This interview was conducted literally minutes after Carlos “El Rayo” Rivera earned a unanimous decision victory over former world title contender Alex Baba at the A La Carte Event pavilion in Tampa, Florida.
Boxing Insider: Carlos, congratulations on your victory tonight.
CR: Thank you
Boxing Insider: Describe your style to Internet fight fans out there reading this interview.
CR: I like to give fans a good show. I don’t like to get hit, but sometimes as a fighter you take hits to give hits. I just like to entertain.
Boxing Insider: They put you in tough tonite. Is Alex the toughest opponent that you’ve faced as a professional?
CR: Yes, I can say he was tough. He was short and strong; real strong! He threw non-stop punches. It was a good performance from both of us. I’m glad that we both pleased the crowd. This is what we want for boxing, for people to be back for the next show, you know?
Boxing Insider: Absolutely. What was your plan going into the fight and did you properly execute it?
CR: Not really. My game plan was to go in there and work off my jab, come off at the end of my punch. It didn’t work. It felt weird from me being outside with him. I figured I was the bigger guy, so I figured I’d come inside. Once I went inside throwing the big punches, that was my (new) game plan; get back inside, work him, smother his punches. He was a tough kid, I give him credit. He was tough!
Boxing Insider: After you guys exchanged what seemed to be one thousand punches a piece, I noticed you were favoring your left hand after the fight. Is it badly hurt?
CR: No. It was a quick little punch, a little pinch, BOOM and I was like “oh”. I must have punched with my hand open and hit him caught that punch on the knuckle, but I’m fine.
Boxing Insider: Your nickname is “El Rayo”. Can you tell the fans what it means and how you got the name?
CR: El Rayo means lightening. When I was an amateur I was sparring and I heard a guy say “aww man, that kid is really fast” and he kept saying “El Rayo, El Rayo”. I heard that and said hmm, that sounds really good. It especially goes great with the name (saying it extremely fast together) Carlos-El Rayo-Rivera. I think it sounds great!
Boxing Insider: This was a huge win. When can we look forward to seeing you in the ring again?
CR: When my manager comes up with something and we come to the table and agree on something. I’ll just be in the gym training and getting ready for the next fight. They tell me who I’m fighting and that’s it.
Boxing Insider: In closing, do you have anything to say to the fans who are reading this interview transcript online?
CR: Aww man, I just hope everyone liked what I’m saying. Thank you VERY, VERY much for reading and following up on me. Hopefully the next fight will be a lot better, more exciting, and I’m pretty sure you’ll have a lot more to read about me. I’d like to thank Matt Yanofsky for making this interview possible.
