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Fres Oquendo
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During the hectic weekend of May 11, 2001 there was a buzz unlike any other in New York City in anticipation of the Felix Trinidad-William Joppy fight. People from the boxing world were abound all over Manhattan and everyone seemed excited about the big fight. One guy I met at that time was Puerto Rican heavyweight Fres Oquendo, who was in town to support his stablemate and good friend Trinidad. Oquendo was as classy and friendly as they come. Fast forward three and a half years later and Oquendo is still fighting and took some time to talk to us about all things boxing. Here’s what we discussed, topic to topic…
Sizing up the heavyweight match-ups from Don King’s Nov.13th PPV card such as John Ruiz-Andrew Golota, Chris Byrd-Jameel McCline, and Hasim Rahman-Kali Meehan …
“I wasn’t too impressed. I was sitting there ringside checking them out. Hopefully I will get one of the winners fairly soon. I don’t see any of them posing a problem for me as far as delivering a great performance."
Hasim Rahman taking out Kali Meehan…
“Hasim looked pretty good but you have to factor in the grade of competition he was facing. I’ve never really acknowledged Kali as a world top 10 heavyweight. [Meehan] had a good night against an off Lamon Brewster and that got him where he was. Rahman did what he had to do and he was aggressive. There’s no question that I’d love to fight a guy like Hasim. He’s a very typical type of fighter with some power. He can jab but he has no bob'n' weave and no lateral movement whatsoever. I think I would outpoint him, out jab him, and even overpower him. I’m ready to start getting some attention in the boxing world and I think a win over Hasim would get me there.”
Going over his fight with John Ruiz…
“I wasn’t ready for that fight mentally. You know 80% of the fight game is mental and I just wasn’t ready. I know if I’m at the top of my game physically and mentally that I won’t be stopped. It was very unfortunate because the time just wasn’t right for me. I had a lot on my mind going into that fight. I was worrying about things I shouldn’t have been worrying about. If we fought again I would just go in there and fight my fight. I would do my thing and wouldn’t worry at all about what Ruiz brings to the table.
"Going into the Ruiz fight I had bad management and they didn’t negotiate like they should have. I wasn’t concentrating fully or properly during my training camp. It was an off night for me, but still a lot of experts had me ahead and I also felt that it was a premature stoppage. If we ever fought again I would be a lot more aggressive and you would see a big difference from the first fight.”
On Chris Byrd pulling out a split decision over Jameel McCline …
“Jameel came in to win and looked pretty good the first five rounds. The problem was that Jameel is a big guy carrying a lot of weight and I knew down the stretch he would wind down. Byrd has some pretty good stamina because he throws some pitty pat punches and he was able to hang in there and win a decision.”
On his controversial loss to Chris Byrd…
“Against me, Chris Byrd was facing someone who was also elusive and that gave him problems. I was also able to jab with him and land my combinations. I don’t think I was robbed against Chris Byrd, I KNOW I was robbed. It’s unfortunate because the boxing world was also robbed of a true champion that night.”
His take on the Vitali Klitschko-Danny Williams fight Dec. 11th…
“I clearly like Vitali Klitschko in that one. I think some people were fooled by Williams’ knockout over Mike Tyson. Tyson wasn’t his usual self and wasn’t even ranked in the top 10 when they met. I just don’t think Danny Williams has been tested enough to go up against a guy like Klitschko. I think within 4 or 5 rounds Vitali will stop him.”
Fighting Vitali down the road?…
“I’d be very technical if I ever fought Vitali. I’d use my jab and go side to side against him. I’d cut him out of his range and land my shots. I have the speed and also the power down the stretch to stop him.”
Walking to the ring with Felix Trinidad before his fight with William Joppy…
“It was a great honor walking in with a great champion and a great friend like Felix. All around me in the Garden I saw my people from Puerto Rico and I kept thinking that I’d be walking into the ring as focused as he was and ready to win a world title someday.”
Being trained by don Felix Trinidad…
“It was great. He changed my whole boxing career. I went from being unnoticed to fighting on HBO and Showtime. It was unfortunate that he retired because I didn’t have him as a mentor and therefore didn’t have as much motivation."
His win over Cliff ‘The Black Rhino’ Etienne…
“It was a great experience for me. I surprised a lot of people with that performance. I knew all I needed was a chance and that I would beat Etienne. I went toe to toe with him and beat him at his own game but I also boxed him as well. I had a lot riding on that fight and it was very important for me to get that win.”
Growing up in the ghetto…
“I was born in the ghettos of Puerto Rico but raised in the ghettos of Chicago. It was survival. You had to survive anything. Everyday was a test of life. You had drug dealers, gang bangers, and drug addicts right across your street. I had to block my mind and stay focused towards my goals. I was able to turn professional and move my mom and myself out of there. I came from the ghetto and moved on to fighting on HBO and HBO Championship Boxing and I’m still fighting.”
Becoming interested in boxing…
“Back in 1987 my older brother started boxing and it motivated me to get off the streets and do something with my life. I used to get into a lot of street fights in grammar school but I still didn’t know how to fully defend myself, so I started boxing. I had my first amateur fight at the age of 14. Something about boxing, I just love the competition of it all.”
Where he trains…
“Right now I train at JAB Gym in the Northwest side of Chicago. I’m happy to be back home. This is where I started my career and hopefully this is where I’ll be ending it.”
A typical day of training…
“I get up at 5 in the morning and run from 5:30 to 7:00 in the morning. Then I weight train from 9 until 10 in the morning. I sometimes take a rest between 11 and 2 in the afternoon. I hit the gym up around 3 and do my boxing from around 3:30 until 6:30 or 7."
Who he’d like to fight next…
“I’d love to get a rematch with either Ruiz or Chris Byrd. I also think that Lamon Brewster, the WBO champ, would be a good fight. Ultimately, when I win a world title I would like to unify with Vitali Klitschko.”
Trinidad’s return to the ring against Ricardo Mayorga…
“I was there ringside. Trinidad came with a vengeance and he shocked the world. Coming back from his layoff and fighting at a world class level really brought a lot of excitement back to the game. I wasn’t surprised at how good Trinidad looked because he has always had a rare kind of natural fighting instinct. What I was surprised at was how well Trinidad took Mayorga’s punches."
Signing off to his fans
“I’m very grateful to all of my people in Central America, especially Panama, Nicaragua, Puerto Rico, and all of my fans in general.”
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A special thanks to publicist Bernie Bahrmasel for making this interview possible
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