Nicky
19-12-2004, 22:54
As businessmen around the world wind down their work year in anticipation of a well-deserved holiday break with their families, things continue at full bore down in Curitiba, Brazil for Wanderlei Silva. The Pride Middleweight Champion is only two weeks away from his fourth fight with Japanese legend Kazushi Sakuraba.
Although he owns three dominant wins over Sakuraba, Silva promises that he is not overlooking his opponent.
“He still is the most important Japanese idol,� Silva told InsideFighting. “I respect this, and he’s a great fighter with qualities. I can tell you that when we fought for the first time, I was starting my way in PRIDE and he was already a champion with great victories against excellent Brazilian fighters. That victory changed my career. We must remember that. I will be well prepared to make a great fight – probably the best of the night. That is the most important thing and that motivates me a lot.�
According to the reigning champion, that motivation includes preparing for Sakuraba with the same intensity and focus as Wanderlei does for all his fights – past history and familiarity with Sakuraba’s fighting style do not affect his preparation at all.
“Doesn’t matter,� he said about their history. “My preparation is still the same. The focus is in my training and my performance. Usually I don’t want to know about my opponents. Rudimar (Fedrigo) and Rafael (Cordeiro), my masters at Chute Boxe Academy, study my opponent and his skills. During the training we discuss how to beat them – the best way to reach the victory.�
For Silva, victory typically comes by way of knockout. In fact, 12 of his last 14 fights have ended inside the distance from strikes. And keeping the fight standing in search of the knockout is the plan against Sakuraba.
However, it’s been more than 56 months and 18 fights since Wanderlei Silva last tasted defeat. One has to think that the motivation to train for his fights is starting to wane.
It happens to the greatest of champions. Boxers like Roy Jones, Jr. and Muhammad Ali, and MMA fighters like Antonio ‘Minotauro’ Nogueira all suffered defeats at the height of their championship reign from a lack of proper preparation due in part from a lack of motivation – at least, that was the party line.
But Silva insists that is not the case with him as he completes the final preparations for Sakuraba. His fans and simply maintaining his position at the top of the mountain keep him fully motivated.
“I know that the InsideFighting.com help me a lot to keep in contact with my American fans and this is very important to my career,� he explained. “After 56 months and 18 times in a row without a loss, that keeps me more and more motivated. The number of fans increases in the same way and the responsibility too, but I can deal with this and I’m sure that to be on the top I must work twice as hard. I like this kind of pressure – keep me alive and running for new challenges. Two years ago I was working hard to get there, today I want to stay there.�
Assuming Silva gets past Sakuraba, and he will be heavily favored to do precisely that, he has clearly defined goals for 2005. In addition to repeating as the Pride Middleweight Grand Prix Champion, Silva wants the opportunity to avenge his loss to Vitor Belfort and also to fight in the first ever unification bout between Pride and the UFC.
“I want to unify the title – to fight against Couture,� he said. “I think that the unification would be great to the sport, to the MMA community and to the fans that want to see this fight. He’s already 40 (years old) and we must run to arrange this combat.�
Randy Couture has repeatedly said that he would love the opportunity to unify the titles. Unfortunately, the politics and egos of the respective promotional companies make the fight extremely unlikely.
With a unification fight most likely out of the question, the Axe Murderer is prepared to look outside his already conquered division for new challenges, including challenging Pride’s heavyweight “Big 3� – Minotauro Nogueira, Fedor Emelianenko and Mirko “Cro Cop� Filipovic.
If he cannot face Couture (or whoever is the reigning UFC Light Heavyweight Champion) in his next fight, then Silva wants Cro Cop.
“Cro Cop is one of them because in our last fight they changed the rules,� Silva said when asked about his preferred opponent after the Sakuraba fight. “PRIDE told me that he asked for the changes. I’m sure that if we had judges score I had won that fight. In the next opportunity, with the actual rules, I will prove that I won that fight.�
A move to the heavyweight division with a win over one of the Big 3 would certainly add to Silva’s claim as the best fighter in the world, pound-for-pound. Considering that he weighs 97 kilograms (214 pounds) pounds when training, Silva says that he would weigh in the neighborhood of 100 kilograms (220 pounds), so he can “move to heavyweight easily.�
But first things first, Silva has a big fight on New Year’s Eve. For now, that dominates his time and attention. Yet, even when he is deeply involved in training, Wanderlei finds time to support other Brazilian champions such as Acelino ‘Popo’ Freitas in their athletic endeavors.
Last Saturday, Popo made his first return to a boxing ring since losing his WBO lightweight title to Diego Corrales several months ago. It was Popo’s first fight in Brazil in more than three years, so Silva showed up to lend his moral support.
“I like every kind of fight – the adrenaline of the sport moves me,� he said when asked about his affection for boxing. “Popo is a great person, very friendly, and like me a Brazilian warrior that fights to put the Brazilian name on the top. We came from a third world country and it’s more difficult to succeed and to be the best in his category. I think that soon he will have his belt again. He deserves it!�
Silva’s enjoyment of boxing, however, extends beyond just watching his fellow countrymen.
“I like to see Popo fighting,� he explained. “I respect (Mike) Tyson. I read that he is facing serious personal problems, including drug abuse. I hope that he change the way of his life and come back to the sport. He is a legend to the sport and has a career to preserve. I like the style of Roy Jones, Jr. too – a showman and the fans enjoy it.�
Of course, the discussion of Tyson and Jones, Jr. instantly brings up the notion of Silva fighting in Las Vegas like those other famed champions. After attending UFC 49 in Las Vegas and interacting with the US fans, Silva’s desire to fight here in front of those fans actually grew stronger.
“I was in the audience of UFC in Vegas this year and I was impressed with the American audience,� he said. “A lot of fans came to talk with me and to support me. I was so happy with this kind of reaction and it is good to know that you have the respect of fans from different countries – this is another example to explain how I can be motivated.
“I remember that I told you in our last interview that I want to fight for the American fans as soon as possible, the PRIDE Team know about it and they told me that Las Vegas could be in the schedule for 2005. Let’s see. I’m excited with the idea and we must work for that.�
Silva fighting on US soil in 2005 would certainly be a treat for the US MMA fans. But for now, everyone will have to make due with pay-per-view telecasts from Japan.
“Thank you very much, God bless you all,� Wanderlei Silva said in closing. “I had a wonderful year and I want to close it with a great performance. I ask for God everyday and he bless me a lot. See you all in 2005 and don’t forget to see the fight on December 31st -- I think that in America it will be on January 2nd.�
Hopefully, Kazushi Sakuraba asks for God everyday, as well, because the Axe Murderer is coming on New Year’s Eve. And he’s not coming to play nice!
Although he owns three dominant wins over Sakuraba, Silva promises that he is not overlooking his opponent.
“He still is the most important Japanese idol,� Silva told InsideFighting. “I respect this, and he’s a great fighter with qualities. I can tell you that when we fought for the first time, I was starting my way in PRIDE and he was already a champion with great victories against excellent Brazilian fighters. That victory changed my career. We must remember that. I will be well prepared to make a great fight – probably the best of the night. That is the most important thing and that motivates me a lot.�
According to the reigning champion, that motivation includes preparing for Sakuraba with the same intensity and focus as Wanderlei does for all his fights – past history and familiarity with Sakuraba’s fighting style do not affect his preparation at all.
“Doesn’t matter,� he said about their history. “My preparation is still the same. The focus is in my training and my performance. Usually I don’t want to know about my opponents. Rudimar (Fedrigo) and Rafael (Cordeiro), my masters at Chute Boxe Academy, study my opponent and his skills. During the training we discuss how to beat them – the best way to reach the victory.�
For Silva, victory typically comes by way of knockout. In fact, 12 of his last 14 fights have ended inside the distance from strikes. And keeping the fight standing in search of the knockout is the plan against Sakuraba.
However, it’s been more than 56 months and 18 fights since Wanderlei Silva last tasted defeat. One has to think that the motivation to train for his fights is starting to wane.
It happens to the greatest of champions. Boxers like Roy Jones, Jr. and Muhammad Ali, and MMA fighters like Antonio ‘Minotauro’ Nogueira all suffered defeats at the height of their championship reign from a lack of proper preparation due in part from a lack of motivation – at least, that was the party line.
But Silva insists that is not the case with him as he completes the final preparations for Sakuraba. His fans and simply maintaining his position at the top of the mountain keep him fully motivated.
“I know that the InsideFighting.com help me a lot to keep in contact with my American fans and this is very important to my career,� he explained. “After 56 months and 18 times in a row without a loss, that keeps me more and more motivated. The number of fans increases in the same way and the responsibility too, but I can deal with this and I’m sure that to be on the top I must work twice as hard. I like this kind of pressure – keep me alive and running for new challenges. Two years ago I was working hard to get there, today I want to stay there.�
Assuming Silva gets past Sakuraba, and he will be heavily favored to do precisely that, he has clearly defined goals for 2005. In addition to repeating as the Pride Middleweight Grand Prix Champion, Silva wants the opportunity to avenge his loss to Vitor Belfort and also to fight in the first ever unification bout between Pride and the UFC.
“I want to unify the title – to fight against Couture,� he said. “I think that the unification would be great to the sport, to the MMA community and to the fans that want to see this fight. He’s already 40 (years old) and we must run to arrange this combat.�
Randy Couture has repeatedly said that he would love the opportunity to unify the titles. Unfortunately, the politics and egos of the respective promotional companies make the fight extremely unlikely.
With a unification fight most likely out of the question, the Axe Murderer is prepared to look outside his already conquered division for new challenges, including challenging Pride’s heavyweight “Big 3� – Minotauro Nogueira, Fedor Emelianenko and Mirko “Cro Cop� Filipovic.
If he cannot face Couture (or whoever is the reigning UFC Light Heavyweight Champion) in his next fight, then Silva wants Cro Cop.
“Cro Cop is one of them because in our last fight they changed the rules,� Silva said when asked about his preferred opponent after the Sakuraba fight. “PRIDE told me that he asked for the changes. I’m sure that if we had judges score I had won that fight. In the next opportunity, with the actual rules, I will prove that I won that fight.�
A move to the heavyweight division with a win over one of the Big 3 would certainly add to Silva’s claim as the best fighter in the world, pound-for-pound. Considering that he weighs 97 kilograms (214 pounds) pounds when training, Silva says that he would weigh in the neighborhood of 100 kilograms (220 pounds), so he can “move to heavyweight easily.�
But first things first, Silva has a big fight on New Year’s Eve. For now, that dominates his time and attention. Yet, even when he is deeply involved in training, Wanderlei finds time to support other Brazilian champions such as Acelino ‘Popo’ Freitas in their athletic endeavors.
Last Saturday, Popo made his first return to a boxing ring since losing his WBO lightweight title to Diego Corrales several months ago. It was Popo’s first fight in Brazil in more than three years, so Silva showed up to lend his moral support.
“I like every kind of fight – the adrenaline of the sport moves me,� he said when asked about his affection for boxing. “Popo is a great person, very friendly, and like me a Brazilian warrior that fights to put the Brazilian name on the top. We came from a third world country and it’s more difficult to succeed and to be the best in his category. I think that soon he will have his belt again. He deserves it!�
Silva’s enjoyment of boxing, however, extends beyond just watching his fellow countrymen.
“I like to see Popo fighting,� he explained. “I respect (Mike) Tyson. I read that he is facing serious personal problems, including drug abuse. I hope that he change the way of his life and come back to the sport. He is a legend to the sport and has a career to preserve. I like the style of Roy Jones, Jr. too – a showman and the fans enjoy it.�
Of course, the discussion of Tyson and Jones, Jr. instantly brings up the notion of Silva fighting in Las Vegas like those other famed champions. After attending UFC 49 in Las Vegas and interacting with the US fans, Silva’s desire to fight here in front of those fans actually grew stronger.
“I was in the audience of UFC in Vegas this year and I was impressed with the American audience,� he said. “A lot of fans came to talk with me and to support me. I was so happy with this kind of reaction and it is good to know that you have the respect of fans from different countries – this is another example to explain how I can be motivated.
“I remember that I told you in our last interview that I want to fight for the American fans as soon as possible, the PRIDE Team know about it and they told me that Las Vegas could be in the schedule for 2005. Let’s see. I’m excited with the idea and we must work for that.�
Silva fighting on US soil in 2005 would certainly be a treat for the US MMA fans. But for now, everyone will have to make due with pay-per-view telecasts from Japan.
“Thank you very much, God bless you all,� Wanderlei Silva said in closing. “I had a wonderful year and I want to close it with a great performance. I ask for God everyday and he bless me a lot. See you all in 2005 and don’t forget to see the fight on December 31st -- I think that in America it will be on January 2nd.�
Hopefully, Kazushi Sakuraba asks for God everyday, as well, because the Axe Murderer is coming on New Year’s Eve. And he’s not coming to play nice!