TalkingBoxing Interviews
Cuevas Steps in on Aug. 20th, Offers take on Taylor-Hopkins
TUE July 12, JULIUS STECKER - 35 year old, 'Classy' Freddie Cuevas is a fighter I have grown to respect and appreciate. And that is not just because of his toughness and grit inside the squared circle. I have come to admire him for his excellent insight, and his great understanding of the fight game.
Having often times said that there is no better interview in the sport of boxing then Cuevas, he has backed it up as a pugilist as well. He has been in the ring against fighters like top middleweight contenders, Jermain Taylor and Kingley Ikeke, and has knocked out former perennial contender Wilfredo Rivera.
Every time Cuevas enters the ring, he gives an excellent account of himself, plus he has shown himself to have one of the best chins in the sport.
TalkingBoxing.com caught up with the Chicago native to get his take on his career, the upcoming Bernard Hopkins- Jermain Taylor super-fight, and much more.
“In boxing you have different worlds, the match makers, the fighters, and the promoters. The matchmakers know who is dangerous, and often time that is not seen in the general public. Some in the general public don’t know who I am, but I know promoters don’t want to take a chance and put there guy in there against me,” explained Cuevas.
Cuevas came up the hard way, fighting in ballrooms, taking on tough contenders, and given little respect in the process. Cuevas overcame the stigma of being labeled a club fighter, and put himself in contender status in 2002, when he knocked out former World Champion Charles Murray and the respected Wilfredo Rivera. After that he would go on to give Jermain Taylor twelve tough rounds and after that gave Kingley Ikeke a very tough fight in 2004. And he did this all above his natural weight of 154.
If you have been reading the pages of TalkingBoxing for a couple of years now, you understand nobody is better at prognosticating fights then 'Classy' Freddie. Cuevas knows Taylor first hand and believes Taylor may be in for a little bit more then what he bargained for in this upcoming fight against Hopkins.
"Jermain has a chance, but Hopkins has not shown any signs of slowing down as of late. And even though he is 40 years old, he is an very intelligent fighter and that will make him tough to beat," explained Cuevas.
Cuevas has a lot more on his mind than picking fights, he plans to fight on the Fernando Vargas-Javier Castillejo undercard on August 20th at the Allstate Arena in Rosemont, Illinois. While he would love to fight in the main-event, he is willing to take on all comers in the future at 154.
“I have been forced to fight above my weight in my last few big fights, and I would definitely like to fight the top guys at 154. Right now the most impressive one out there is Kassim Ouma [look for our interview with Ouma tomorrow], he is a lefty and throws a lot of punches, so he will be tough for anybody to beat.
Cuevas would love a shot at the WBO world champion at jr. middleweight and Freddie believes he knows just how to beat him. "Daniel Santos is another guy out there; he is a huge man. He has to at least walk around at around 180. He is 6 feet tall, and I am 5’9” and I walk around at like 164 pounds. He has a lot of heart, but with all that said he doesn’t really impress me. I think if you put the pressure on you can beat him,” said Cuevas.
Freddie will be looking to make one last push at the top fighters in the sport. If successful on August 20th, 'Classy' will be a step closer to fighting the top guys at 154.
“I have been working on a lot of things. Right now I have excellent hand eye coordination. I have been working on getting in and out. And I have been staying in the pocket as well working on my defense," Cuevas closed with. So don’t be surprised if you see Cuevas in a television fight in the near future giving some hot prospect hell.
Forum
