UNBEATEN super-middleweight prospect Ronald Ellis makes his Showtime debut on February 19 and the 12-0 (10) talent says he will โmake a statementโ in the scheduled eight rounder with Jerry Odum.
A confident fighter who talks well, Ellis also says he wants an active 2016 so as to make up for a couple of injury-enforced layoffs earlier in his now five-year pro career.
Here the 2010 National Golden Gloves champion speaks about his career and his aims for the future with Boxing News.
Q: Firstly, how much do you know about your opponent Jerry Odum (13-2 with 12 KOs)?
Ronald Ellis: โI know quite a bit about him,ย but at the same time not too much. Iโve seen him fight, heโs tough and he comes forward. He can fight. I have nothing bad to say about him and nothing good to say about him. Heโs quite basic, I think I will outbox him.โ
Q: Is this your first appearance on Showtime?
R.E: โYeah, my first time. I feel I shouldโve been there earlier but now Iโve gotta make a statement. This will be a beautiful fight, so tune in. We are both bangers with a high knockout percentage and theyโre saying it will be a war, and if I have to, Iโll go to war, but I think Iโll be too skillful for him. Iโm not looking for the KO, because I can go eight-rounds easy.โ
Q: You have quite a few KOโs, 10 out of your 12 fights, but for those fans who have yet to see you fight, how would you describe your style?
R.E: โOn paper, I have a lot of knockouts, but I like to box. I like to wear guys down; I have actually got a few early knockouts though, where Iโve caught the guy early. Iโm a boxer/puncher. Sometimes I can be too eager for my own good. Iโm working on my movement and on my slickness. Why take punches, you know.โ
Q: How happy are you with the way your pro career has been progressing? You made you pro debut five years ago now.
R.E: โIโve had a number of setbacks, injuries. But now, with this fight, I will open a lot of eyes. I will show what Iโm about. I hope to have six more [fights] this year, four at least, but six would be beautiful. Iโm ranked pretty high, number-13 in the U.S. I hope to be top-10 soon. As long as I stay healthy, maybe get a quick win here and there, then I might get those six fights in. I had an elbow injury in late 2012 and that kept me out quite a long time. I had chipped bones and that took eight months to heal. But now Iโm doing more push-ups and pull-ups than ever before and all thatโs behind me now.โ
Q: With you working in a number of camps, you must have sparred a lot of big names?
R.E: โOh, let me see (smiles). I sparred Kelly Pavlik, [Lucian] Bute, [Marcos] Maidana, Edwin Rodriguez – itโs quite a list and Iโve gained great experience.โ
Q: Will you stay at super-middleweight, you make the weight comfortably?
R.E: โTo tell you the truth, Iโd like to go down to 160, I think Iโd be stronger there. But if you look at my career, ever since 2005, when I was an amateur, I was fighting at 168. I guess Iโm stuck there. I make the weight comfortably, Iโm just two or three pounds above weight now, with two weeks to go before the fight.โ
Q: Who do you think is the best super-middleweight in the world right now?
R.E: โI like James De Gale. I liked it when he beat up the Dirrell brother [Andre]. You also have a few other good champions, but I donโt have anything bad to say about any of them. Iโll fight any of them when the time comes. Definitely this year Iโll go for a smaller title – why slow the process down? Iโm 26 now and I feel great. Itโs my time now.โ