Bryan Vera Is “Ready To Go To Work” Against Dzinziruk and the Rest of the Middleweight Division

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    Last week, Bryan Vera joined Tha’ Boxing Voice Radio Show crew to answer some questions ranging a variety of topics including his upcoming bout, this weekend’s Gennady Golovkin vs. Gabriel Rosado bout, European-style fighters, and epic sparring sessions.

    As part of the talent-rich middleweight division, Vera has managed to make a name for himself after scoring a majority decision win against the heavily favored Sergio Mora back in August. Since then Vera has been quietly training as he prepares for his January 25th fight against the always tough, Serhiy Dzinziruk. Although not the biggest name in the division, U.S. fans are familiar with Dzinziruk for an awkward fight-style that tends to make opponents look incredibly bad. As Dzinziruk’s 37-1-1 record indicates, almost no one has managed to figure out the Ukrainian’s style. Where this may seem like a tall task for some, Vera seems about as confident as he is prepared going into this fight.

    “I’m just putting in work right now. Going through camp with Ronny , and I’ve been getting a lot of sparring with Erislandy Lara, and he’s real sharp so he’s keeping me on point right now. I’m putting a lot of strength and conditioning in, and we’re coming out there looking to put a lot of pressure and try not to let the dude breathe.”

    There’s no doubt that a win over Dzinziruk would prove that Vera is a force to be reckoned amongst his fellow middlweights. However, one can’t help but question where Vera may find himself as far as potential match-ups go, should he emerge the victorious on Jan. 25th.

    “Like I told [my trainer] Ronny when we talked about this, I’d like to fight the winner of Rosado/Golovkin, one of those types of big fights. Obviously I’m fighting a good fighter with this Serhiy dude, so I think it’ll put me back in that position. I believe they (HBO) turned me down the last time because I hadn’t been performing like I should have, so this gives me a chance to fight and show that we’re capable of fighting in these big fights.”

    Unfortunately for Vera, getting past Dzinziruk is a task that is much easier said than done. The only thing more difficult than actually defeating Dzinziruk appears to be looking good in doing it. As Vera continues to prepare for the upcoming fight, he seems well aware of his opponents reputation, as well as what it’s gonna take to earn the lucrative potential shot at the winner of Rosado/Golovkin.

    “He does [make fighters look bad], but I think he’s now on the other end of the stick though with his last fight in which he got the draw [against Jonathan Gonzalez]. He didn’t look that great. The guy he fought didn’t come in great shape. If Gonzalez had come in great shape, he could have beat Dzinziruk instead of getting that draw. He [just] had to put more pressure. Even in the way he was fighting, he was able to bank on the fact that he was just too big for Dzinziruk; too strong for him. And that’s a 154-pounder. If Dzinziruk is trying to come up to 160, and fight a real middleweight like myself, I feel like I’m a strong middleweight that could put that pressure on him and break him down, and that’s exactly what I’m gonna have to do. I’m gonna have to break him down and look good doing it so that I could get myself out there.”

    Although Dzinziruk left the ring with a draw against Gonzalez, many felt he had deserved to lose the decision. With New York having a huge concentration of Europeans, it was only time before many began to question if that European influence had any to do with the final decision. With this fight taking place in the same upstate-New York venue, Vera already understands what he’ll have to do in order to avoid any controversy in his bout with Dzinziruk.

    “[I’m gonna have to] get it started, and get him outta there. Being that it (the fight) is gonna be on tv, it helps with the judging since everybody gets to see what is going on so I don’t think there is gonna be much to worry about as far as anyone being on his side or my side, even if they did seem to rob that kid (Gonzalez) on ESPN, from a few fights ago. I don’t really look at things like that though. I’m just gonna prepare like I [normally] prepare, and just go in there ready to go to work. I definitely do feel like I have to win, hands down.”

    Vera, along with anyone else familiar with Dzinziruk, is also very aware of what the Ukrainian fighter’s game plan will be: out box you from bell-to-bell.

    “That’s exactly what he’s gonna do. I’ve watched him, and even (my trainer )Ronny has, he’s pretty basic. He’s got a good jab, but he stays right there, so he’s not that athletic since he doesn’t seem to move around a whole lot. He’s gonna be right there to fight, so we gotta take away that jab and manage to get inside. Main thing we’ve been working on is that when we get inside we have to work. We can’t be getting inside, not do anything, and let him dictate the fight. We’ve been getting a lot of work in with Lara, who does move around as well as those other things, but he kinda helped me out staying there and throwing out the jab like this guy does so he’s giving me a good look for sure. ”

    With a win over Dzinziruk, Vera already knows which fighter he’d want to face next, as he offered his own take on how this weekend’s Golovkin/Rosado bout will play out.

    “Oh yeah, I want Golovkin for sure. I think it’s a good fight, but I just think Golovkin is going to be too much for him; too strong for him. This Rosado kid you can’t really count out because he’s tough, and he finds a way [to win] sometimes, but I just think that him coming up to middleweight…….I know he says he’s the bigger kid at middleweight, but even though Golovkin is not a big gu,y he’s obviously a big bomber and heavy-handed, just look at how he’s hurting everybody. It’s going to be a great fight, but I see Golovkin just being too much.”

    For those feeling a sudden sense of deja vu, it was long-rumored that Vera was to be Golovkin’s next opponent before Rosado was finally settled on.

    “Yeah, my manager was telling me that they were getting offers and stuff like that, but that HBO was looking at that Rosado kid along with some super middleweight, Fernando Guerrero I believe, but they ended up just going for that Rosado kid. We thought we were in the mix, but I don’t know what happened so now I gotta really shine out here on ESPN, and show people that I’m capable of fighting on HBO or something like that because if they turned me down it’s obvious that I’ve got to put myself back in the mix.”

    Luckily, Vera is going into his bout with Dzinziruk fully prepared for a fighter like him. As some may recall, Vera dropped a competitive decision to fellow contender, Andy Lee whom just like Dzinziruk is a southpaw. As preparations for his fight with Dzinziruk continue, Vera was asked to compare Lee to Dzinziruk.

    “It’s different with these guys because Andy Lee would stay on his back leg pretty good and he’s really long. I think Dzinziruk only has a 69-inch reach, where Andy Lee was 78-inches or some shit like that. Andy Lee is just a longer guy, and seems like he was much more athletic, and that’s the thing with these Europeans. They stand right there and throw a good jab. Once you take away that jab though I think it makes the fight a lot easier, but then again none of the fights are ever easier. They tend to make [opponents} look a little rough in there, but I’ll be sure to bring it from my end and make it rough for him. I just want to make him regret coming in there with me, and just break him down. I gotta be sure to touch up his body like no one has touched up his body before.”

    Even if Vera does put on a brilliant showing against Dzinziruk, it’s not out of the realm of possibility that he doesn’t get the shot at the Golovkin/Rosado winner that he so desires. If that’s the case, would Vera look to move up in weight in an attempt to land the big-money fights, or would he go after other fighters in the middleweight division?

    “I think that right now, middleweight is where I’m gonna be. I feel like it’s where I’m strong in so it’s where we are trying to make a run at. I’ve never backed away from anybody, so really I’ll fight any of them. Whoever is holding a belt or is in any of those situations, I’ll fight any of them. As long as Ronny and my manager give me the “ok”, then I’ll get ready to go in there and fight. I’m not trying to shy away from anybody, so I’m going to go in there ready to fight.”

    But would an offer to face a big name opponent like Kelly Pavlik change his decision to move up in weight?

    “I mean yeah. I did that before also, but we were fighting on a Pacquiao card and he ended up going to rehab, or whatever the situation was. So, that’s a realistic super middleweight I’d fight, being that he had fought at middleweight before. He’s still a big kid, but he’s not that spectacular to me. He’s gonna stay there, and he’s gonna fight you, but he’s lost his step a little bit too, so right now would be a perfect time to fight him. He was supposed to fight Andre Ward, and honestly I think Andre Ward would’ve handled him easy, but that’s another big fight. I think Kelly Pavlik is looking for another fight for some big money, being that he has one of the best careers in the world.”

    Luckily for Vera, there are no shortages of names in the middleweight division with young fighters, Peter “Kid Chocolate” Quillin and Daniel Geale recently making a name for themselves atop the division.

    “Yeah, out of all those guys I think that Daniel Geale is probably the easiest fight, but I’m not going to be go travelling  to Europe since that makes everything a little tougher. I’d fight “Kid Chocolate” too. He’s strong, so I’d definitely have to be prepared because some of the things he has [in his arsenal] have gotten better compared to some of his past fights. You’ve also got Sergio Martinez, and everyone knows what he’s got. With any of those guys you just gotta be ready, and be 100% dedicated to camp. I’ve got one of the best trainers out there so I just listen, get the game plan right, and just focus to have to beat any of those guys.”

    Vera could even go for big-name match-ups against fighters who aren’t even belt-holders. With names like Matthew Macklin and Darren Barker, middleweight may be Vera’s most prosperous division considering just how many recognizable fighters are available to him should he miss out on the Golovkin/Rosado winner.

    “I think Matthew Macklin and myself would be a wonderful fight for the fans, as well as for me and him both. It’s be a tough fight too, but I just think I’d be bigger and stronger. He’s another one who would be there to fight, so you’d probably have to pry us off each other, so there’d definitely be a lot of action. It’d be a great fight for the fans, but it’s also be a TV-friendly fight. Those kind of guys, with those kind of fights, are kinda like watching a Micky Ward vs. Arturo Gatti. They didn’t worry about any belts, but they were still able to put on some wonderful fights, and fans wanted to see them. They both did what they did, but it’s guys like that who are made perfectly for me, and make it great for the fans. ”

    With his experience against European fighters, and an upcoming fight against another, Vera was asked just how he would compare European fighters like Craig McEwan and Andy Lee, to their American counterparts.

    “I really can’t say much as far as McEwan since I only had two or three weeks to get ready for him, but I don’t want to sound like I’m making excuses. McEwan came out, and fought well, but I just went in there and brawled him. It was really ugly and real sloppy in there so I can’t really remember too much of what he did since it’s all too grey. Andy Lee, the second time I fought him he did good, but as far as the standing up straight and tall he was able to stand back and keep me at a distance. As far as the European style, I saw it when I was over there in the Ukraine. They have a lot of little things, but nothing too different than what guys down here are fighting like, so there’s nothing really out there that stands out as much different.”

    As the interview approached it’s end, Vera was asked if he’d look to be named as a possible opponent for the currently suspended Julio Cesar Chavez, Jr.

    They’ve thrown me in the hat a couple times before, but that was back when he was in the mix to fight [Marco Antonio] Rubio. I’d love to fight him too though. We’ve had a little sparring before, and that was even a good sparring match, but it wasn’t like a real fight. I think it’d be a good fight, and he’s another guy you just have to be ready to out-work because I don’t think he’s dedicated himself to the sport 100%. I think he just plays around a little bit. He’s shown to be tough, has a good chin, and you have to be prepared for a guy like that because he is strong, and he’s gonna come right at you. I would love to fight a guy like that.”

    Vera spoke further on the aforementioned sparring session.

    “When Pacquiao was fighting Margarito, they sent me down to Dallas since I was getting ready to fight somebody . Since I wasn’t fighting Pavlik, they sent me down there and I sparred [with Chavez] for two days. Six rounds both days, so twelve rounds of sparring total. ”

    Who won the exchanges, you ask?

    “First day was close, but I’d say I got the edge on him the second day. You gotta look at it like this, he had just come into camp, and he was big. He just came into camp, looked like he wasn’t in too good of shape, while I was training the whole time for 7-8 weeks thinking that I was fighting Pavlik, so it’s one of those things. I was already in great shape, and he was coming in with me being the first guy he sparred with so I think that I got the better of him based on the fact that I was in better shape. I’d definitely like to spar with him…..fight him when he’s at 100%.”

    Vera seems to have everything figured out as far as where he wants to see his career go, but before any of this can happen he’ll have to get past Serhiy Dzinziruk first. As his fight approaches it will be interesting to keep an eye on the Golovkin/Rosado bout, along with Vera/Dzinziruk, and the rest of the middleweight division. Things may not turn out like Vera see its, but one can guarantee that it’s going be a fun ride to see if it does.