Trevor McCumby Looks to Make Statement Against Verdin

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download (1)Trevor McCumby has raised a lot of eyebrows throughout his career. The 21 year-old phenom had the chance to sit down with Tha Boxing Voice’s Nestor Gibbs.

McCumby (16-0, 12 KO), will be fighting on September 20th from the Celebrity Theater in Phoenix, Arizona. Not only will it be McCumby’s first time fighting at the arena, Tha Boxing Voice’s Ryan O’Hara will be making his boxing broadcasting debut from the fight as well.

McCumby turned pro at the tender age of 17, while fighting in his first official fight at age 18. Is this something that was carefully planned out by McCumby, or did it just happen to work out that way? “It was something that was carefully planned out,” added McCumby. “I was really happy to turn pro at such a young age.”

Turning pro at a young age can reap the benefits. The younger a boxer is, the more the potential for growth, however young fighters can also be young mentally. For example, sometimes it is difficult for a young fighter to handle an incredible amount of publicity early in their career. In addition, how a fighter goes about their publicity can affect their in-ring performance and how their opponent fights them.

Adrien Broner is a prime example of a young fighter who was exposed by Marcos Maidana. McCumby fought on the undercard of Donaire-Nishioka in 2012. How is a young man like McCumby able to handle the publicity at 21? “You get used to people watching you,” said McCumby. “Obviously it is way bigger stages now.” McCumby is at the stage in his career where he is in preparation to fight on bigger cards and highlight a main event at some point.

McCumby is currently managed by Cameron Dunkin who has worked with Brandon Rios and Mike Alvarado in the past. Most of the fighters that have worked with Dunkin have had success. How does McCumby view his manager? “He is a great manager,” added McCumby. “I am really happy to be with him.”

McCumby is fighting as a light-heavyweight, yet he has talked about moving down to the super-middleweight division. Does this stem from training and being below 175 pounds? Does McCumby believe he would have a better size advantage in the super-middleweight division? McCumby admitted so. “Yeah, I would say that,” said McCumby candidly. “At light-heavyweight, there are some pretty big dudes.”

In the boxing world, fans do not revolve just around the stars. The real fans check out the lower level fighters because those up-and comers may be future world champions. Why should the public back a young fighter like McCumby. What does McCumby think about his own work ethic? “I train really hard,” said McCumby. “I am disciplined. Not only that, I have a huge following in Chicago.” A fan pleaser, McCumby is never afraid to go for the kill, with 12 of his 16 victories coming by way of knockout. If McCumby continues to win bouts, expect more fans to show up to the stadium.

Promoters are going to notice the young McCumby moving up through the ranks before we know it.
September 20th will mark the ninth consecutive six-round bout for McCumby. Why does McCumby continue to fight six rounders? Is this due to a lack of amateur experience? Does McCumby have an inside scoop that he can reveal? “That is a question that can be answered by my team,” said McCumby. “I just get in the ring and fight and do what I have to do.” When asked if he felt he was ready for eight rounds, McCumby responded with a quick, “Yes.”

As mentioned before, McCumby has distinctive knockout power. With McCumby’s impending departure from the light-heavyweight division, does McCumby feel that he will maintain his power at 168? “Definitely,” said McCumby. “Everyone is born with certain abilities.”

McCumby’s opponent for September 20th is Martin Verdin (20-18, 11 KO). The only notable fighter he had fought was Jeff Lacy, a fight which he lost via third round technical stoppage. What else does McCumby know about his opponent? “He is pretty experienced,” replied McCumby. “He is a boxer and moves a lot.”

With that being said, McCumby believes he is prepared to step up in competition. With the thought of moving up on his mind and possessing stupefying knockout power, look for Trevor McCumby to make a statement on September 20th and be sure to check out Tha Boxing Voice on YouTube to get a live broadcast of all the action!