Interview with Joseph Rabbotte
By Pattee Mak
I had the opportunity to speak with Joseph Rabbotte (8-14-1) about his upcoming fight at Foxwoods Resort and Casino, Mashantucket, Connecticut againstHeavyweight Contender Rashad Minor (4-1-0) which will be held live on October 2, 2010.
Q. You have an upcoming fight against Rashad Minor. Can you tell me about your upcoming match with him?
A. A lot of people when they first looked at me and looked at my record they thought I was a bum and I was coming there to lose. I think at a
second look they realized that I beat a lot of really good fighters. I beat an IBC Champion, a WBC Contender and I started off with no amateur fights fighting the best fighters in the world. I think when people really looked at my record they realized they didn’t want to fight me. Rashad is going to take the fight and kudos for him for taking the fight because it’ll be a great fight. I’m way more experienced than he is and I fought a lot of better fighters than he has and I beat a lot of better fighters than he has ever been in the ring with. It’s going to be a great show. I think its going to go the distance. There is going to be a lot of punches thrown.
Q. Have you ever fought Rashad Minor before?
A. I’ve never fought him before.
Q. How many rounds will this fight be?
A. Four rounds but I’m hoping that it’ll end in three rounds.
Q. With a knock out?
A. I’m hoping it’ll be a knock out or at least a TKO (technical knock out).
Q. Have you always only fought in the heavyweight division?
A. Yes I’ve always been in the heavyweight division.
Q. What type of training are you doing for this fight?
A. Right now I’m in one of the best conditions I’ve ever been in for any fight. One day I’ll do sprints, another day I’ll run 5 miles for distance, one day I’ll jump rope, lift weights or sparring. Basically I train between three and five hours a day, at least four days a week. I’m really focused on my timing, skills and definitely focused on my conditioning.
Q. How long have you been fighting for?
A. Two and one-half years.
Q. You went right to a professional career without first starting out at an amateur level. Is this correct?
A. No, I didn’t have an amateur career. I knew I wanted to be a boxer. I didn’t know how to get into the sport. I kinda met someone who opened the door. I was like whatever I don’t know, I’d learn when I get there. I learned the hard way by taking fights on one day’s notice. Some were undefeated fighters, Olympic medalists and people like that. I picked up the sport and I continue to work hard. It’s something I knew I could do but didn’t know exactly what it took to get there so I had to rely on new experiences.
Q How did you get into boxing?
A. I did radio earlier for ten years. While I was on my lunch break from radio, I went to one of the gyms and one of the other guys there was working with a young kid. He was having his first pro fight. I stayed with him and figured out how he got into it and that’s how I got my license. Two months later I was fighting my first professional fight.
Q. Is there anything you would like to tell your fans out there?
A. I am going to go out there and do what I do which is the most beautiful thing in boxing. I got that name for a reason. I am going to execute a game plan and I’m going out there and I will be bringing back the science of the sport. I will execute it and make it look good. I will excite the fans to put on the show.
For tickets to the October 2, 2010 show at Foxwoods Resort and Casino, please contact www.foxwoods.com or Jimmy Burchfield’s CES Boxing at 401-724-2253, www.cesboxing.com.
As in September, I once again ran out of gas in the 10th & 11th championship rounds of October & November with this column, but I recovered to complete them and will unleash a few more flurries to close out the 12th and final round.
In the first week of October, Hassan N’Dam won a UD over Curtis Stevens in an eliminator for the right to challenge Jermaine Taylor who defeated aging Sam Soliman to regain the IBF Middleweight title. How Taylor even earned this title shot is another story altogether, but it is all irrelevant as he is now the champion. However he will not have too much time to savor his victory as he has assault and battery charges pending against him and an upcoming court fight that may turn out to be the toughest fight of his life, just when things started to look up for him in boxing, we wish him luck.
