(Photo: Star Boxing) By Ian Aldous: On Saturday July 7th, unbeaten heavyweight prospect, Tyson Fury (18-0), looks to move one step closer to a world heavyweight championship fight when he takes on the American veteran, Vinny Maddalone (35-7) at the Hand Arena, Clevedon, Somerset. This week Vinny took some time to talk with me about the fight.
At 38-years of age, Vinny Maddalone will undoubtedly be seen as a stepping-stone for the former British and Commonwealth heavyweight champion as he marches on towards a fight with Wladimir or Vitali Klitschko. Many fans will expect Tyson, fourteen years the junior of Vinny to walk right through him. “They’ve never seen me fight before!” Vinny exclaimed. “There’s never a fighter that’s gonna walk right through me. They’re unaware of what I’ve done for thirteen years of my life, he’s gonna be in a fight on July 7th”.
The jury is still out concerning the young career of The Ring Magazine rated No.9 heavyweight, Tyson Fury. Much is expected of him and he appears to possess the tools required to be a force within the heavyweight division but many fans and experts alike believe he should have stepped up a level in his recent competition. So, I asked Vinny if he has seen much of his career and if he believes that Fury’s the real deal? “I’ve watched a few of his fights on Youtube, he’s a young kid, he’s hungry and he has everything there but what happens when he gets hit? He’s been down a couple of times and he got back up but once I hit him, I’m gonna keep hitting him”.
Throughout his pro career, Vinny has shared the ring with the legendary Evander Holyfield, undefeated Russian heavyweight prospect, Denis Boytsov and former cruiserweight world champion, Tomasz Adamek. Is he expecting the July 7th bout to be tougher than any of his previous 42 fights? “I wouldn’t say that. I’ve been in the ring with five former world champions. I just think this is another fight for me, you know. I know you’re saying he’s due for the Klitschkos but it puts me in a good position if I beat him and that’s what I’m looking at. I know I’m going in as the underdog and that’s pretty much what I’ve done for my whole career and I just look for that one shot to land and hopefully I land it”.
Maddalone became a professional in 1999 and has fought mainly in the U.S throughout his career with trips to Bermuda, France and Germany. A visit to England and a big fight is surely something Vinny will relish in the twilight of his career. “Without a doubt. The English people are real passionate about the fights and when I went over to Germany and France they really enjoyed me after the fight and applauding me because just like in America people pay to come see me fight and I wanna give the fans their money’s worth and I guarantee it’s gonna be like that on July 7th”.
The 12-round international heavyweight contest is promoted by Hennessy Sports in association with Sanigar Events and Joe DeGuardia’s Star Boxing.
The show will be broadcast live in the UK on Channel 5.
The undercard will feature Chris Eubank Jr. in his fifth professional fight and current British super-flyweight champion, Lee Haskins (25-2) vs. former British bantamweight champion, Stuart Hall (12-1-1) for the vacant European bantamweight title.
Tickets starting from £30 can be purchased from the Hennessy Sports box office on 01925 755 222, Ticketline on 0844 888 4402, Ticketmaster on 0844 847 2500 or from Sanigar Events on 0117 949 6699
Tickets are also available to purchase online from the following websites.
www.hennessysports.com, www.ticketline.co.uk, http://www.ticketmaster.co.uk/.
For more information on Vinny Maddalone please visit www.starboxing.com/maddalone.html
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