Isaac Chamberlain discusses recent surgery, next fight, and plans to challenge WBC cruiser champ Makabu

Interview with cruiserweight Isaac Chamberlain ahead of next fight

After enduring an agonising annum on the sidelines, Brixton cruiser bruiser Isaac Chamberlain (12-1, 6KOs) returns to duty on Friday 10th September at the Coventry Skydome Arena, live and free on Channel 5, armed with a new power tool in his already expansive kit box.

The 27-year-old former Southern Area champion has been recuperating from surgery to enhance his right shoulder which had severely restricted both the range and wrecking capacity of his rear hand.

Here, the Brixton boxer catches up with GBN on a number of recent topics:

 

Was the surgery successful?

‘There’s a new weapon in the arsenal! ‘Truthfully, I’ve not been able to throw my right hand properly since the Wadi Camacho war (wpts 10, September 2016) but the surgery last November has plugged a gap. Once I fully sort out the accuracy and timing, it’s going to be lethal!’

 

Who are you now training with?

‘Though my Cuban coach (Rasel Hechadarria) had to temporarily stand down due to some issues, I’ve been working with Bobby Mills and Dan Fitzgerald, a protégé of Freddie Roach, at Brixton Recreation Centre. Like a casino, our gym has no clocks, so you can just focus solely about your business. Expect some seriously explosive punching.’

 

Your only conqueror, Lawrence Okolie, became WBO World champion this year, did you watch the fight?

‘I was actually very happy for Lawrence. ‘We’ve had beef but we’re two boys from underprivileged backgrounds so I’ve nothing but respect for him. It could be another massive fight in the future. First time we were both very young, very inexperienced, fighting before 12,000. The pressure and occasion got to us both and it was a crap fight. But if I didn’t go through it. I’d not be the person and athlete I am today.’ 

 

You're part of a thriving cruiserweight division right now with many opportunities available to you - whih path are you choosing to take next?

‘Mick (Hennessy, manager-promoter) has it all planned out for me. He’s one of the very best in boxing. I’ve full trust in him guiding my career. I’m just a pitbull on a leash!’ says 6ft 2in Chamberlain. 

‘I’ve no need to call people out because I’ve great supporters who’ll turn up no matter who I fight. Besides, I don’t want to give any of the others energy by calling their names! 

‘But I believe my resolve in and out of the ring will eventually see me rise above the others. I won’t stop because of everything I’ve been through. I adapt in training, in organisation, and in lifestyle. No crap food. Then, come those hard 11th and 12th rounds, I’ll storm through. When trainers warn their fighters: ‘There’s someone out there putting it in, if you’re not.’ That someone is me!

‘‘The green WBC belt has always been my childhood dream and I prepare like I’m a world champion already. Mick’s the master of manoeuvre. Before my surgery, he had a WBC belt lined up for me; International, Silver, interim, something like that.

‘My target is (WBC king) Ilunga Makabu. That fight makes most sense. We both have heritage in the Congo and already people talk about us over there. It’s very exciting, another potential ‘Rumble in the Jungle’. It’ll happen whenever God thinks it’s right.’ 

 

How do you see a fight with Makabu going?

‘It certainly wouldn’t be easy. Every champion is strong in their own way from the route they’ve had to take but I’d be confident.’ 

 

What's next for you?

‘Everything has been on standstill but I’m not the only person going through it. There’s people in wheelchairs or with incurable diseases so how can I complain? I’ve just been working on my graft and craft.  I know it will pay off. Results will come.

‘Mick has three more shows this year and I intend to be on all of them. By early next year, I’ll be battle-hardened, shoulder fully tested.’

 

 

Any news on your opponent for September 10 yet?

‘I’ve no idea of the opponent yet but fans can expect to see world class. Isaac’s back. Maybe some classy boxing but, once I see his legs twitch, there’ll be an assassination. No emotion!’ 

 

Eggington vs Jkitou

Sam Eggington’s WBC Silver Middleweight title defence against unbeaten French star Bilel Jkitou headlines an action packed card Hennessy All-Stars featuring some of the stars from the promoter’s stable including big-hitting Brixton star Isaac Chamberlain; Irish KO king Stevie McKenna faces France's Moussa Gary; Birmingham’s Former British Light-Heavyweight Champion Shakan Pitters; Coventry’s dynamite-punching middleweight sensation River Wilson-Bent takes on Bosnian hardman Sladjan Janjanin in a 10-round international contest, Birmingham welterweight ace Kaisee Benjamin; Birmingham’s flash and brash Love Island and super-middleweight star Idris Virgo takes on the Czech Republic's Michal Ryba; red-hot Irish super-welterweight talent Brett McGinty; Brighton heavyweight destroyer Tommy Welch and the silky skilled Sevenoaks prospect Michael Hennessy Jr.

Tickets are available to purchase now from only £40* from the Coventry Skydome Arena website https://iceaccount.co.uk/championship-boxing

HÖRFA are proud sponsors of Global Boxing News