Travis Walker: “Jason Estrada is a boring fighter and he is not tough!”
 Interview conducted by Benny Henderson Jr - A.K.A "Big Dog" (Nov 17, 2006) Photo © Tom Casino/SHOWTIME
The chitter chatter has ceased and the fighting shall commence this Friday night, November 17th, at the Soboba Casino in San Jacinto, CA, on Showtime’s ShoBox: The New Generation (11 PM ET/PT, 10 PM central) when the undefeated hard hitting Travis Walker, 21-0-1 (17), faces off against former nemesis Jason Estrada, 7-0 (1), in a highly anticipated heavyweight clash.
Walker, who earned numerous amateur titles including the 2003 National Golden Gloves, compiled a record of 26-8. But although he excelled as an amateur, Travis fell to three defeats at the hands of Estrada, thus giving this fight the special ingredients to make it worthwhile.
As a professional, the ‘Freight Train’ has rolled over the competition, knocking out 17 of his 22 opponents, nine in the opening round. With this fight, Walker says he has something to prove. Will he find redemption as a professional or fall to
defeat for the first time against his perennial foe? Tune in to see this throwdown but for now, read on to see what Walker had to say on his upcoming match-up. Enjoy.
Benny Henderson Jr.: Give us your thoughts on this match-up?
Travis Walker: I like the fact the he is taking me lightly, so I am just working hard. I have a lot to fight for in this fight. I am fighting to prove not only to myself that I am better than him and to redeem myself for the losses that I had against him, but I also feel that I am fighting for heavyweight boxing. Because to me, he is not really a heavyweight boxer. Because of his style, I feel that heavyweight boxing can’t turn to that (looking at Estrada as the future of the heavyweight division) because of me. If heavyweight boxing is going to turn to that, it won’t be because of me.
BH: You lost to Estrada three times in the amateurs, but now this is the professionals. So what will be different this time around?
TW: This is a whole different game, man, and what will be different, for one, the judges will be different. A lot of times, amateur boxing is political. Amateur boxing’s style is made for pitter patting. It is made for pitter patting and I am not a pitter-patter fighter. I used to go to tournaments and I think out of five people, I would knock out three. That is heavyweight boxing. The whole time we were in the amateurs, he never knocked anybody out and I don’t think that is heavyweight boxing. He was in the amateurs for a long time and with the politics, it was all in his favor.
BH: Thoughts on fighting on Showtime?
TW: It is lovely man. I am happy to get the chance at this, to show my stuff to the world.
BH: How would you compare Estrada to your past opposition?
TW: The guys I fought, they were heavyweights. Estrada’s style is like this: He has quick hands and he has quick hands. But he has no power and he is a runner, and in this game, judges don’t like runners. He does nothing spectacular. He is a boring fighter. He might have the best record out of the guys I fought but he certainly isn’t the toughest. I have already fought Jason three times so I know he isn’t tough at all. He is not tough at all.
BH: Do you feel like a win over Estrada will get you respect in the boxing world?
TW: You know, there are two sides. I feel like it will because he is an Olympian, plus he is undefeated but then again, I feel like they will say that I haven’t fought nobody because he fights like he is a nobody.
BH: Your keys to victory?
TW: Stay busy. I have to stay busier than him. He throws a lot of punches. I just have to stay busier and fight hard. I have been training very hard for this and I am ready for him. I don’t fight like I did in the amateurs. My amateur coach was an ex-football player. He never was a boxer. Now I have real trainers in my corner now and I got a better fight game. Anybody who knows me knows that there is a difference in the way I fight now. The fact that he is taking me lightly, well,… that is beautiful for me.
BH: If you could send out a message to Estrada, what would it be?
TW: Beware. Well, I like him to think the way he is thinking so I don’t really want to send no macho message out because I want him to think the way he is thinking. Like he is the man. Because he is going to come into this fight and find out it is different.
BH: Anything in closing?
TW: All is well. I just want to show my stuff to this world man. Let everybody see what I have and hopefully we will make something out of this.
I would like to thank Travis Walker for his time and thoughts.
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