TopClass Interview with TopClass Prospect Jose Roman!!!

Growing up Jose and his brother Jesse fell in love with the sport of boxing after being introduced to the sport by their father and after an amateur career that spanned over 120 fights Jose felt he had the necessary tools to step up and decided it was time to dip his toe into the professional ranks.

Making his professional debut on June 2008 Jose haven't looked back since taking his tally to seven wins from seven bouts with an impressive 6 coming by way of knockout.

Although his professional career is still at an early stage, it is obvious from the fights I have witnessed that Jose Roman is a name that you should write down on your prospect lists for 2010/2011

I caught up with Jose last week who was kind enough to answer a few questions for us here at Topclassboxing the result of which can be seen below:

Okay Jose Lets start from the very beginning, can you tell us how you got started in the sport of boxing?

This year seems to have thrown up a whole host of good young fighters with a lot coming from a good amateur backgrounds, Can you tell us what age you made your amateur debut and can you remember your first feelings when stepping into the ring?

My first amateur fight was 1 week from when i stepped into the gym, i was nervous and scared.

Through this time can you tell us what titles / trophy’s or medals did you manage to capture and which stands out in your memory as your proudest moment?

i've won over 20 amateur tournaments not too familiar which ones, but the proudest moment was when i got a silver medal at the Silver Gloves National Tournament losing to Jerry Belmontes by a 3-2 decision in Kansas because i had to win 3 other tournaments and fight 3 guys in each one to advance.

Throughout the time you spent in the amateur ranks who would you say is the fighter that gave you the most difficulty and could you tell us why?

Never had too much difficulty with any fighter because if i lost a fight it would be a very close fight.

For the fight fans that are yet to see you fight can you please describe your fighting style?

Im a brawler when i want to be and a boxer too, i have heavy hands so i always try to find a way to drop the opponent.

After seeing you in action since the start of your career it is clear to see that you are a fighter with a lot of skill, what would you say at the moment are your strength s and weaknesses?

Strengths would be that I am a strong person physically and mentally, plus I am a hard puncher, and well conditioned. Weaknesses I don't like mentioning them.

You have had a total of seven fights so far in your fledging professional career with an impressive six coming by way of either knockout or stoppage, what changes have you had to make in entering the professional ranks?

Well all my KO's have been knockouts except for one that was a stoppage when i fought at the alameda swapmeet against Gabe Garcia. My changes hasn't been too much because i always had a professional style of boxing, but if there is any i would say taking it much more serious and harder training make sure i don't miss of day of it.

Last time out you fought on the undercard of Brandon Rios vs Jorge Luis Teron. In the bout you fought Arturo Herrera and knocked him out in the very first round. Can you talk us through that fight and the lead up to the fights finish?

It was a fight that i was told maybe 2 to 1 1/2 weeks before that i was going to fight there, i accepted, and not until the weigh ins when i found out who my opponent was. I knew he had 30 something fights plus 15 or so more in Mexico, I was told, wasn't on record though; I wasn't too worried cuz i knew i wasn't new to the sport so the experience he had as a professional meant nothing cuz i've had more as an amateur.

When i first landed my first body shot it seemed like it hurt and his abdominals looked soft so i probably landed maybe 9 body shots throughout the round and one of those times followed with a left hook n he went down.

Throughout your seven fights you have looked formidable and talking to people who have seen you at ringside have said you are destined for big things. How do you stay grounded when you start to receive all this praise?

I like to hear that because i know im not anything big right now and people expect something from me so i try very hard to get them what they want and soon i'll be on top.

Last but not least for this section has anyone been mentioned to you for your next opponent Jose?

No not yet been training and waiting for a fight, which kills me, i don't like waiting.

The lightweight division is a fascinating place at the moment with many great fighters, i know that you are currently fighting as a lightweight, do you intend on staying at the weight class or see yourself in maybe the Super Lightweight division?

Well i fight at the super feather weight division most of the time the opponents are heavier so they move me up in weight. i intend to win a world title at the 130 lbs or many titles but really looking for the WBC belt, the green belt!

Juan Manuel Marquez, Humbero Soto, Marco Antonio Barrera, Joel Casamayor and many other great fighters are fighting in the division at the moment, who do you think is number one within the weight class at the moment and why?

I would say Juan Manuel Marquez or Humberto Soto two outstanding world champions who i enjoy seeing and learning from and studying as well. They both have excellent boxing skills and hunger that keep them on top. Dedication and Hard Work!

In most of my Interviews I ask a fighter to give a brief description on a set of fighters from their weight class, If this is okay Jose can you give your opinion on each of the following:

Juan Manuel Marquez- Great Mexican boxer with great boxing skills, love his guard and perfect uppercuts.

Marco Antonio Barrera- Excellent boxing skills best known for his intelligence in the ring.

Joel Casamayor- Haven't seen him too much but he seems like he has good boxing skills and hand speed.

Brandon Rios- Oh! Brandon, great guy outside the ring, funny too. Very hungry boxer i'd say future world champion.

I always like to get a fellow professional’s view on the Pound 4 Pound rankings so I am asking you the same question, Do you think that Manny Pacquiao still sits at number one or do you think that Floyd Mayweather stays in that position?

Pacquiao i think has just fought the right guys at their wrong time to make him look good, but deserves his place at the top because he trains very hard and is hungry and helps the poor which i respect him greatly for.

Freddy Roach has recently come out in the media and said that this fight is a possibility and he can see it being made this year. Is this a fight that needs to happen in your opinion and if they were to fight who would be your favourite to win and your reasoning being the pick?

I would say, with all those years in boxing, it'd be a very easy fight for Mayweather due to the reason that Pacquiao is a strong fighter and will kill you if you stand right in front of him, but if u start moving around him and boxing him he has a lot of trouble, for instance when Morales fought and beat him the first time they met morales all he did was box him and beat him clearly; Marquez did the same the first time the met as well and beat him hands down but some how he got the win. Cotto was doing fine against him when he moved around boxing him landing those nice clean jabs but he did the mistake of stopping and fighting toe to toe which caused him the fight.

I think its a fight that only Pacquiao can make happen but i would much rather see some other fight like Victor Ortiz vs Marcos Madaina 2 or Arthur Abraham vs Carl Froch or it use to be Edwin Valero vs Humberto Soto.

It’s obviously early in your career but In ten / fifteen years time what would be your dream outcome for your career? E.g. Multiple world champion, pound 4 pound star a multi weight world champion?

Definitely multi weight world superstar champion representing all my people not just my Mexican people which i'm very proud to be, but my Latin people, my United States people, my Cali people, my Orange County people, my people from Tijuana and Mexicali and pretty much all over the world.

My plan is to do more fights and possible sign with Top Rank i really enjoy fighting for that promotion and one of my dreams is to represent Top Rank.

On leaving is there anything you would like to say to the readers of TopClassBoxing and the fight fans around the world?

Yes look for my fights and my little brother fights because we bring some dynamite in the ring that people like to see and thanks for the support!

Also say hi to my friends and family in Tijuana, Mexicali, and California and my Uncle Gaspar "indio" Ortega and my Aunt.

If you are involved in boxing in some way and have an interest in doing an Interview with us at TopClassBoxing. Please email me your name and email address to Paul@TopClassBoxing.co.uk.