TalkingBoxing Interviews
Talking Boxing with O'NEIL BELL
FRI January 6, ROGER GORDILLO -
Going into this his unification clash with Jean-Marc Mormeck tomorrow night on Showtime, O’Neil Bell, 25-1-1, seems calm and confident and has implemented a training regimen that is dictated by his mind and body. Bell doesn’t wake up every morning to run at 5:00AM, the man listens to his body and mind, going with what he feels. If his body says run, he runs. If his body says it’s tired and needs to relax in the Whirlpool, that’s just what he’ll do. If he feels it’s time to meditate and visualize the win, then he does.
He’s gotten rid of the nickname “Give Them Hell” stating that nothing good has ever came from Hell and changed it to “Supernova”. With the name brings upon rebirth, a positive change for the IBF cruiserweight champion.
In his last couple of fights Bell pulled off close wins, but insists that things out of the ring were distractions going into his fights. As Bell now self manages himself, these problems seem to be out of the way leaving him to focus on the prize.
Some might criticize him for what they might call a gift decision against Dale Brown, but Bell says the decision was clear as day. "Look at the fight and at the end of it look at him and look at me that is all you need to see."
While Mormeck has become the newest sensation with fans [it’s tough not to be intrigued by this foreign power puncher], but Mormeck himself dropped a pair of fights early in his career while Bell has lost only once in his 2nd appearance.
Mormeck also failed to dispatch of 40-year old Virgil Hill in their rematch and fell short of stopping a hurt Wayne Braithwaite this past April. Mormeck did manage to stop Dale Brown while Bell won a controversial decision, but looks can be deceiving as Bell does have a better knockout ratio coming into this fight on a 24 fight win streak with 21 wins coming by way of knockout. Both fighters are serious and both know the significance of this fight as only Evander Holyfield has became the undisputed cruiserweight champion, but after Saturday night one of these two fighters will join the “Real Deal” and become solidified in cruiserweight history.
TalkingBoxing: Who have you been sparring with in preparation for this fight and is there anybody in particular that you want to fight in the Cruiserweight Division?
O’Neil Bell: I’m not going to disclose my sparring partners at this time, but I know I’ve been getting in excellent work. I just came off two spectacular wins so I’m taking that in stride and taking that as experience. I’m real sharp. Like Mormeck said, he only fought once in a year and I fought twice all ready. This is my third fight beginning in January, but it’s actually the third fight in the year. I’m well conditioned, my mental capabilities, I’m a ring general right now. I’m used to the crowd being that I just came up from two back to back wins. As far as me being the champion, it’s just me all day, supernova.
TalkingBoxing: Can you tell us why you felt you deserved the decision in such a controversial match:
O’Neil Bell: If you will look at me and look at Dale Brown after the fight who do you think won that fight? The man walked with three huge two inch gashes on his face. Three of them, one on his chin, one the middle of the forehead and one on his right eye and the man was running throughout the fight. Regardless of what the critics say I can only put my trust in the judges, but he saw the fight that I was fighting. You know, I walked away with a victory so if there’s any discrepancies last time if there’s any discrepancies when I do capture this unification title I will dominate him and I will put him out of his misery for the credit. As far as the heavy weights are concerned I do want to fight someone out there. The best out there I believe, the man that I actually do want to fight for years is James Toney. Although he doesn’t hold a title, but I think he would be the man to bring the best out of me. So when I become the unification champion it would be Toney that I would love to fight.
TalkingBoxing: Are there any other fights left for you at cruiserweight and if they are successful do you move straight up to heavyweight?
O’Neil Bell: My Intention is to make the Cruiserweight division a noticeable division like the Heavyweights, like the Welterweights, like the Middleweights, so someone needs to step up and being that I am fighting for the Unification championship, it’s up to the winner which is me, to go ahead and make that stand to say the Cruiserweight division needs notoriety. So I really have no intention to vacate the cruiserweight division and go to the Heavyweight but if there’s an appealing fight in the Heavyweights I’ll do so.
TalkingBoxing: If you are unsuccessful do your plans change or stay the same?
O’Neil Bell: No, my plan doesn’t change there’s rise and fall in everything and there’s obstacles. If I don’t rise to the occasion that night then I must go back to the drawing board and regroup and comeback and fight even stronger than the first. So it wouldn’t be discouraging to me just more motivation knowing where I lacked at. But I’m not studying that, I’m studying victory what I trained for was to capture the unification title.
TalkingBoxing: Have you watched any tape of Mormeck and if you have what do you think of him and is there anything you can capitalize on?
O’Neil Bell: Yeah, I watched the last fight with him against Braithwaite, I capitalize, and I would like to use his strength against him. Like I said he comes to you but doesn’t really posses any great boxing skills. I can’t take anything from him; it’s just how I view my opponent going into the fight. I would tend to outbox him but if he wants to slug I would rather do that but I have to listen to my trainers of course. Their trying to break me out of banging and being a slugger. I’m known for that I have 23 Knockouts so it doesn’t matter if he wants to go Toe to Toe I’m not running but my strategy is to outbox him.
TalkingBoxing: You knocked out Kelvin Davis when some people were making him out to be the second coming of Mike Tyson. Do you feel people are sleeping on your power and do you feel you can knock Mormeck out if you have to?
O’Neil Bell: They have always slept on me, critics I mean, the knockouts speak for themselves. The resume speak for myself, the fighters that I’ve been able to get, I’ve been overmatched. I’ve been an underdog since I’ve came into the game when I fought Evander Holyfield’s nephew I was clearly an underdog in that one stopping him in the first round. I was matched against Derrick Harmon who had a world of experience and he lasted 8 rounds. So it doesn’t discourage me one bit actually I like it because I have more to fight for, more to disprove.
TalkingBoxing: About your fight against Evander Holyfield’s nephew, I’m not familiar with that fight could you tell me a little bit about that fight?
O’Neil Bell: Yeah, this was my pro debut. Quinton Holyfield, this was my very first match, pro debut. Evander Holyfield was in his corner of course so that could have been a discouraging point for me and then the fans weren’t on my side but I changed it after the first round.
TalkingBoxing: People often wonder about early losses. Can you tell us about the one blemish on your record?
O’Neil Bell: It came like two months after I fought Quinton Holyfield and then again he had Holyfield’s trainer Don Turner in his corner and how ironically again in my next fight was Don Turner in my opponent’s corner. Come to find out the man I was fighting had something like 140 amateur fights coming out of Morocco. I didn’t have any tapes on him I was advised not to take the fight but I wanted to prove myself so once again I rose to the occasion but it didn’t work that night. I was overmatched and I had him down and out but I lacked in experience I had him hurt and I couldn’t finish him. Well I didn’t finish him cause I was shocked at the way he went down and came back and able to sustain and in the fifth round the Ref halted the fight.
TalkingBoxing: Before we end do you want to say anything to our readers?
O’Neil Bell: Fans and critics stay tuned, I’d like to say hello to especially the ones who made it hard for me coming up in the game. You are truly a motivation for me and I rise up to obstacles I’m sure there’s more to come but I thank you. Keep watching January 7th stay tuned for a shocker.
TalkingBoxing: Alright Bro, well thanks a lot and good luck
O’Neil Bell: Alright take care Roger
TalkingBoxing: You too bro.
Mr. Bell wrapped up his thoughts yesterday at the final press conference saying, "I am the best kept secret in the cruiserweight division, but that will change after I win Saturday night. It is an honor for me to be fighting for the undisputed cruiserweight title. I am ready for a top performance."
"What you have seen in my last couple fights was me at only 80 percent. I had things going on outside the ring. I was changing up my boxing style a little. I was in transition."
"But there will be no excuses after I fight Mormeck. If you compare his resume to mine, or compare our accomplishments, you will see I have fought and defeated much tougher fighters throughout my career."
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