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Q&A With Top Unbeaten
Heavyweight Prospect Trevor Bryan As He Prepares To Face
Derric Rossy
Promising up-and-coming heavyweight Trevor “The Dream” Bryan
(15-0, 11 KOs) will put his unblemished record on the line
when he faces his toughest opponent to date, experienced
Derric Rossy (30-9, 14 KOs), in the 10-round heavyweight
matchup in the main event of this Friday’s ShoBox: The New
Generation tripleheader live on SHOWTIME (11 p.m. ET/PT,
delayed on the West Coast).
Bryan, who is making his ShoBox debut, is looking to
establish himself in the heavyweight division after a
standout amateur career in which he won five national
championships in just 60 bouts. Since his debut at 22 in
November 2011, the 6-foot-4 heavyweight, who recently turned
26, has registered 10 of his 11 knockout victories in three
rounds or less.
Here’s what Bryan had to say:
How would you say your career is going?
“My career is going great. I can’t wait for this great
heavyweight fight. Rossy is a guy who is on his last leg and
I’m a young fighter coming up who is trying to take the old
dog out of his misery.”
What type of role did your amateur career play in preparing
you as a professional?
“My amateur career played a huge role in my development as a
boxer. Attending all the national tournaments and fighting
against top athletes from all over the world played a big
role in my professional career. I have seen all different
styles of fighting. I also went to several sparring camps in
my amateur career and have sparred against Wladimir
Klitschko and Guillermo Jones, among other champions.”
Some people chalk up your undefeated record to the fact that
you haven’t faced any tough opposition. That will change
when you face battle-tested veteran Derric Rossy. How are
you preparing for the toughest test of your career?
“I’ve been doing everything that is physically possible to
get ready for this fight. I stay in the gym and work hard. I
have a great work ethic and have a great team around me. I
feel confident and know that I will come out with the
victory. The hours that I have put in the gym will pay off.
I am in fantastic shape, I let my hands go, I have one of
the best jabs in the division. I’m ready to show the world
what a wonderful fight this is going to be.”
Although you won your last fight against Stacy Frazier, you
were knocked down for the first time in your career. What
did you learn in that fight?
“I touched the canvas for the first time in my career. It
was a great learning experience for me. We know that it only
takes one punch in the heavyweight division. I went into the
fight with confidence. I threw a punch and was off balance,
he countered me with a great shot and it woke me up and
reminded me that it only takes one punch to end a fight. I
learned to not play around, but instead to set the pace and
see if my opponent can hang with me in the ring. The great
champions are the guys who get knocked down and are able to
get back up and finish the fight.
“I feel like I am world championship material. I learned a
lot in the Frazier fight and I’m going to make sure that
this will never happen again.”
How did you get into boxing?
“I was originally a football and basketball player. I came
from a tough area in Albany, N.Y., and I never had any
guidance growing up. I owe my career to my amateur boxing
coach who was the hall monitor at the middle school I was
attending. From day one he looked at me and said that he saw
a champion in me. Every single day from then on, he tried to
get me in the gym to train. This was when I was 11 years
old; I was very arrogant and didn’t understand why I should
be fighting in a ring when I could instead be fighting in
the streets. That’s the mentality I had.
“One day I decided to go in for a workout and it was the
greatest workout I have ever had. I was so tired after that
workout that I had to call my mom to have her pick me up, I
was so fatigued. From then on I have been in the gym every
single day, and here I am today, a product of all my hard
work and perseverance. I have a dream for myself that I want
to be world champion and I’m not going to stop until I get
it.”
What is it like being promoted by Don King knowing his
history as a promoter, especially with his success with
heavyweights similar to yourself?
“Don King is the greatest promoter in the world. He is not
going anywhere. He started this boxing thing and I want to
be a part of that history. The first time I met him he gave
me a pamphlet of all the world champions he had. From that
day on I knew I wanted to be involved with him. He has told
me to work hard and not expect anything to be given to me.”
Do you look at an American heavyweight like Deontay Wilder
as an inspiration? What type of impact does someone like him
have on you and your career?
“Deontay is definitely an inspiration for me. I knew him in
2008 when I was getting him ready for the Olympic Games and
just to see him from that point to now being a world
champion; it definitely gives younger heavyweights the
inspiration and extra desire. It’s hard to get there, but
it’s even harder to stay there. No offense to Deontay, but
there’s a young heavyweight coming up that’s hungry just
like him—me. We will see how long he is able to hold the
title. It is great to once again see an American heavyweight
back on top.”
How did sparring with veteran, former champions like
Guillermo Jones help you?
“Guillermo Jones had so many different styles and different
things he was able to do in the ring. He taught me that I
couldn’t be one-dimensional and it was great to have that
experience. I knew that for me to do my best, I must be able
to do different things. He was bringing it to me and I had
to harness all my strengths in order to compete with him.”
You are making your ShoBox debut, what does that mean to
you?
“It’s mind-blowing. I finally have my chance. For me as the
heavyweight to be the main event, it’s a dream come true.
I’m ready to show people what I’m doing in my reality. I do
not take this opportunity for granted, I have trained so
hard and I’m ready to go.”
Your prediction?
“After I lay that big jab on him during the first three
rounds, I think I should loosen him up by the fifth or sixth
round. We’ll see if it goes past the sixth round.”
In an eight-rounder that will open the telecast, Samoa’s
6-foot-2, 280-pound heavyweight Natu “The Truth” Visinia
(11-1, 9 KOs) of Tacoma, Wash., will face 5-foot-10,
235-pound Joey “The Tank” Dawejko (14-4-2, 7 KOs), of
Philadelphia.
Barry Tompkins will call the ShoBox action from ringside
with Steve Farhood and former world champion Raul Marquez
serving as expert analysts. The executive producer is Gordon
Hall with Richard Gaughan producing and Rick Phillips
directing
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