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Talking Boxing with Matt "Too Smooth" Godfrey
WED July 28, JAMES STILLERMAN - Orthodox, cruiserweight pugilist, Matt "Too Smooth" Godfrey improved to 19-1 with 10KO's, after his dominating ten round unanimous decision victory over previously undefeated fighter, Shawn Hawk (18-1, 16KOs) two weeks ago in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania in the main event of Friday Night Fights on ESPN2. Godfrey prevailed by scores of 99-91, 97-93 and 98-92 and with the win he retained his NABF and picked up the vacant Sovereign Nations Boxing Council Cruiserweight belt, pushing his winning streak to three bouts. His other two wins during the winning streak came last year against Emmanuel Nwodo, who he knocked out in devastating fashion in the fourth round to capture the NABF belt in August and then beating Edward Gutierrez in November.
Twenty-eight year old Godfrey, from Providence, Rhode Island, has garnered solid wins over Shawn George, Felix Cora Jr. and Danny Batchelder during his four and half year professional career that has help him become ranked #10 by Ring Magazine, #6 by the WBC and #7 by the IBF.
TalkingBoxing was lucky enough to catch up with Godfrey and together we discussed his recent win over Shawn Hawk, plans for the rest of the year and thoughts on the cruiserweight division. Here is what he had to say on these topics and more.
James Stillerman, TalkingBoxing: Were you pleased with how your fight went against Shawn Hawk?
Matt Godfrey: Absolutely, I`m pleased with my performance because I worked extremely hard in the gym on my jab and moving around the ring and that is what I did in this fight. I landed my jab whenever I wanted and it was extremely effective all night long because it help set up my other punches. I won most of the rounds and I took the fight to the undefeated and powerful puncher, Hawk so overall I was pleased with the way I fought.
James Stillerman, TalkingBoxing: Was the jab what allowed you to dominate the fight?
Matt Godfrey: I believe my jab helped me dominated the fight. It helped my offense by setting up my other punches and combinations plus the jab aided my defense by keeping Hawk at bay and prevented him from getting anything going offensively. Whenever he went to punch I threw his timing off with the jab and at the end of the fight Hawk threw less than 300 punches which is 30 punches a round. So, the jab helped my offense by setting up my other punches and my defense by preventing Hawk from getting anything going. James Stillerman, TalkingBoxing: Were you disappointed that you didn`t knock him out?
Matt Godfrey: No, I was not disappointed that I didn`t prevail by knockout. Hawk had 16KOs in 18 fights, so he`s a big time puncher so I wanted be careful and I didn`t want to make a mistake or do anything silly so I fought a more controlled fight rather than looking for the lookout punch. I could`ve knocked him out if I wanted but I didn`t want to take that chance since he`s a strong fighter and my corner told me to continue with my game plan of jabbing and moving around the ring which was working so why change it.
James Stillerman, TalkingBoxing: What are your plans for the rest of 2009 and who would you like to fight?
Matt Godfrey: I just want to stay busy the rest of the 2009 year. I`ve only been fighting two-three fights a year the last couple of years and I definitely want to be more active and fight at least four-five fights a year. There is no one in particular that I want to fight although I wouldn`t mind fighting Adamek who is the best boxer in the cruiserweight division. Other than that I just want to stay busy, keep myself in the public eye and be ready for whoever my promoter puts in the ring with me while I wait for my chance of getting a title shot.
James Stillerman, TalkingBoxing: Is there a possibility that you could fight Herbie Hide or Thomas Adamek in the near future?
Matt Godfrey: I tried fighting Herbie Hide twice but both times the fights fell through. The first time the fight didn`t happen because I got a hand injury and then the second time we tried to get the fight going but we were also in negotiations with Thomas Adamek. So we call off the fight with Hide because I could fight Adamek in the United States for a world title rather than travel oversees and fight for a title eliminator with Hide. Adamek fight also didn`t happen because Showtime decided to go with a different opponent. However, I`d love to fight both of them in the future because they are both such great fighters.
James Stillerman, TalkingBoxing: What have you learned from your only loss to Rudolf Kraj that will make you a better fighter in the future?
Matt Godfrey: In that loss I started too slow and I waited too long for my opponent Kraj to make a mistake. Instead Kraj fought an extremely well disciplined fight and was not careless so I could't take advantage of his errors which l like to do in my bouts. In the future, I will not wait for the fight to come to me instead I`ll bring the fight to them and start attacking my opponent right away which I`ve done in my last three fights since my loss.
James Stillerman, TalkingBoxing: What are your thoughts on the cruiserweight division and its champions?
Matt Godfrey: The cruiserweight division is the most exciting weight class in boxing despite getting overlooked by many people because in large part many of the champions are from Europe so a lot of Americans do not know who they are. However, this a deep division that has a lot of fighters who are exciting to watch and throw close to 80-100 punches a round and have great knockout power. I`m happy to be in this division and I`d love to fight any of these champions.
James Stillerman, TalkingBoxing: You`ve had a storied amateur career by accumulating a 194-23 record, 6 national champions, Everlast US Champion, 2-time Jr. Olympics Bronze winner of the Pan American Games, and 6 New England Golden Gloves so of all of these accomplishments which one stands out more than the others?
Matt Godfrey: Actually the best momentum for me was going to the Olympic trials in 2000 and then going again in 2004 despite not winning either time. I lost early in 2000 in the first fight and after the loss I thought about turning professional but I decided to stay in the amateurs and try for the Olympics again in 2004. Over the next four years I matured more, became more of a man and turn into a more disciplined and better and more powerful puncher. Therefore, it was a blessing in disguise for me to come back for another chance for the 2004 Olympics and because of those four extra years it really helped me get my professional career off to such a good start.
James Stillerman, TalkingBoxing: How did you get the nickname “Too Smooth”?
Matt Godfrey: I really didn`t want a nickname but my promoter did because he felt with one fight fans would be better able to recognize me. So we put six nicknames online and the one that received the most votes would be the name I`d use. “Too Smooth” was the nickname that garnered the most hits so it became my nickname. It also happened to be the nickname that Jason Estrada (2004 US Olympic Representative and holds a 15-2, 3KOs record in the heavyweight division) picked for me.
James Stillerman, TalkingBoxing: Can you talk about your Native America ancestry and being a Wampanoag?
Matt Godfrey: It means a lot to me being a full blood 100% Native America. Our tribe, the Wampanoag does not receive as much recognition as those tribes in the Midwest but the Wampanoag still have a rich and historically history that includes owning Block Island and being an important tribe in the New England area for over a couple hundred years. Over the last few years, I`ve done more research about the Wampanoag and it`s really interesting to learn about my ancestry and it makes me proud of where I`ve come from.
James Stillerman, TalkingBoxing: What do you like most about boxing?
Matt Godfrey: The best thing about boxing is the individuality of the sport. It`s not like in football where the running back has to wait for his fullback to make a block in order to make a big run. Instead in boxing it is you versus the opponent and no one else. There is no timeouts or instant replays and if you don`t perform you can`t blame anyone else except for yourself. Unlike in other sports, in boxing the boxers has sole control of the fight and can determine the outcome of the bout without anyone else interfering with the end result.
James Stillerman, TalkingBoxing: What got you into boxing?
Matt Godfrey: Jason Estrada`s father got me into the sport when I was 12 years old and his dad would come around the neighborhood after school in his truck and pick up anyone who wanted to go the gym and he would usually get 20-30 people. However, after all of this time only Estrada and I still box. James Stillerman, TalkingBoxing: Any closing thoughts?
Matt Godfrey: I want to stay busy and remain in the public eye and be ready to take on the best the cruiserweight division has to offer while I bide my time to fight for a world title. Whoever I fight I`ll be ready.
I want to thank Bob Trieger for facilitating the interview and to Matt Godfrey for taking time out of his busy schedule and allow me to interview him.
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