One of my favorite fighters to watch in boxing today is Anselmo “Chemito” Moreno, a 27 year old Panamanian that is known as 1 of the most skilled and technically sound boxers in the sport. He was nice enough to spend 45 minutes to speak with us on Tha Boxing Voice Show last night to go over some of the rumors, contract negotiations, and his preferred fights. The conversation covered numerous topics that included some of the top names in the 122 lb division such as Nonito Donaire, Guillermo Rigondeaux, and his likely next opponent, Abner Mares. We even brought up his popularity in the US and how much it means to him, in which he said “NY has the most Panamanians so he would definitely like to be popular there!”
Two of the things that standout about Moreno, who is now 32-1-1 with 12 KOs, is his extraordinary long reach, 70 inches, which is very long for a Bantamweight or a Super Bantamweight, and his technical skill level in the ring, which is something that is normally attributed to Olympic boxers. Sso we asked him how he honed his ability into what we see today. “I started boxing when I was only 7 or 8 years old. I was a street fighter and I liked to hit, but I didn’t like to get hit.”Moreno joins a long list of boxers that went from street fighters to professional boxers. We asked him if there is really a big difference between the 118 lb division and the 122 lb division in terms of it just being 4 lbs and he responded that, “There is a HUGE difference, it may look like 4 little lbs, but those 4 lbs can be a pain to make. I know that at 122 lbs I will be a lot stronger.”
We asked Moreno about his next fight, which is said to be against WBC Super Bantamweight Belt holder Abner Mares (24-0-1 with 13 KOs). He said “The fight is a done deal. I’m anxiously waiting for the fight and I’m sure I will be victorious and become a champion at 122 lbs.” The fight, which was rumored for October 13th, looks like it will take place November 17th. Moreno stated that he has heard rumors for November 17th, but he will not officially know the date until he receives the contract later today. However, we also had Sharif Bogere on the show as he talked about his upcoming fight against Richard Abril. He is supposed to be on the undercard of the Moreno-Mares fight, and he confirmed that his fight date has been moved to that November 17th date.
We also asked what are some of the things that he can exploit against Mares, and he responded, “I never underestimate anyone or like to say I am better any anyone, but if I had to say an advantage I would have, it would be my preparation an I’m good at making people miss.” We continued to talk about Mares and we asked Anselmo what Mares does that poses the biggest threat to him and how will he react if he uses dirty tactics. Moreno said, “The last time I saw him was against Morel, I didn’t see anything that was a threat. I will adjust during the fight for him, I want to exchange, but if my opponent is stronger, I will box, if he tries to go low, I will fight from the outside.”
Before we moved on, we wanted Anselmo to rank the 122 lb division, with him included, he said he’d put himself 1st, followed by Nonito Donaire, Guillermo Rigondeaux, and then Abner Mares. We wondered what in his mind put Donaire over Rigondeaux, he responded “Rigondeaux has a good left and uppercut, but Donaire has good movement and power.”
Speaking of Nonito Donaire, that just happened to be our next topic as Moreno has said in the past that he wants to face the WBO and IBF Super Bantamweight Champion. We probed about the rumored offer of 400k that he originally turned down to fight Donaire as well as his future plans to fight him in the future. Moreno stated that, “I was offered 300k, but I turned it down because it came with only a month and half notice. I was in a legal matter with my manager and the case was in court. It was like my manager was sending me to the slaughterhouse. I really wanted the fight with Nonito and would have taken it, but it was just a bad time in my career at the time. I just want to be more prepared for a fight like that. I want to concentrate on Mares right now, but I want to be the best and fight the best, so in 2013 I will definitely fight Nonito.”
To ease the mood of the interview, we asked him about his signature ponytail that he has in his fights and if he would ever get rid of it, but he stated, “The ponytail brings me luck, the only time I would ever cut it is after I beat Nonito Donaire.”
Lastly, before we moved on from Donaire, we asked him his thoughts on Donaire’s next fight against Toshiaki Nishioka, but the theme of his interview of fighting the best came back to the forefront as he said “In boxing, anything can happen, I’m looking forward to watching it. I want the best man to win and then for the best man to fight him.”
The subject then changed to other possible opponents other than Donaire and Mares, as we asked about if he would consider fighting another fighter that seems to be avoided as much as himself, in Guillermo Rigondeaux. He said, “I would love that fight because I want to beat the best.”
Probably the most telling point to me was when we asked if there is any reason or way that he would move back down to 118 to fight 1 of the 2 Japanese fighters, Shinsuke Yamanaka or Koki Kameda. Moreno answered, “I was never offered a fight against them, I would like to face Koki Kameda, but they don’t want to leave Japan. “His motto of wanting to fight the best was no more proven then with that statement. He wasn’t just throwing out the big names and asking for a payday, he’s willing to fight the good, but lesser known fighters because as he stated numerous times, “I want to be the best and I want to fight the best.” As a true boxing fan, those have to be music to your ears.
For Full Audio Of This Interview Click Here: http://www.blogtalkradio.com/thaboxingvoiceradioshow/2012/08/23/anselmo-moreno-angel-garcia-trainer-sharif-bogere
