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Interview with László Bognár

0000-00-00 00:00:00 /
László Bognár will face WBO super-featherweight champion, Acelino Freitas on May 5. The Hungarian fighter kindly took the time to answer our questions.

Profiboksz.hu (PB): On May 5th you are going to fight Acelino Freitas. Have you ever imagined that once you will fight him for the title?

Bognár László (BL) : It wasn't my original goal to fight Freitas. I used to fight as a featherweight, but I was always looking for an opportunity like this. When it came, I jumped at it. I always prepared well and did my best to get here. The fact, that I can fight Freitas for his title has to do with my manager, Félix Rácz and my performance against Michael Gomez.

PB : I assume that Gomez and Frank Warren did not really expect you to beat Gomez like this. They probably considered you a good tune-up before Gomez vs Freitas.

BL : That's right. I was preparing for a fight in January against an opponent TBA . One or two weeks before the fight we got the offer from Gomez's promoter. I immediately agreed to fight him. The only problem was that I was only at the beginning of the training camp. I was in good condidtion because of the roadwrok and the workouts, but I had had no sparring session at all. I had only one week left to do some sparring. Nevertheless, I proved that I'm a good fighter when I beat him. I have received the tape of the fight just a couple of days ago, so that I could analyse my performance. Except for round 5, I feel that I fought well and deserved to win.

PB : Against Gomez, you went down and you also have 3 losses inside the distance. Your last KO defeat was against Toncho Tonchev. How good is your chin?

BL : Yes, I have a TKO loss against Tonchev in round 1. However, I need to tell you that he never knocked me down. I slipped a punch and when I stepped back, I injured my ankle. According to the rules, the referee should have announced a no-contest. Instead, he announced a TKO. It looks good on Tonchev's record, but I lost a fight and I wasn't even hit. Another KO loss happened in France, where I fought a local guy named Frederic Perez. In round 5 I got hit by a low blow. The french referee did not warn him, but gave me a count. Later in the fight he did it again. In round 8 Perez hit my back so bad, that I was unable to straighten my back. Instead of disqualifying Perez, the referee announced a TKO. We protested at EBU, but unfortunately the organisation did not accept it.

PB : You also had a fight against then WBU super-bantam champion, Cassius Baloyi in Africa.

BL : Yes. I admit that he beat me fair and square.

PB : What did you learn from these losses?

BL : I fought Baloyi in super-bantam, so I had to lose weight. I didn't get a good opportunity in the featherweight division, so that was my only chance. Unfortunately, I was drained at that weight and I couldn't do my best. I learned it for a lifetime : never enter the ring dehydrated. There was nothing much to learn from the other two losses. However, I have to say that it's very important to have management. István Kovács, whom I really respect for he is a great fighter and a class act, is a very good example. I always had to take every opportunity. I always had to fight in the other guy's backyard and do whatever it takes to win. If you don't have a management like Universum, you always have to fight in the lion's den. Nevertheless, I proved that I'm able to win in a hostile environment, even before the Gomez fight. When you fight in the other guy's backyard, you very often have to fight the judges as well. I also have two draws on my record, but I'm not convinced that either fight was really a draw...

PB : Which was your toughest fight so far and who was the toughest opponent?

BL : The fight against Gomez was a tough one, but he wasn't my toughest opponent. Gomez is not a schooled fighter, but he is strong and agressive and puts a lot of pressure on you. 9 rounds against him was tough enough. Another tough fight was against Nabaloum Dramamne in August '97, in Africa. I was in a good form and the fight was not very difficult either. However, the heat was killing me and I got terribly tired by the end of the fight.

PB : When did you learn that you get a chance to fight Freitas for his title?

BL : We agreed informally before, but it only became cartain two weeks ago, when the contract was signed.

PB : How is training going?

BL : I have been preparing for 7 weeks now. I wasn't sure that the fight would materialize, but I did my job.

PB : During the training camp, what did you pay special attention to?

BL : We tried to focus on everything. We had a very strong basic training to get me physically strong. Against a guy like Freitas, you need to have power. The first 3-4 weeks we mainly worked on punching power. I also did a lot of roadwork. We started sparring 3 weeks ago. I travelled to Budapest regularly, to do some sparring at Vasas boxing club ( a famous amateur boxing club in Hungary). I sparred with a lot of fighters from the Hungarian national team. These guys are accustomed to high intensity sparring, because of their amateur background. I also sparred with Hungarian pro Sándor Koczák, who is also preparing for a title fight. His style is similar to Freitas' : comes forward agressively and throws wide punches. I feel that training was great, but the fight will decide it.

PB : What do you think about Freitas?

BL: Freitas has elemental power. He has brutal punching power. He is very agressive and also, he has improved technically lately.

PB : What is your biggest weapon against him?

BL : Primarily : my technical skills. A fighter like Freitas operates with wide punches and throws a lot of haymakers. You can counter him with precise straight punches, but obviously you also need serious firepower to keep him decent.

PB : Freitas ha been knocked down several times. Some people say that he has a weak chin, some say that he is just simply outbalanced. What do you think?

BL : In my opinion, he goes down, because he leaves himself wide open and gets hit clean on the chin. No matter how good your chin is, if you get hit precisely on the chin, you go down. Even if it was not a particularly strong punch. However, if you want to keep him down, you need to have power.

PB : A lot of people say that Freitas made perfect record by fighting tomato-cans. What do you think?

BL : I say that if that was true, he would not have been able to defend his title so many times. Freitas is champion for a reason. It's undeniable that he is carefully managed , but he has fought some good opponents.

PB : How can you imagine your fight with him?

BL : I need to keep him outside and counter his punches. If he comes inside, I need to go really close so that he hasn't got the space to load up on his punches. During the training camp, we tried to prepare for every possible situation. We worked a lot on my footwork and my defence.

PB : What is your prediction for this fight?

BL : I wouldn't like to make a prediction, but I tell you this : I'm coming to fight, I'm coming to win. I don't care if it goes to the scorecards, or inside the distance. I want to be the champion!

PB : On behalf of every Hungarian boxing fan, I whish you good luck. I hope that the next time we talk, I will talk to the champion.

BL : Thanks a lot.

2001.04.29. Boros "Golyo" Tamás


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