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10/09/2007 Archived Entry: "Mike Mollo on Art Binkowski: 'This is My Hometown & I'm Gonna Show Him That!'"
Mike Mollo on Art Binkowski: 'This is My Hometown & I'm Gonna Show Him That!'
By Rita "La Guera" Figueroa
CHICAGO - Less than a week away from his big fight on the Don King show this Saturday at the Sears Centre, Mike Mollo was gracious enough to sit down with me before training at JABB Boxing Gym with trainer Mike “Fly” Garcia. Here’s Mollo’s thoughts on the fight.
RITA FIGUEROA: Hey Mike. How’s training going?
MIKE MOLLO: It’s going real good.
R: You feel ready?
M: I’m ready – yeah.
R: What is a typical training day like for you?
M: Get up, have some breakfast. Go to the gym. 10 rounds on the heavy bag, 8 rounds on the hand pads. Speed bag. 7-8 rounds straight shadowboxing. Jump rope. Sit ups. Whatever it takes for that day.
R: How many days a week do you spar?
M: Every other day.
R: How did this fight come about? Art’s (Binkowski) a local guy. You’re a local guy.
M: That’s the thing about Binkowski – he’s not a local guy.
R: They are stating he is on the fight promo.
M: He’s claiming he is, but he’s not from Chicago. I’m from Chicago. He’s fought here. But he’s not from here. He represented Canada in the Olympics. He’s not even an American. He’s not from Chicago. This is my hometown, and I’m gonna let him know that.
R: How did the fight come about?
M: I guess his manager, Brian Nix. Brian was running his mouth to Don King, or. I don’t even know. It’s a good fight for me. A good fight for Chicago. I love to fight in front of my hometown fans. He’s got more to gain, but actually, I’ve got more to fight for. God forbid, I lose the fight. Where does that put me? So, I’m not taking him lightly. I’m treating it likes it’s a World Title fight like I do every fight. That’s why I come in the shape I do in every fight. He’s in big trouble.
R: What did it feel like after you knock out of McBride? Some people really didn’t give you credit for that.
M: People were treating it more like a fluke than an accomplishment. I feel I should have gotten another fight after that to keep my name going and being talked about like it was instead of falling of the face of the planet for a year. That’s the promoters and everybody’s business. I was ready and willing to fight. I had a “stay busy” fight in March and now this one. I need to fight more than once a year. I feel I need to be used. Don King’s got a kid who’s ready and willing to fight. Always in shape and ready. He should do something with that ya know.
R: How important is family support to you?
M: It’s huge. I thrive on it. Even with my training. I train at home. I live 20 minutes away from here. The best gets brought out in me when I’m home. My family helps. My wife, my mom, My dad. Everybody helps out. They cook for me. They do whatever I need. You go to (training) camp, you got no family there. I’m sick cause I’m missing my kid. I’m disciplined. I don’t need to isolate myself. Maybe for a World Title fight, but I’ll tell ya what – I’m bringing my family with me. My mom will be my cook. I need my family. I’m Italian. I’m a family guy. I was raised with my whole family around me. I don’t feel isolation is imperative.
R: What motivates you?
M: My trainer (Mike Garcia). The thought of getting my ass whooped. I’m deathly terrified of getting tired. I will not let that happen. Is he doing this? Is he running? And I tell myself – yeah, he is. I gotta do more than he’s doing. When I run, I run furiously. You can have a fighter that’s got all the skill in the world. He ain’t got the conditioning, he’ll wind up losing.
R: You’re 18-1. Tell us about that one.
M: Yeah – there were a lot of things that came into play with that. There were 15, 16 thousand people. Out of my hometown. World Class fighter (DaVarryl Williamson, 22-4 at the time). I bit off more than I could chew. I held my own. I didn’t go down. It was stopped. He hit me with some shots. It was just inexperience. I was trying to cover up and he was running off punches. I should have tied him up and got outta there.
R: Well, at least you’re honest. A lot of fighters make excuses.
M: He beat me, hands down. I took rounds 1-3, then got caught with a right hand. My legs wobbled a little bit. I was still focused. Then he was running off shots. They weren’t big bombs. He saw an opportunity and took it. I lost that fight, but I really won from it.
R: Give me your predictions for October 13th.
M: I got power and a boatload of aggression. I think I’m gonna knock him out. He’s tough, but I don’t think he’s been popped by someone that can hit like me, and I will stay on him. He’s banking on me getting tired from what I get from him running his mouth and it ain’t gonna happen. I got Mike (Garcia). The training he puts me through is amazing. He trains me like a middleweight. I’ve never seen any heavyweight train like he trains me, and he knows it. But I’m a small heavyweight. I need to fight like that. Stay busy, keep moving, in and out. It takes a big gas tank to fight like that and I got it.
R: Thanks for your time. I appreciate it. Best of luck to you. Maybe we’ll fight on the same show again one of these days.
M: Thanks Rita. The small shows are alot of fun for everyone. Thanks!
Chicago boxers Rita Figueroa and Mike Mollo pose for the camera
