EXCLUSIVE ‘This will not be a fight. It will be a war.’ Meet Carl Frampton’s challenger, ‘Cobrita’

Carl Frampton

ALEJANDRO GONZALEZ will challenge IBF super-bantamweight king Carl Frampton on July 18th and the Mexican known as โ€œCobritaโ€ is fully expecting a very hard fight. The son of a former world ruler at featherweight, Gonzalez Jnr is just 22-years-old and he currently holds a 25-1-2 (15) record. Yet despite not having a vast amount of experience – as he himself acknowledges – Gonzalez Jr. is ready to go to war to take Framptonโ€™s belt in El Paso, Texas.

Here he speaks exclusively with Boxing News:

Q: The fight with Carl Frampton has just been announced. When did you get offered the fight?

Alejandro Gonzalez Jr: โ€œI was first offered the fight a week ago (June 1). Itโ€™s a hard fight, heโ€™s a great champion. Itโ€™s a great opportunity and Iโ€™m thankful for it. But when we were first offered the fight, we had to think about it, as I havenโ€™t boxed since December. I was supposed to box on the Canelo Alvarez card in May but I hurt my hand. One of the things I had to think seriously about was me not having a fight since December and going straight into this big, big fight. But I thought about it and I said okay, letโ€™s do it.โ€

Q: How impressed are you with Frampton?

A.G: โ€œLike I said, heโ€™s a great champion. He gets stronger in each fight. Heโ€™s like a tiger, in the way he wants to kill the other guy. He comes different [style-wise] in every fight. Heโ€™s already a superstar over there in the U.K of course and thatโ€™s why I want to fight him. I always want to fight the best and heโ€™s definitely one of the best at 122-pounds. I have been impressed by every one of his fights. I donโ€™t think you can ever do enough studying of a fighter; they can come differently in each fight. You can never get tired of studying an opponent.โ€

Q: What was you amateur career and do you feel you are experienced enough for Frampton?

A.G: โ€œI only had 43 amateur fights, but thatโ€™s largely because I turned pro at just 16. My first five pro fights I was only 16. So I donโ€™t have all that much experience as far as an amateur career, but I have learnt so much from my dad who was a great fighter (Alejandro Gonzalez Senior, former WBC featherweight champ). He has passed so much on to me. He is my trainer along with Javier Capetillo (of Antonio Margarito hand-wrap fame/notoriety). My fighting style is like that of my father. I can go in and fight hard and I can also box. It depends on who Iโ€™m fighting; whether they are strong on the inside or if they are weak.โ€

Q: Fans are expecting a great fight between you and Frampton. Do you see an action fight?

A.G: โ€œOf course. As soon as the fight was signed, I told my father, this will not be a fight, it will be a war. Heโ€™s a great champion but I want that title. I know heโ€™s not going to give it to me, this is going to be a pure war. I have been in the gym since December pretty much. I have been sparring. I donโ€™t have to worry about being on weight – thatโ€™s another reason I signed for the fight even though I will not have boxed since last December – and all I need now is to get stronger and to pick up more experience in the gym.โ€

Q: You have just one loss on your pro record, a TD loss. Do you consider that loss to be a real loss, a blemish?

A.G: โ€œYou know what, that loss helped me become the man and the boxer I am. Iโ€™m grateful for that loss. Of course no-one wants to lose, but the experience that fight gave me, you cannot get that from a one or two-round fight. But my toughest fight, Iโ€™d say that was my very first pro fight, against Oswaldo Novoa, who just recently lost the WBC title (at minimumweight). That was a (four-round) draw, a very hard fight, he was so strong. But I was only 16, so I think that had a lot to do with it. But all these fights Iโ€™ve had, they have given me good experience. Now Iโ€™m really looking forward and Iโ€™m grateful for the fight for the world title. He [Frampton] never backs down in a fight and I know this will be a war.โ€

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