On January 14, 2017 in Brooklyn, New York’s Barclays Center, Puerto Rico’s Jose Pedraza (22-0) will defend his IBF 130-pound title against Gervonta Davis (16-0) of Baltimore, Maryland. Pedraza won the vacant title against Andrey Klimov in June of 2015 and has defended it against Edner Cherry and Stephen Smith. Here is what he had to say in a Boxingtalk interview:
Ivan Montiel: We have some questions for you regarding your upcoming fight against Gervonta Davis. Many boxing fans are impressed with what they see from you, including Felix Trinidad. He spoke very highly of you the last time I spoke to the great Puerto Rican fighter.
Jose Pedraza: I am trying to represent Puerto Rico to the best that I can, and it’s an honor to know that Felix Trinidad thinks highly of me.
IM: Davis is undefeated, like yourself. He is a very strong southpaw fighter. What are your thoughts about him?
JP: Well first of all Davis is going to be a tough fight for me but I don’t think he will be as tough as Edner Cherry was. Davis’ record says it all. He has power and he is a good fighter. He fights under Mayweather Promotions, yet we believe we will be able to beat him if we are prepared 100%
IM: Is your IBF super featherweight title on the line for this fight?
JP: Yes it is. It’s not going to be an easy fight, but yes my IBF title will be on the line.
IM: How about training camp. What can you tell us about your camp?
JP: Well training is good so far. Prior to Davis being mentioned [as my challenger] many fights were put on the table. Many fights like [WBC lightweight title holder] Dejan Zlaticanin who’s now scheduled to fight Mikey Garcia. The Zlaticanin fight didn’t work out for some reason, and a few other fighters were mentioned as well that didn’t work out. But I’ve kept my composure by staying calm and training hard as always. Gervonta Davis got confirmed, so here we are ready for our next opponent. We have trained very well.
IM: Well in boxing it’s not always what you expect, but maybe in 2017, we will see you against the winner of Zlaticanin-Garcia?
JP: I would love to fight the winner. As a matter a fact I am willing to fight all title holders.
IM: Any predictions?
JP: I’ve never made a prediction before all I can say is we will go round by round and if the knockout comes it comes. Davis will get hurt, that’s all. I will bring lots of pressure and Davis will get hurt.
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