Interview with Elvin Ayala: “I am ready for anything right now!”

Interview with Elvin Ayala: “I am ready for anything right now!”

By John Pullman, Doghouse Boxing (Oct 17, 2009)

The last time I spoke with Elvin he told me “two more fights and then I can hopefully get a title shot.” Well, that was one fight ago and now Elvin is gearing up for a shot at the USBA middleweight title. So it looks like Elvin is a little ahead of schedule. “I’ve been waiting, and then I was talking to Mike Criscio and he knew about Lajuan Simon needing an opponent and me and my trainer looked at each other and I was all for it. I feel like it’s a calling, my opportunity.”

Lajuan Simon is a battle tested Philadelphia fighter who is coming off of two decision losses to European fighters. Elvin has been studying his opponent. “I know he fought Arthur Abraham and he went the distance. He is a straight forward guy, got a good right hand, he throws a lot of one-twos until he feels confident and then he’ll start throwing combinations. He’s not the fastest person, he is a durable opponent, he comes to fight. He only has two losses and both of them were in Germany.”

As Elvin finishes up one of his last days of hard sparring he feels as though everything is coming together. “I’ve been training so hard, coming in doing all the strength training, so I’ve been tired but today was the first day that I felt really confident, really strong, really fast, just sharp!”

Although Simon is durable and has never been stopped, Elvin is confident he can change that. “I want to mix it up, I want to give him a little bit of aggression, see how he hangs with that and if I can take him out then I am gonna take him out!”

Although Elvin hopes for the knockout he is fully prepared to take a victory however it may need to come. “I am hoping to take him out early but I have been training for the distance. I never really try to knockout my opponents. I am gonna try, but not in a sloppy way, if it’s there and I can see it early, I’ll take him out early, if not, I’ll just go the distance and hopefully come out with the win.”

This is Elvin’s second opportunity for a title. His first was against Arthur Abraham for the IBF World Middleweight Title. In that fight Elvin came up short. Feeling grateful for another opportunity, he is doing everything in his power to make sure this chance does not pass him by. “I trained a lot harder. I am a lot more focused and I am ready for this. I feel like I got to give it all. It’s all or nothing.”

With a little more than a week to go before the fight, Elvin feels great, he talks about his future plans. “I would like to take on “Irish” John Duddy, or one or two more fights and I’d like to fight Kelly Pavlik or Paul Williams or whoever is out there. I am ready for anything right now!”

Elvin Ayala will be squaring off against Lajuan Simon Saturday October 17, at the Palms in Las Vegas. It is the same night that Super Six Classic starts off, which is sure to make some noise. But Elvin Ayala plans to make a little bit of noise himself that night. “I think once I get this title I am gonna start making a name for myself.”

Thanks to Elvin Ayala for taking the time to speak with me.

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