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Turkey isn’t known for it’s Boxing, infact they’ve they’ve never produced a professional Boxing World champion. They have high hopes that Selcuk Aydin can become there first. So far he’s been impressive going 20-0(15). He comes with excellent amateur pedigree that saw him regularly medal in European competion, even competing for his country in the 2004 Olympics. However he lived up to his monicker of “Mini Tyson” when he was involved in an altercation with the referee of one of his fights in 2005, he was ultimately suspended for several years prompting him to punch for pay. After debuting in late 2006 he stayed busy in Europe, where he has had all but one of his fights to date. Aydin 27, is currently WBC Champion Andre Berto’s mandatory. He’s what the power punching Welterweight had to say.

Hello Selcuk, welcome to 15rounds.com

Anson Wainwright – You have a fighting coming up on the 17 December in Miami, do you know who you’ll be fighting yet?

Selcuk Aydin – We have slightly changed the schedule. I will not fight on December 17th in Miami but on December 18th in Germany. Turkish TV covers my fights and for them it’s better if I fight in Europe because of the different time zones. I am training in Miami though and will certainly be back to fight here as well very soon but for the moment it makes more sense for me to fight in Europe. It’s only a stay-busy fight anyways. I don’t know who my opponent will be. But whoever it will be I will do my best to knock him out.

Anson Wainwright – Back in June you fought Ionut Dan Ion that was a very close fight that you won. What can you tell us about the fight & how happy you were with your performance?

Selcuk Aydin – I was not happy with my performance in that fight. I did what was necessary to win the bout but I wanted to show my fans in Istanbul a better performance. There were lots of things before that fight which didn’t go according to plans so I was not at one hundred percent the day of the fight. Because the fight was in Turkey I got distracted and lost focus. I wanted to knock my opponent out but I didn’t fight a good fight. It felt like I couldn’t pull the trigger that night although I did enough to win. After the fight I was criticized in the Turkish media and I apologized for a rather poor performance. Still I won a championship bout against a decent opponent. I gave ‘Jo-Jo Dan’ the chance to make himself a name through me. But I will be more than happy to take that away from him again. I have offered him a re-match and I promise in case we ever meet again inside the ring I will be better prepared and I will simply crush him.

Anson Wainwright – Can you tell us about your team, who is your manager, trainer & promoter? Also what gym do you train at?

Selcuk Aydin – To me the most important people in my corner are my brother Yalcin Aydin and Vedat Alyaz who is a personal friend and important part of my team. The presence of these two is important for me to feel comfortable. Ahmet Oener is my promoter and manager. I am with him since I signed my first professional contract and I thank him for bringing me to where I am. Ahmet is one of the best promoters in the world today. He is successful in Germany and the USA and basically the only promoter who is doing big shows in Turkey. I also have people supporting me in Turkey foremost Ibrahim Haciosmanoglu who is a very influential person and experienced manager. Currently I am living in Miami where I work with my trainer Ismael Salas. He is a great coach and I appreciate the chance to work with him.

Anson Wainwright – Your mandatory to Andre Berto what do you think of him as a fighter? What can you tell us about the situation with when you will get a WBC title shot?

Selcuk Aydin – As you said I am the mandatory opponent for Berto. I have waited for this chance for a long time. All my life I wanted to prove that I am the best. To do so you have to beat the best. That is why I want to fight Berto who holds a title which should belong to me by now. He is a good fighter but he is not good enough to beat me. He hasn’t fought anybody as tough as me in his career so far. I have watched a couple of his fights. He’s fast and has a good technique but he didn’t impress me with his performances lately. And I blame Berto for making me wait for this fight for one and a half years. He did all he could to avoid me and I will make him pay for that once we meet in the ring. I heard that the WBC will call for purse bid shortly and Ahmet told me that the fight will take place before March 31st. I will fight him anywhere anytime. And I will strip the belt from him.

Anson Wainwright – Many boxers have tough upbringings and that’s how they first get into Boxing, what was your youngers days like?

Selcuk Aydin – I could not say that I had a hard childhood home in Turkey. I have a great family who has always supported me and my father has always told me: If you want to do something you better do it right. I recall one time when I was very young and skipped training to hang out and play with some friends. When my father heard about that he said to me: Don’t tell me you want to become a boxer if you don’t want to go to training. If you are not willing to sacrifice you will not go anywhere. From that day on I went to the gym everyday. And that is what brought me to where I am.

Anson Wainwright – Can you tell us how you first got into Boxing in Trabzon, Turkey, your country isn’t known for pro Boxers?

Selcuk Aydin – When I was in the first grade I always passed a boxing club on my way to school. One day I told my father that I want to go and train there. He tried to convince me to join a football or basketball team instead. Those sports are far more popular in Turkey than boxing. But I felt that I am a fighter. I wanted to prove that I am the best. That is hard to do in a team sport. Fighting was always part of my nature. So I convinced him that I wanted to become a boxer and he took me to the gym and accompanied me and my brother every single day. There were some decent fighters at the gym. When I saw them I wanted to be like them. I worked hard, improved and became the best fighter in the gym. After that I saw the best Turkish amateurs and wanted to be like them. So I worked hard, improved and became the best fighter in Turkey. Now I look at the best boxers in the world and I am working hard to improve and become better than all of them.

Anson Wainwright – You had a good amateur career twice winning medals at the European Championships, what can you tell us about your amateur days? What pro fighters did you fight and what was your final record?

Selcuk Aydin – I have had close to 400 amateur fights and lost only about 20. And even when I lost to somebody I surely gave all of my opponents the hardest time in the ring. Not many of the guys I fought at the amateurs became good pros. Maybe a handful. I can’t give you names because I don’t care a lot about my opponents. I only care about myself and my performance. One name I recall is Frankie Gavin from the UK. He cost me my world amateur championship title. I have always been better than him but because of stupid politics he got a win over me he didn’t deserve. I was so fed up with amateur boxing that I turned professional immediately while he went on to become world champion. I should have won that title. I heard that he is pro now, too. I hope to meet him in the ring someday to get revenge for the amateur title he stole from me.

Anson Wainwright – The was a moment in your amateur career when you had an incident with a referee, what is your side on what happened?

Selcuk Aydin – There are rumors about me hitting referees which are simply untrue. I never hit a referee. I may have pushed one but that’s all. I cannot stand injustice. And in amateur boxing very often politics influence decisions and fight results. When I fought Frankie Gavin the way he ran away from me and only clinched when he should have been fighting just made me furious. I chased the guy through the ring and was clearly the aggressor in the fight. Still he led on points and I couldn’t understand that. I screamed at him that he should fight like a man and I unloaded my frustration but I didn’t hit a referee. I was suspended because of political reasons. The AIBA president at that time was from Turkey. His opponents wanted to get rid of him and they chose me as sort of sacrificial lamb. Because of the suspension I couldn’t go to the world championships so I decided to turn pro.

Anson Wainwright – What do you enjoy doing when your not Boxing? What are your hobbies and Interests?

Selcuk Aydin – The most important thing to me is my family and my friends back home in Trabzon. After my fights I love to go home and just enjoy myself. When I’m at training camp – in Germany, the USA or wherever – I keep in touch with them through the internet. I think it’s great that we live in a time where we have the chance to communicate with people from all over the world so easily.

Anson Wainwright – What fighters did you like growing up and what fighters do you enjoy watching today?

Selcuk Aydin – As I said before I always looked up to the people who were close to me. I didn’t want any so called ‘big fights’ back home in Turkey. I saw the guys in our gym and later the guys in the Turkish national team and did my best to get to and above their level. One fighter who I respect and looked up to for most of my amateur career was two-time Olympic gold medallist Mario Kindelan from Cuba. He is a special boxer.

Anson Wainwright – What did you think of Manny Pacquiao’s performance against Antonio Margarito? How do you see a fight going between him and Floyd Mayweather?

Selcuk Aydin – I respect Pacquiao for his performances and the way he dominates his opponents. He is not the technically best boxer I have ever seen but he is very focused, very disciplined, hard working and a true fighter. He takes the fight to his opponents which is why he dominates them and wins. You have to give him props for how determined he is and for his professional attitude. I don’t know how a fight between him and Mayweather would end but I don’t care about the whole discussion either. Mayweather doesn’t seem to be interested in fighting Pacquaio because he’s afraid of losing. I would fight Pacquaio immediately if I got the chance but I know that I have to prove myself against top opponents before I can even think about a big fight like that. That’s why I want to take on Andre Berto first. By the way, I honestly think Berto shouldn’t call out Pacquiao before he has fought any notable opponent. I know that I am not considered a big name in the USA. But I would certainly give Berto a hell of a fight. An if he wants a shot at Pacquiao he should fight and beat me first. On the other hand, when I beat him and one or two other big names in the USA I might be ready to take on Pacquiao myself. I could not say how a fight between me and him would end. I know that even Selcuk Aydin is capable of losing a fight – as is Manny Pacquiao. The one thing that I can promise is that I would not surrender to anybody, I will accept every fight and give every opponent the fight of their lifetimes.

Anson Wainwright – Finally do you have a message for your fans?

Selcuk Aydin – All you boxing fans out there, watch out for Selcuk Aydin. 2011 will be my year. I lost some focus last year because I didn’t get the big fight I wanted. Now I remember how my father told me if I want to do something I should do it right. I am ready and willing to sacrifice and I will show the world what Selcuk Aydin is all about. I also want to thank all my friends and fans back home in Turkey as well as in Germany where I have always been welcomed very warmly and treated nicely by everybody. I will beat Berto, bring his green and gold world championship belt home to Turkey and dedicated it to all the people who supported me over the years.

Thanks for your time and good luck with your upcoming fight.

Anson Wainwright
15rounds.com

Midweek thoughts- Seems like the Top Rank show in Anaheim “In Harm’s Way” went down a storm. Nonito Donaire was stunning demolishing teek tough Wladimir Sidorenko. Soto-Antillon went to war with each other, hopefully Brandon Rios gets in on the act, any combination of those guys is can’t miss…Just thinking wouldn’t it be fun to see those three fight Robert Guerrero & Michael Katsidis. Those are the sorts of fights that would bring a load of interest to the Lightweight division and be great on Showtime or HBO After Dark. Just another reason to want to see Top Rank & Golden Boy end there feud…Ricky Burns defended his title successfully, he later admitted he felt something was missing. Sometimes you have to live by the old adage “Win and look good next time”…I like Amir Khan to win and win in a big way Saturday, can’t help wondering what happens if Maidana lands a bomb though… Word is WBO World Champion Juergen Braehmer and WBA Beibut Shumenov will meet in a Light Heavyweight World Championship Unification showdown January 8, 2011 at the Ice Mansion in Shymkent, Kazakhstan.

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