Samuel Peter: Do you think he can beat Vitali Klitscho? He sure does
Interview with Heavyweight prospect Samuel Peter and manager Ivailo Gotzev
 Interview by Benny Henderson Jr. (November 24, 2004)
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Photo © Stephen Jones, Team BRC
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Undefeated Nigerian born heavyweight Samuel Peter is locked, loaded and ready to go. He is set to face old schooled fight veteran Jeremy Williams on December 4th at Mandalay Bay in Las Vegas Nevada on Showtime. 'The Nigerian Nightmare' exploded on the fight scene in 2001 with a first round kayo over Gueorgui Christov and has pounded out twenty straight wins, putting seventeen of his opponents to sleep. The hard-hitting heavyweight has been to round seven or beyond only three times and has slain seven of his victims in the first round with the rest falling within four. There is no doubt Williams will be the young prospect’s toughest bout to date, but with a win he feels he can get closer to who he wants most, WBC heavyweight champion Vitali Klitschko. Yep, that is what I said, he wants Vitali and he feels he has the key at beating the towering Ukrainian. Peter was a super heavyweight in the amateurs and fought for the national team where he was a quarter finalist in the 2000 games and finished up 18-2 as an amateur. With sheer power and a good jab Peter wants to bulldoze the division. Peter made his first Showtime appearance in August of this year on 'ShoBox: The New Generation' where he battled out a unanimous decision victory over Jovo Pudar and against Williams he is looking to keep his Showtime winning streak alive. What will be the outcome? Tune in and see. The undefeated heavyweight prospect along with his manager Ivailo Gotzev stopped by the Doghouse to talk about his future, his bout against Jeremy Williams and did I mention Vitali Klitschko?
Benny Henderson Jr.: Give us your thoughts on your upcoming bout against Jeremy Williams.
Samuel Peter: Jeremy is Jeremy, I don’t think he is a big deal and I will fight Jeremy Williams to go up to the top ten
BH: Your record is 20-0 (17) and you have fought for four years. Jeremy has twelve years experience with forty-six fights; do you see William’s experience posing any threat to you with you being such a young fighter?
SP: Jeremy doesn’t bother me you know, what I am going to do is what I’m going to do. When December 4th comes Jeremy is going to be flying in his corner.
BH: Can you give us your keys to victory?
SP: Yeah, I mean I am coming out and getting the victory, a big time victory.
BH: Looking at your self, how would you define yourself as a fighter?
SP: I’m the best right now. I see that I am the best in the heavyweight division.
BH: Well, there are a lot of fighters coming up in the division that says that they will be heavyweight champion and they are the best, what separates you from the other guys that say the same thing you are saying?
SP: Because I am special. You know I’m special.
BH: Looking at the heavyweights in the division, which fighters would you consider being an easy fight for you and which fighters would you see posing a problem?
SP: The people in the top ten, the easiest of them that would be easiest for me would be Vitali Klitschko.
BH: Well, what weaknesses or what do you see in Vitali that would lead you to that conclusion?
SP: Because I am ready all the time to fight anybody that I want to fight and whatever I want to do in the ring.
[Sam’s manager enters the conversation]
Ivailo Gotzev: Samuel and I and his trainers always talk about it and to be honest with you Samuel has the perfect style for Vitali Klitschko because what you need to against Vitali is put the pressure on him. So far guys are always falling short on reaching and cutting, because Vitali is a pretty tall guy so he can use his size for his advantage. What is needed to beat Vitali Klitschko is basically pressure, pressure, pressure every minute of every round. And that is what’s going to break Vitali down; he cannot take the pressure. He might run, he might hold, he might jab, he might dance around the ring or hold, whatever he might be doing for two or three rounds, but he cannot go twelve rounds with the kind of pressure Samuel can display. Samuel is the perfect fighter to match ends with Vitali Klitschko to beat Vitali. That is as simple as that, pressure breaks Vitali down and he cannot take the pressure for twelve rounds, no way. He showed it with Lewis, with pressure he folds. He is going to fold just like his brother. He is no different. The type of fighter that will fold him is Samuel Peter.
Benny Henderson Jr.: I am addressing both of you with this question. You said the way to beat Vitali Klitschko is to stay on him for twelve rounds, am I correct?
Ivailo Gotzev: With one exception he is not going to be able to take Samuels power punching for twelve rounds. I foresee this fight going to six to seven rounds, Vitali would be lucky to see the eight round. That is the bottom line. Samuel Peter is the future of the heavyweight division. It is fine Vitali can enjoy being on top for a while; we are just taking our time, we are in no hurry. We realize a fight like that will take some time. Right now this fight might not be worth a good amount of money but with time. He is going to try to do everything under the sun to escape from us and run away from Samuel. The time will come when he has no choice when he has to face Samuel in the ring. The people will demand that. That is what I see in the future.
BH: Well let’s get on the matter at hand, how about the fight with Jeremy Williams, how is your training going for this one?
SP: I have been training and training hard for this fight, all fights I have to put my best into them.
BH: For the ones that haven’t seen Samuel Peter fight, why should they come to see you fight or tune in to watch you on TV, what do you have to offer to the boxing fans?
SP: I love all my fans, the entertainment for them will be very big.
BH: With seventeen knockouts with just twenty fights do you consider yourself a KO artist?
SP: All the time this fight was different form the other fights I have been fighting. I just want to prove myself, people were talking, this guy can’t go over four rounds, this guy can’t go over five rounds. So I just try to make it simple for myself.
Ivailo Gotzev: He went the distance because everybody thought he was a four round fighter, like they say about Mike Tyson. Samuel tried something different in his last two fights and just boxed to go the distance.
BH: Samuel you have some new undefeated heavyweights coming up beside you like Owen Beck, Calvin Brock, you know the guys. Are there any new fighters or prospects as yourself that you would like to step in the ring with to show that they might not be legit and you are the real deal.
SP: Yes I would.
BH: Samuel what inspired you to want to be a fighter?
SP: Because that is what I wanted to be.
BH: Well that is all I wanted to ask at this point. If there is anything you want to add to this or say to the fans or division you have an open forum.
SP: My fans know that I am going to fight and they come out to watch me against Jeremy Williams because I am going out there to eat Jeremy Williams alive. This fight will be different from all my fights.
Ivailo Gotzev: Did you just hear what he said? He said he wants to go in there and eat Jeremy Williams alive! [Laughs] I like that. He is going out there to show the fans a performance they haven’t seen yet. He is determined to go out there and hurt this man and this is what this fight is all about. Jeremy Williams will stay in our way, I have known Jeremy for the last ten years. He is a guy with a lot of attitude, he thinks he is all that, basically by him taking this fight he has shown what he thinks of Samuel Peter, he thinks he has something over Samuel therefore he will have somebody who is ready to take care of business. This is just the beginning for us; all the heavyweights out here enjoy it while you can.
I would like to thank Sam Peter and his manager Ivailo Gotzev for their time taken for the Doghouse.
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