still at cruiser, but when we fought, and this is a fact that my trainer wanted to make a big deal over, something was not done right. We were fighting at cruiserweight, a 200 lb weight limit, and everyone else on the card was weighing in on this real nice doctor scale, but when it came to Godfrey and I, the main event, they pulled us out and weighed us on some crappy floor scale. I was aware of my weight before I weighed in because we had brought our own scales with us, to make sure I was either on weight or under. I stepped on this garbage floor scale and I was four pounds lighter than any other scales, and I had been around 198. With this scale, I weighed in at 194,I turned to my parents and said “Wow, I like these scales!”, then Godfrey got on and weighed in at 199. We all knew he was over the limit and that was another way they cheated. You know, they weighed us in on different scales than everyone else, just so Matt Godfrey could make weight. I can guarantee they have done that with him numerous other times. If he would like to fight at heavyweight, I would, for sure, like to meet him anywhere and fight him, or if the money was right, I’d go back to cruiserweight and fight him. I know I beat him once and I’ll beat him again. For him to say that it was an easy fight, that just kind of outraged me! That was a ridiculous thing for him to say. I had gone back east to fight Matt Godfrey, even though people warned me not to fight in his backyard, but I went away because I'm not scared. I would love Matt Godfrey to have the guts to come out west and fight me. A lot of people know me out here, it would be a great fight and it would get a lot of pull out here. I hear him talking about helping his buddy Jason Estrada get ready for Alexander Povetkin. I am absolutely sure Povetkin is going to destroy Estrada. So Estrada will need a fight after that loss. It would be great if Matt Godfrey has the guts to back up what he said me being an easy fight, come on out here and fight me, and bring his buddy Estrada along. My buddy George Garcia could fight Estrada, they fought in the amateurs, they are both pros now. I would love to see Estrada fight Georgie Garcia as a pro. We could put that on as a double header. I know that Georgie Garcia would be more than willing to fight Estrada right now as a pro. That would make for a great night of boxing!

BC: If given the opportunity, would you be willing to come down in weight and fight Godfrey at cruiserweight?

DB: You know, if that’s what I have to do to get a shot at him again, yeah I would do it. If the money was worth it, I definitely would fight him, because I worked hard to get to heavyweight, but fight Godfrey again at cruiserweight? Hell yeah, I know I beat him once before and I would beat him again.

BC: Your latest fight was scheduled to be against heavyweight prospect Bowie Tupou (16-0, 12 KO’s), on the undercard of Tarver-Dawson 2, but has been rescheduled. When can we expect to see this fight?

DB: That fight will be on May 9th, at the Hard Rock in Las Vegas. That’s when they rescheduled the Tarver-Dawson 2 fight. The fight is still on, it was just pushed back until May 9th.

BC: How much do you know of Tupou?

DB: Ah, Tupou? I know he’s big, strong and has a good record and newer to boxing. He hasn’t fought anyone good yet, he’s fought the right guys, guys his handlers knew he would defeat. He has limited boxing experience. I know he didn’t have much of an amateur career. I’m looking forward to this fight because it’s a great opportunity for me. Beating a big, strong guy like him will make me look great. I need a win now and I’m definitely going to get this one. He’s not going to beat me, I promise you that Bob.

BC: Like you said, Tupou is a newer fighter, turning professional three years ago. Does fighting a guy with little experience make for a tough fight?

DB: It will make it a tough fight for Tupou, because he does not have the experience that I have in the ring. I am real hungry for a win and he has not been in against the level of opposition that I have been in the ring against. He is not going to bring anything into the ring that I haven’t already had experience against. He’s a big, strong guy who likes to hit people and knock them out. That is the game plan for most of the heavyweights out there, you know what I mean? What does he think he’s going to do to me? He’s going to come straight at me, try to take me out, try to box me, I’ve seen it all. I’ve been in the ring against some of the best, especially in my last couple of fights. I’m looking forward to taking him to school on May 9th and teaching him more about the game.

BC: Tupou is scheduled to fight Marcus Rhode 34-37 (29) on March 28th. If he should lose to Rhode, is there another opponent lined up for you?

DB: Um, well, I doubt he’s going to lose to Rhode. That is really highly unlikely due to the fact of the type of fighter Rhode is, and his handlers know they have me coming up in May, so they wouldn’t place their fighter at any risk before fighting me. If he were to lose to Rhode, that would be a shock. It would be a big shock to me, I’m not even sure what would happen. I’m not worried about him fighting Marcus Rhode, or the outcome of the fight at all.

BC: Should the unexpected happen, and Tupou lose to Rhode, I hear that the former Arkansas heavyweight champion, “THE Big Dog” Benny Henderson Jr. 2-0 (2) is available. Should the Tupou fight fall through, any interest in taking on Henderson Jr?

DB: (Laughter from both writer and Danny Batchelder) Ah, no, Benny is too good of a guy, you know? I like Benny, he’s a good old boy. I’ll leave Benny alone, I’ll stay away from that challenge.

BC: Danny, the floor is all yours. What would you like to say to all of your fans and the readers of Doghouse Boxing?

DB: Don’t count me out. Don’t read too much into my last couple of losses I’ve had, as if I can’t make it as a heavyweight. I’ve had a couple of unfair breaks like James Toney, Alexander Dimitrenko. This will be my year and I will be there to show people that I can make a name for myself at the heavyweight level.

I'd like to thank Danny Batchelder for taking time to speak with Doghouse Boxing. For more on Danny, stay tuned to Fightin' Words Radio Show. The show is co-hosted by Bob Carroll, Butch and "THE Big Dog" Benny Henderson Jr. and airs Wednesday nights from 8-9pm EST on www.1490WWPR.com
|http://1490wwpr.com and look for the "listen here" tab. Don't forget to check out the Fightin' Words Radio Show website, fightinwordsonline.com