Fast Eddie Chambers will attempt to shock the world this March when he travels to Europe to take on the dominant WBO/IBF/RING Heavyweight Champion Wladimir Klitschko who is coming off a minor shoulder surgery and will be just turned 34. The 5-10 skillful technician spoke about Klitschko, his stunning upset win over Alexander Dimitrenko and much more…
BoxingInsider: Big fight coming up. I know you are confident of your chances. What is your confidence based?
Fast Eddie Chambers: “The last fight, Dimitrenko was 6-7, 250 pounds (Wladimir is an admitted 6-4, 240). He could move, box, move, very athletic, long, limber, he had a lot of good attributes. And I beat him. And I beat him easy. But not to say he’s capable of being a dominant force like Wladimir Klitschko – we know that. Of course Wladimir Klitschko has a winning tradition, a winning strategy, a winning punch. So he’s a different level at this time than what maybe Alexander is. But I have the blueprint, the idea of what it takes to beat a top level fighter like Wladimir Klitschko. He hasn’t been beaten for a long time, he’s number one for a reason. He’s the best heavyweight in most people’s minds. And they’re right about that. But, believe me, I have the skills to offset him.”
BoxingInsider: And you are still improving as you have shown in each of your recent fights.
Fast Eddie Chambers: “And I’m improving. The things you maybe didn’t see me do in my first 34 fights, you’re not seeing me do in my last two. And these are things I’ve always had the ability to do it. But you never really saw it. And I never really maximized my ability by keeping my weight down. And saying, Well, me go ahead and work extremely hard the next five years and see what I can come up with. And at this point, that’s where I’m at. And I’m giving everything I’ve got to give myself every chance to be the heavyweight champion.”
BoxingInsider: So you’re doing it at 110% now?
Fast Eddie Chambers: “199. And I still got another percent [smiles].”
BoxingInsider: What has stimulated to have this new all-out mentality?
Fast Eddie Chambers: “I was a little soft, quite frankly. Against Samuel Peter I came in at the same weight. And I still won the fight. That gave me the confidence that I could be in with a top level world champion regardless of how bad he was at the time or how good he was at the time. And beating him easily with one hand. The Peter fight was one of those fights that gave me that confidence. I fought a pretty good group of good guys from this era, not the greatest, and I beat them all soundly. But the Peter fight was the real test. To get in there with a knockout puncher. He may not be great in a lot of areas. But he can punch. He’s not a slow guy. Maybe a little lazy. But he has that championship pedigree. And I faced it. And I did very easily. So that gave me the confidence to know I just have to put forth the serious effort. Train hard and get my weight to where it needs to be. And focus. The results are evident.”
BoxingInsider: You were a major longshot to beat Dimitrenko.
Fast Eddie Chambers: “I was in a room full of 13,000 people and I think maybe only eight of us thought I could win that fight. Well, maybe there was a few in the audience who met me at the hotel that got to like me, so therefore they were rooting for me. But there was only about 15 people who thought I had a chance. And I also mean on U.S. soil. There was maybe one or two or three people in certain cities who thought I had a chance, who even knew or thought about it.”
BoxingInsider: Why did you believe you could do it? What was the confidence based on?
Stay tuned to BoxingInsider.com for Part 2 of our interview with Fast Eddie Chambers next week.
PLEASE CREDIT== Claudia Bocanegra
