Diablo: “I’ll bring to Poland a pretty little green belt”

by Piotr Momot/bokser.org & Tomasz S. Galazka

On May 16, in Rome, former IBF light heavyweight champion Krzysztof “Diablo” Włodarczyk (41-2, 31 KO’s) will face the current WBC champion Giacobbe Fragomeni (26-1, 10 KO’s). In this interview for BoxingScene.com/Bokser.org “Diablo” assures us of his fine form and of his victorious return from Italy.

How did you bear the longest preparation for a fight yet in your career? The date for the fight has been postponed twice…

It was tough, unpleasant, I was weary and peeved, but the success came– the final date hasn’t been postponed and the fight will finally take place on May 16. I’m in a fine form, I have the premonition I’ll bring with me from Italy the pretty little round green belt and I’ll be very proud of that. The work I put in together with my coaches Łapin, Skrzecz, and Sobieraj can only lead to a major success.

Your colleagues in Bullit KnockOut Promotions claim they’ve never seen you in such a fine condition before. Do you concur with that estimate?

Tough call, I certainly did not spend that time resting, chewing on protein supplements and waiting for the success to drop into my lap all by itself. I worked really hard, sparring through 12-15 rounds in a row. I think I’m in a good shape.

How many sparring rounds did you get through during the preparations?

Certainly more than a hundred.

The three judges for the Fragomeni-Wlodarczyk fight will be exactly the ones who scored the Fragomeni-Kraj bout. Do you have any opinion about that?

In the Fragomeni-Kraj fight there were three or four rounds when Kraj slacked off. I think the scoring there was correct– Kraj was constantly in reverse gear, Fragomeni always in advance, he threw a lot of punches and many of them hit the target. I hope there’ll be a different ringside doctor now, one that won’t stop the fight for some bullshit reason, some tiny cut. I’m a clean fighter, no fouls, but there’s no telling what can happen in the ring, I can headbutt the guy by accident. I’m not a dirty fighter by nature, anyway.

Do you recall yourself as you were before the first championship bout against Steve Cunningham? How did you develop throughout these three years as a boxer and an all-around human being?

I feel I’m more serious now, I have more appreciation for the chance I was given and I’m not about to miss out on it. My time’s getting shorter, the years go by, I’m already 28 and the time doesn’t work in my favor. New contenders appear, faster ones, hungry for success, so I have to win the title now, go through several successful defenses and retire with a fat purse, securing a decent life for my family, for my kid.