TalkingBoxing Interviews
The Lion is Ready to Attack - Talking Boxing with OWEN BECK
THU September 1, ANDRES CARRIEDO - Prior to his February showdown with Monte Barrett, Owen Beck was virtually unknown to most boxing fans. Even Showtime boxing analyst Steve Albert wondered aloud, “Who the heck is Owen ‘What the Heck’ Beck?” Now, after his valiant performance in defeat, fans and insiders alike are asking a different question, “Can Owen Beck work his way into title contention?”
Beck, 24-1 with 18 KO's, is favored to defeat veteran Ray Austin in their Showtime Championship Boxing televised co-feature to Wayne Braithwaite’s return in a cruiserweight elimination bout against Guillermo Jones this Saturday night at 9 p.m. ET/PT (delayed on the west coast).
While the temptation may be to look ahead to possible big fights in the near future, Beck knows from recent experience that he needs to focus on the task at hand. “I believe in one fight at a time. Don [King] will be the best person to talk to about what’s coming next.”
Beck knows that his knockout loss was a learning experience and has used it to fuel his fire. “It just woke up the lion, you know? Have you ever seen a lion in the jungle when it’s ready to attack? It just gets in there and does its thing.”
While it’s encouraging that Beck has not let his first defeat get him down, the most important factor is whether or not he learned from the mistakes that he made against the veteran Barrett.
When asked what improvements he made to his game during training Beck responded, “I worked on defense because that was my main problem [in the Barrett fight]. I needed some slickness…and also when I get somebody hurt I need to finish the job, you know?”
Beck also worked on his stamina and says that he could go 12 rounds if need be after sparring with, among others, Larry Donald and Julius Long.
Beck is approaching this opportunity with a great deal of confidence. Not even the switches in opponents and the accompanying inability to study much tape on Austin have dented his positive outlook. He is confident that he knows what to expect come Saturday evening.
“I haven’t watched tape. I haven’t seen him fight for a few years, but it depends on what a guy has within. [The time passed] doesn’t make much difference compared to whatever happened before.”
He made no promises for this fight other than to tell the fans that, “Owen Beck is back and the lion is ready to attack. Watch out heavyweight division.” Fights fan will come this this Saturday night from Gund Arena in Cleveland on Showtime
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