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Barrett
Climbing Back up the Ladder!
"Monte is Monte; I'm not "Two Gunz" no more. My name alone holds
enough weight."
--Monte Barrett on shedding his nickname
When you're a little small for a heavyweight, you better be tough.
The fact that 6'3 Monte Barrett, 26-2 (15), has remained a top
contender in a division ruled by near 7 footers says a lot about
him. "I'm a natural fighter. I bring a mix of power and skill to
the table and that's why I can still compete with these giants."
Almost two years have gone by since the New Yorker lost by
disappointing TKO against Wladimir Klitschko. In that time he says
he has found a steady trainer in Tommy Parks, and stabilized the
things in his career that he feels weren't right. Having fought
his way back into consideration as an opponent for another big
fight, Barrett says it'll be a different story this time.
The little heavyweight has plans on winning it big.
You've said that having a steady trainer on a daily basis has
made quite a difference, tell me about the change it made.
I've been training with Tommy Parks at the Red Brick Gym in
Newark, New Jersey. I still work with Eddie (Mustapha Muhammad),
but Eddie only comes a week or two before the fight. I work with
Mr. Parks all the time. When you don't have a foundation you can't
go anywhere, and I was training back and forth all the time from
the Bronx, to Queens. I didn't have one set trainer. Eddie was
working with me, but he's in Vegas and would only come in just
before a fight. I didn't feel like I was getting ready properly
for fights, so my manager Nick Garone introduced me to Mr. Parks.
I always respected him and liked what I saw of him. When I went
there, he took me back to old school. We went back to the basics
you know? I've got a lot of respect for him as a trainer. I want
to hear everything he has to say.
What sort of improvements have you noticed in yourself?
I keep my hands up (laughs). I'm sitting down on my punches
more and I have learned how to turn my punches and not do so much
dancing. Monte is Monte; I'm not "Two Gunz" no more. My name alone
holds enough weight. I'm always going to be the same person, I 'm
just improving on what I was born with and what I learned before I
got a steady trainer to work with me. I've got five more years of
boxing, so I've got time for the things I need to work on.
Now that Fres Oquendo has stepped back up to fight David Tua,
who will you be looking for as your next opponent (Barrett was
rumored to be filling in until the sudden recovery of Oquendo)?
Right now I want to get two good wins under my belt. ESPN
level fights, to get some good wins and then I think I'm ready for
anybody. I've been there, so there's not too much I have left to
do to get ready. Briggs, Tua, Ruiz, Holyfield; anybody in the top
ten you name and I'll fight them.
How do you think you would have done against Tua?
That fight was made for me. I'm between Chris Byrd and Ike
Ibeabuchi because I've got power like Ike and I got the boxing
skills like Chris. I have always said to put me in with Tua
because I know I can beat him. I've wanted to fight him since I
beat Jimmy Thunder. Give me the time to get ready and I'll be the
first to knock Tua out. He was made for my style.
Being a smaller heavyweight, what has allowed you to remain a
contender in the division of giants?
I love the competition. I love to be competitive. My instincts
are that I'm a survivor. Boxing is a form of life in a different
fashion, if you can survive like I did on the streets, you can
survive in the ring. Being a fighter is an instinct you have in
life. Either you have it or you don't. I met Teddy Atlas in 94
when he was training with Shannon Brigs. He said that my life
before boxing is what prepared me for the pressure of the ring.
That's why I don't get nervous or scared. Something in my life
gave me the competitive drive I have.
Why do you take fights no one else wants? Are you fearless?
I think everybody goes through doubts, can they win or lose,
how will they look? When I'm living right and got my stuff
together, I don't fear anything. With God on my side who can I
fear? I put it behind me and use it as motivation. I use my doubt
and fear as my motivation. I'm ready to rumble with anybody. You
can ask Fred (formerly) from America Presents. I never turn down a
fight. I've been fighting good opposition since I turned pro and
even when I was an amateur.
Where do you see yourself in the heavyweight mix at this point
in your career?
As far as position in the boxing game, I'm in a good position.
I should be in line for another big fight soon and that's the one
I'm going to win. I think that in my career I've been short
changed a little because I'm not a big brute heavyweight. I lost
one fight with Klitschko. Whitaker I didn't lose. The Klitschko
fight put a setback on me as far as the boxing community would
say.
I don't think I'm a name yet that everybody knows. I don't believe
the hype on myself, so I'm pretty much complacent. As far as
politics in boxing, that's why I have good management. My manager
Nick Garone steps up to the plate for me. I feel good, but I want
to be more active. That's what I lack. All articles about me say
that Monte Barrett isn't active enough but he has the tools.
Now that it's over, can you assess your performance against
Wladimir Klitschko?
I felt pretty good. I prepared myself well. If I was bs-ing it
would have bothered me more. I didn't very train hard for the
Lance Whitaker fight and it really bothered me after, but this
fight, I trained hard. I just knew things weren't going to go very
good over there. I got there a few days before the fight and I
really didn't have time to adjust to the time difference. I should
have gone out and boxed him, but I tried to go right after him and
it didn't work. It backfired on me. I should have known when I
lost my passport that everthing was going to go wrong. It rained
the whole time we were there. I was supposed to go two weeks
before the fight and I ended up leaving about five days before.
Klitschko kept pulling out trying to fight Chris Byrd, but HBO
made him fight me first.
Tell me about your children, any of them going to be boxers?
I don't think so. I have three daughters, Teyana (8), Ashanti
(5), and Shai (3). Teyana is an athlete just like me. Our
birthdays are a day apart. She plays basketball, baseball, she
runs track. Anything daddy does she wants to do it. She knows all
about boxing. One time she told a reporter, my daddy could have
done better if he would have used a right uppercut. She's been
crawling on the mat since she was one year old, so she knows
boxing pretty good.
You've said you're only going to box for five more years, what
will you be doing after boxing?
I want to be a sports commentator. I'm a sports fanatic. I'm good
looking, well educated; I've got charisma. I'd be excellent at
broadcasting in any sport. Baseball will always be my first love,
but I played football and basketball in highschool too. I was all
city and all Queens. I also ran track in highschool and I did
gymnastics at the Boy's club. That's why I can do flips and stuff
even though I'm so big. I've always been very athletic.
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