By Ryan Maquiñana
MOBILE, AL -- I was able to catch up with San Francisco super heavyweight LaRon Mitchell right before his appearance in the finals of the U.S. Olympic Trials Friday.
Coming off a medical walkover against Andrew Shepherd in the challengers’ bracket final, Mitchell now heads into the final with Lenroy Thompson of Lenexa, Kan. By virtue of having beaten Mitchell in the opening round, Thompson only needs to win tonight to take Trials gold.
On the other hand, Mitchell must defeat him twice after already incurring one loss earlier in the double-elimination tournament. However, the 31-year-old San Francisco State University graduate owns something the other six contenders do not—a win over Thompson last month in the quarterfinals of the USA Boxing National Championships.
The last Bay Area fighter to win the Olympic Trials was Andre Ward in 2004, and on only one year of boxing experience under his belt, Mitchell hopes to keep his dreams for London 2012 alive with a victory tonight.
LARON MITCHELL, SUPER HEAVYWEIGHT (S.F. RING OF FIRE GYM)
ON WHY ANDREW SHEPHERD WAS MEDICALLY DISQUALIFIED IN THE SEMIFINALS:
“He took a knee and an 8-count when he was fighting Lenroy Thompson. I asked him why he took the knee, and he said his arm hurt from the day before against Brett [Rather]. He felt the adrenaline before the fight but when it started, it hurt every time he blocked a shot and he grimaced, so he had to pull out.”
ON HIS OWN INJURY TO HIS RIGHT SHOULDER:
“It’s still hurting, but I got two fights in me. I’m just worried about tonight.”
ON SPEAKING WITH FORMER OLYMPIAN LAWRENCE CLAY-BEY:
“I talked to Clay-Bey, and he told me that after how I did at Nationals, I’m an elite guy now. People will look at me with respect. When I started to fight here, I began to notice that. People would come to me and shake my hand or say, ‘You’re LaRon Mitchell.’ It’s definitely different compared to Nationals, when I was a nobody and no one could pick me out of a lineup!” (Laughing)
ON FACING TOP-RANKED LENROY THOMPSON:
“We’re both southpaws, and we’re 1-1 against each other. I beat him at Nationals and he beat me in the first round here. Out of everyone here, I’m the only one who’s beat him before. He’s been winning fights and has earned the top spot. His style is touch and run. Play tag all day. I don’t even know how any stoppages he has. Probably very few. I’m sure if he puts something on your chin, he can knock you down because he’s a big 240 [pounds]. But he gets points for playing tag, and I don’t think that style will get far in the Olympics. There’s no way I can let this dude represent America, because I don’t see him winning tonight.”
ON HIS TWO PREVIOUS FIGHTS WITH THOMPSON:
“In the first fight, I showed that I was faster than him and I was able to cut the ring off. I kept pumping, pumping the jab. I clocked him a couple times on Monday and one of them was the standing eight. You kind of got to catch him on the way out. He’ll literally turn and run. There was another shot where he took a knee but they called it a slip. I feel like I have to be like Marvin Hagler with the light jog and walk him down. More importantly, I feel like I need the mindset that I have to do it with a sense of urgency. If I don’t, I’m done. I need to beat him hands down.”
ON THE PROSPECT OF HAVING TO BEAT THOMPSON TWICE:
“If he beats me over all three rounds, then I’ll give him his props. When I beat him tonight, though, I’ll get in his head for tomorrow.”
ON REPRESENTING AMERICA:
“There’s no bad blood between Lenroy and myself, but this is the Olympic Trials. Now we’re on a level where you’re representing the whole country, with not only your character not also in the ring. It’s not about Lenroy Thompson or LaRon Mitchell. Styles make fights, and I think I have a better style to fight internationally.”
ON REACHING THIS LEVEL ON ONLY ONE YEAR OF BOXING EXPERIENCE:
“It still hasn’t hit me what I’ve done in Colorado [at Nationals in June]. When the Giants made their run to beat the Patriots, they found out that each game is bigger, and that they had to forget about last week’s upset. It’s kind of like that. Every fight is bigger. I lost to Lenroy in the first round and now I got six straight to win. It started with hoping I could just get a win at Nationals in June to fighting the best guy in America in the Olympic Trials final.
ON HIS TRAINER, JIMMY FORD’S ADVICE:
“He simply said to leave no doubt. From an outside perspective, yes, it’s great for Jimmy to finally get recognized for everything he’s done for me and for all the people at Ring of Fire, but Jimmy can care less. Jimmy’s just enjoying the fact that I’m doing well and creating memories for me and my kids, and everyone in the Bay Area who’s supporting us.”
ON HIS FRIENDSHIP WITH EROS CORREA, WHO FIGHTS IN THE LIGHT FLYWEIGHT FINAL:
“Eros and I went to Nationals together, too, and I’m just happy for him that he got his revenge on Louie Byrd. He’s probably in the hotel room right now eating Subway. (Laughing) It’s indescribable that we’re both this close to winning it all and that we’re both representing the Bay Area.”
ON COMMUNICATING WITH HIS FAMILY BACK IN SAN FRANCISCO:
“I talked to my daughter, but I’ve been texting my two boys back and forth all week. I told my boys I wouldn’t call them until the tournament was over. The reason is that in Colorado for Nationals, I didn’t have service on my phone. It would be like 10 or 11 o’clock at night when my fights would be over, so I’d call home on the payphone and their mom would tell me that the kids would be asleep. So we’d leave voice messages for each other, and I’ve been winning, so it’s kind of turned into our little ritual.”
ON A MESSAGE BACK HOME TO HIS SUPPORTERS IN THE BAY AREA:
“It doesn’t stop here. Anybody can do anything in life. Don’t ever limit yourself. If you told me 10 months ago that this is where I’d be, I wouldn’t have believed you. I just want to thank everyone who’s been behind me, and you, too, Ryan, for all the support. I’ll do the best I can and leave it all the ring, and bring back that Olympic spot to the Bay.”
Ryan Maquiñana is the boxing correspondent at Comcast SportsNet Bay Area and a member of the Boxing Writers Association of America. E-mail him at rmaquinana@gmail.com, check out his blog at www.maqdown.com or follow him on Twitter: @RMaq28.
No comments:
Post a Comment