Eddie Chambers: “I will do whatever it takes”
By Hans Olsen
May 21st 2011 is penciled in as the potential date for David Hayes next defense of his WBA Heavyweight Title. Against whom he will defend has yet to be determined. Ruslan Chagaev and Alexander Povetkin seem to be the leading candidates, but if Eddie Chambers has his way… he’ll be the one with the chance to make some noise over in England against The Hayemaker. Boxing Insider.com’s Hans Olson caught up with Eddie Chambers for further discussion on the potential clash:
Goosen-Tutor released a statement today that had you calling out David Haye. Could you elaborate more on your statements and also if there are any negotiations underway?
“Well I’m not sure about the negotiations of that fight, but calling him out…there’s no question that I would not mind fighting him. I think it’s a good fight for the fans. It’s an interesting fight with Haye having to fight a credible contender and future champion. It would make a lot of sense. The only thing is it’s up to David to make this fight happen.”
Would you be willing to go over to England and fight him?
“I think that would be the assumption. I think that it would be a great fight there, you know what I mean? It would be a great fight on U.S. soil for him to get some U.S. fans backing him as well. It’s just something that would be good for the sport all around. When you have the top guys fighting each other, it makes for a better division. You’ve got the 140 lb division…look at Bradley/Alexander.”
Right.
“Even though it wasn’t the greatest fight, I’m happy they fought each other. There was a lot of interest in that fight from the press and from boxing people, and it was a very interesting fight. I think if we had more of those kinds of fights…unification fights or guys fighting real live, top level contenders and future champions, it would really put more interesting fights in position.”
Now, Bradley and Alexander are two American fighters. The only other American heavyweight besides you who is generally ranked high and has a good reputation would be Chris Arreola. He’s with Goosen-Tutor as well. Is that a fight that you’d be interested in? Would that be a fight Goosen-Tutor could attempt to make?
“I wouldn’t mind fighting Chris. I think at this particular time, in the same stable of fighters I think that it makes for an interesting fight; a good clash in styles. You’ve got the boxer-puncher in me, and more of a brawler…more of a straight ahead action fighter in Chris Arreola which, you know, anybody’s gonna wanna see an Arreola fight. The fight would be interesting in the States. I’m just not sure of it happening.”
But it’s something that you would take if Haye doesn’t come to the table?
“Of course it would be something that I’d be interested in, but it would have to mean something. I’m not just going to take any fight. I’ve been fighting, you know, dragons… basically monsters throughout my career. From the first time I fought Derric Rossy I was fighting contender after contender, champion or former champion, some kind of top 5, top 10 contender time and time again…it’s a little ridiculous. A lot of times it doesn’t get you closer to that title shot, that pot of gold at the end of the rainbow. It would have to be for something real. An eliminator, a title shot, or for a title.”
If the right fight was presented to you at Cruiserweight, would you ever consider a move down to that division?
“Actually, at one point we thought of it. We thought we’d do something like that while waiting. It would actually make for an interesting heavyweight that can go up and down like a Henry Armstrong. I’ve thought about that before, but if I drop down to Cruiserweight which not a lot of people know or care about, people will expect me to go in and win a belt, unify and everything like that. What happens if I lose a fight? Then Eddie Chambers is basically gone and no longer looked at as a serious contender anymore. There’s way more risk than reward there, which is why we pretty much took that idea off the table.”
In your first fight back from the loss to Wladimir Klitschko, you took a risk against a tough guy in Derric Rossy whom you had already beaten in 2007. It sounds like you’re tiring of these risk/reward situations…
“Well, I don’t mind taking those risks if there’s a serious reward. Sometimes gambles pay off and I believed I could beat Rossy again. That risk was something I was willing to take because there was some reward in it with me now being the number 1 contender. It’s not just all about money. Money is just part of the reason we do this stuff. To me, being thought of historically in boxing is a big piece of what is happening. But it is our livelihood. If you work an 8-hour shift, 40 hour week, whatever the situation…you should be paid like you should be paid. I believe I’ve been overlooked a lot, but I’m not complaining because maybe I haven’t done enough. Some people don’t believe I have the size to do what it takes to control the division, but I believe I do. I’m putting out the effort, I’m fighting tough guys, and I think I do deserve to be looked at as not only a live guy, but someone who deserves credit. I’m talking about boxers in general. There are a lot of guys being overlooked that nobody talks about. If you’re not Pacquiao or Mayweather, there’s not really anybody looking at you. It’s kind of tough. If we can take risks, if we can get networks to show some of these heavyweights, period… I don’t mind fighting anybody. I’ll fight David Haye, I’ll fight Wladimir again, I don’t care who it is. I’ll fight a tough up and coming fighter. Whatever it may take to put some interest in this sport…I will do what it takes. “