Curtis Stevens has faced many hurdles and setbacks in his professional career. They’ve all made him the fighter that he is today and he’s now in position to accomplish one of his biggest goals, becoming a champion.
This Saturday, November 2nd, Stevens fights current WBA & IBO Middleweight champion Gennady Golovkin. We sat down with Curtis and asked him what his mindset was entering this fight.
BSO: How does it feel to final have reached this level? You’ve had several set backs in your career, does that make this even better now?
Stevens: It feels good. Like you said there’s been a few set backs but that’s life; you fall down and you just have to get back up.
BSO: Does you being from Brooklyn and the fight being in MSG this weekend give you an edge heading into this fight?
Stevens: A little bit. You know it’s just me and him in the ring. I like fighting in front of my fans but I just really need to stay focused.
BSO: Everyone knows of Golovkin’s power but how do you out box him and take that away? Can you share some of your game plan with us?
Stevens: I’m just going to be myself. People say that he’s strong but at the same time I’m stronger than him. I’ve knocked out Heavyweights, Light Heavyweights, Middleweights, and the rest. He’s only KO’d Junior Middleweights and people smaller than him. People say he has power but I don’t believe his power is what people say it is.
BSO: There are a lot of people already saying that Golovkin is the “Next Guy” for HBO boxing and don’t see any holes in his skills. What have you seen from him that you can take advantage of during the fight?
Stevens: I just have to punch him right in the face. Everyone has a game plan until they get punched in the mouth. He’s never been punched by someone like me. Once he gets punched in the face you’ll see how his whole reaction changes.
BSO: With this fight you’ve broken into that next bracket of middle weight fighters. It’s one of the best divisions in boxing, do you feel added pressure to put on a good performance in this fight so that you can continue to fight the elite fighters in this class?
Stevens: He (Golovkin) is the so-called most feared Middleweight in the world so once I decapitate him its over, I’m just going to be everywhere.
BSO: What’s your perfect scenario? Do you need a KO to feel like you did your best or will just holding the belt at the end be enough?
Stevens: It’s all about the win. In my mind it doesn’t matter if I knock him out. If I knock him out then triple kudos to me. People in the boxing world think that I’m going to be knocked out so it’d prove them wrong. If I go in there and cut him up for 12 rounds then still triple kudos to me because they think he’s the better boxer. If they want to say that I shocked the world and do what they feel is the impossible, then so be it.
BSO: Has that been a motivating factor for you through out your training? This lack of respect.
Stevens: It motivates me in the sense where they think this is just going to be a walk through Central Park. Like I’m just a little tourist attraction off of Times Square or something. That pissed me off a little bit. At the same time people don’t know that I asked for this fight. No one called me for the fight, I asked for it. So, when someone asks for something he knows the task at hand and he knows what he’s getting into. But at the same time I don’t take it personal.
This fight is becoming a must-see event this weekend with both fighters aiming to KO the other.
Tune into Golovkin vs Stevens this Saturday, November 2nd, 10 pm EST on HBO.