It has been quite the week for news coming out of the Chambers camp. First the Philadelphia fighter announced a move down to cruiserweight from heavy weight, and then the announcement came he had signed a promotional deal with Main Events, with whom he previously had a fight by fight arrangement. The deal and the new weight class could welcome a whole new world for Chambers, who told us just how he is feeling about the changes.
When asked if there was any specific reasoning behind his move down to cruiserweight from heavyweight he explained that “its not like there are a lot of people calling for a fight with me at heavyweight”, explaining that all lines lead to the ubiquitous Klitschko brothers, so he is taking some time to explore his opportunities at cruiserweight.
“I would like to win some titles at cruiserweight, stay active, and maybe bring some interest to that division.” He says, further stating that he feels there are a lot of fight with guys his “own size”. Considering he is an unusually small heavyweight joking that he “came in at 202 with sweatpants on and some things in my pockets” for his last fight, a controversial loss to former cruiserweight himself, Polish star Tomasz Adamek. While Chambers and many others who watched on NBC Sports network, as well as live from ringside believe that the decision went the wrong way in that fight, he is not naive as to the state of boxing. Admitting that there was a bit of a “hometown hustle” going on, scored based on activity rather than efficiency. Chambers, who fought the fight with one hand, believes that if he had not been injured the fight wouldn’t have lasted long enough to go to the score cards. “Too much damage would have been done,” He said.
However, now that he is a cruiserweight, and Adamek remains a heavyweight, a rematch is seemingly out of the question for the next year or so. Chambers seems excited to face opponents more of his own size at his new weight. When fighting at heavyweight, he explains, there are only two kinds of fights “I can either dominate with my speed and agility” or his opponent is so big that it becomes “difficult to apply my abilities. Like with Klitschko, but if we fought again I would have a better crack at it.”
Chambers is not sure if cruiserweight will be his permanent home, his main goal, he says, is to fight at whatever weight he feels the best. “I want to be at my optimum, and able to box and move. I want to do something after boxing.” Chambers, at the age of thirty, explains that he feels he has to start looking towards the future, recognizing that he cannot box forever.
That, among other reasons, is what helped him decide to make the move to sign exclusively with Main Events Promotions. The New Jersey based promotional firm run by Kathy Duva is the force behind the NBC Sports Network’s Fight Night series something that Chambers believes is “good for boxing”. “Eventually this will be over,” Chambers says continuing that he wants to “take advantage of every opportunity.”
“There are still fights to be made, and now they can put their full force behind me.” Something he appreciates about the boxing game right now. While it sometimes may seem that we only see the same few fighters on our airwaves all the time, Chambers admits that it can be “frustrating to an extent to see green fighters get so much recognition, but I respect it. They have the right people behind them.” Chambers continues to explain that while it would be nice to have someone the likes of Al Haymon behind him, he feels he is just not cut out for the easy way, “I’m too honest, to blue collar, I don’t like to talk, I like to perform, but that’s not enough these days.”
Perhaps I am of the old school mentality, but I do think it is enough. With an opportunity to really shine at cruiserweight, I think that Chambers can make an impact, his way.
As for the injury suffered in the Adamek fight, Chambers noted that he is feeling 100%, has almost completed all of his required physical therapy, and he teaches a boxing and MMA class that helps to exercise the injured area. He hopes to fight on a Main Events card in February and show the world the new Eddie Chambers.
Before we ended our conversation, we touched upon the loss that boxing suffered last week. Emmanuel Steward, the legendary trainer, commentator, and owner of the Kronk gym in Detroit where Chambers has prepared for fights, passed away, and when I ask how he was affected by the loss Chambers had this to say “To lose an iconic trainer like Emmanuel is tough, I’ve been to Detroit and I know the work he did with pulling kids off of the streets and turning them into fighters, responsible kids, I cant say enough about him, he will be greatly missed.” Adding that he also recently lost someone close to him to the same cancer that Steward succumbed to, and that cancer awareness and education is something we should all brush up on.
