Speaker 1: Well, it is my pleasure, but welcome back to our
podcast the former light heavyweight champion Dimitri Devo. Dmitri, thank
you very much for being back on the show with us.
Speaker 2: Last time we.
Speaker 1: Spoke, we were going into a huge fight for the
undisputed title with Arthur Better Viev didn't go your way.
Now you're getting ready for the rematch, so we're here
to talk about it. That fight will take place February
twenty second. It is the main event of a massive
read season card, a tremendous card in Riad, Saudi Arabia.
I know you're in Turkey now training for the fight, so, Dmitri,
thank you very much for joining me. How's everything going
getting ready for the rematch?
Speaker 3: Thank you. Everything is going well. I'm in the good mood.
We have good trainings and everything as well.
Speaker 1: So before we get to the rematch, I want to
just talk a little bit about the first fight that
took place this past October. Great matchup one versus two
for the undisputed championship. There hadn't been an undisputed champ
in twenty five years since Roy Jones, and it was
a really close fight, Dmitri. He ended up winning a
majority decision, and I just wanted to know if you
could describe to me just your your just your overall
disappointment and not getting your hand raised that night.
Speaker 3: You know, of course I was disappointed that I didn't win.
It was my first lose, but generally I didn't like
myself because I didn't do well. You know, if I
look at myself, I could be better, but I wasn't,
you know, And this is enough for me. I don't
want to discuss something more. I just didn't like myself
that night. It was some good moments, but it could
be more. I could do more. And now I had
to be focused on my second sight and I have
to do much more. I have to create much more
good moments.
Speaker 2: How hard was it to kind of get over that? Did?
Speaker 1: It takes a couple of days, a couple of weeks.
Are are you still dealing with it.
Speaker 3: Not? You know, in the beginning, I was like, Okay,
this is my this is my life. I have to
deal with this. Then I was okay. Then some some
days I wasn't happy that I'm not a champion anymore,
but not not too much. Thanks God, I didn't injure it.
I didn't break my hand or something else. You know,
I got experience and I got pretty much. It was fine.
Speaker 1: So the fighter scores were one sixteen to one twelve,
one fifteen to one thirteen in better B's favor. The
other judge had it one fourteen to one fourteen, which,
being honest, D meet you. That's how I scored the
fighter draw. But I wonder do you view it as
was the result controversial or was it just a really
close fight that baby could have gotten either way and
he just happened to be the guy that got it
that night.
Speaker 2: M seen.
Speaker 3: In a boot disky boy. It was just it was
a very close fight. And yeah, maybe he was more
luck of more lucky in that day that his trial
was much more better for judges, but it doesn't matter.
He I didn't count rounds even when I was watching
the fight, but my feelings was that, yeah I could
I could do more.
Speaker 1: So you've got so you've gone back and looked at
the fight, but you've not actually scored it. I was
gonna ask you, like, how did you score the fight?
Speaker 3: No? No, no, I didn't. I didn't score it at all.
I'm usually not scoring fights when i'm watching, even if
somebody's fighting you know, I don't know how to explain.
I'm just watching and I'm trying to find some moments,
you know, which is nice, you know, some combinations like
and I'm enjoying it, or I don't enjoy some combinations,
or I can see some mistakes or some good moments.
Just I'm watching fights like this.
Speaker 1: So you said a few times you needed that you
needed to do more, and I and I you know,
I thought you fought a hell of a fight.
Speaker 2: I thought that he fought a very good fight.
Speaker 1: Also, so when you say you needed to do more,
I wonder if you could be a little more specific
about the kinds of things you need to do more.
Speaker 3: I need to I need to target. Yeah, hope, I
said bush and more. I need to be more precise.
I don't want to say more direct things, but generally,
I just need to do more to everybody not questioning
who's the winner of this fight. I want to I
want to be like, oh, this fight is finished, and
even the people could turn off the TV because they
know who win this fight.
Speaker 1: You know, going into the bout, Dimitri, he was the
only champion in boxing with a perfect knockout record. You know,
were you at least proud to have stopped the great
knockout record that this man had.
Speaker 2: Uh and how was it? How was his power?
Speaker 3: I'm not proud because I should win this fight. You know.
I came not to to lose the fight. I came
to win this fight. I had only this in my head. Uh.
Speaker 2: How was his power?
Speaker 3: He's very strong, Yeah, his his natural power is or
really he's strong. He's like his feist, like his fist.
Speaker 2: Uh, very heavy, best puncher you've been hit by in
your career?
Speaker 3: Uh uh heavy pint, the best heavy pine ser Yeah.
Speaker 1: So when the fight was over, Turkey alshk from Saudi Arabia,
of course he oversees all the real season events, said
to some reporters that he thought that you were the
winner by two rounds, that you should have had your
hand raised, and that he wanted to do the rematch.
And so what did it mean to you in that
moment to have the support from from him, to know
that he probably.
Speaker 3: It means a lot. It means that I gonna have
another chance, you know. And I appreciate so much to
Kalouse for this move, for his for what he's doing,
and I think even both kingsens wants to see another fight.
Speaker 2: Yeah, for sure.
Speaker 1: Uh so when when I know right after the fight,
you know, your team petitioned the organizations to make sure
that they would order a rematch, because at that moment
it wasn't one hundred percent necessarily that you would get
the rematch right away. Obviously that did happen because Arthur
was fine to fight you again. He said, no problem.
If that's what Turkey wanted, he would have he would
give you another fight. But the organizations, well, they didn't
have to go through the process to order the match.
As it turns out, all four belts are going to
be a stake again. So I wonder, like, how much
is it meaning to you not only to get the
rematch to try to avenge the loss, but also have
all the belts at stake to live the dream if
you can win to be undisputed.
Speaker 3: Yeah, it's also appreciate to all organizations that they support
this decision about very much. And it was really it
was really hard work for my team. I mean for
my manager Vadim, he was he was dealing with this
a lot. I wasn't interfering this stuff because it's not
my job. My job as being the gym. But all
of this Wajim took, Calo Shay promoter, Eddie Hearn and
all organizations. They came to a conclusion, came to a conclusion,
and this is what we see today that we will
have very much with the.
Speaker 2: Right. So did I lose you?
Speaker 3: You you froze?
Speaker 2: There we go.
Speaker 1: Uh, let me just follow up with that, then, Dmitri,
what would it be? So I know how important we
talked in the interview before the first fight, how big
it would be to become undisputed champion. I wonder how
much more meaning would it have for you to not
only become the undisputed champion, but to do so by
avenging your only loss.
Speaker 3: To be honest, I didn't want to be to have ah.
I wanted to be zero in my loss. It just
it's destroyed my record, you know. And then now I
cannot I cannot change anything what happened. But it's I
just need to take revenge. Of course, it will be
good for myself, just for my personality that I can
take revenge now. And then also Bells of course sure knowledge.
Speaker 2: So he's he just turned forty years old in the
last few days.
Speaker 1: As we're doing this interview, and he's coming back to
fight you for the rematch only four months after your
first fight, so and he hasn't had that kind of
turnaround with two fights so close together. I looked at
his record. You have to go all the way back
to twenty fifteen, when he was just in the very
early stages of his professional career, and I thought to myself,
do you think that that might be an advantage for
you to force an older fighter back into the ring
so quickly where he maybe hasn't had the kind of
rest that he's used to after fights.
Speaker 3: I don't know. I don't think about this every time
when I'm in my camp. I think that my opponent
is the best upon in the best shape, doesn't matter
he's forty years old, fifty years old, he's young, or
I'm trying to think that he's in the best shape
and on the camp, I'm not trying to be to
be better than forty years old man, or to be
better than better before somebody else. I'm trying to be
better than me before. You know, I'm trying to think
about this and not taking this advantage and putting in
my head and training with this. No, I'm not thinking
about it.
Speaker 2: I understand that.
Speaker 1: And do you allow yourself at all to think about
you know, if you are the winner and you are
the underspeeded champion, what you would want to do after that?
Speaker 2: Perhaps a third fight.
Speaker 1: Maybe whoever emerges from bena Vide's and moral they're going
to be the mandatory challenger.
Speaker 3: To be honest, today I was running, uh, and I
was thinking about I always think that this is my
last fight. It's it's kind of on my last fight,
and I have to be focused on this fight. But
also I have some small plan behind behind it. Yeah
that after the fight, I will like like before, Yeah,
after the fight against like Malex do not, I will
have Arthur better Be fight I have, but I have
to be focused on the not but with better Be fight.
I didn't have this like future plan, you know. And
now I was running and I was thinking, what, what's what?
What I have to put something more fun? Maybe I
will move to wait? Why not?
Speaker 1: Oh, is that is that of interest to you? Because
there's good fighters in that white class. Opataia is involved
with the read season. He's up there fighting Saudi Arabia.
Speaker 3: Why not? I have to have some goal for the
future also because and the goal should be with belts.
Of course I want to have belts. I cannot go
down now because there is already busy everybody with with
belts like Canela Crawford, and they have their own business
and I'm not sure about what's going on there, and
maybe I have to think about cruisier weight, like just
tell ittle bit. I just have to put.
Speaker 2: This well, I mean the plan in motion.
Speaker 1: It seems as though with better with Opataia and with
Zerdo Ramirez both boxing on Saudi cards. I know Turkey
is looking to make that match for later in the year,
and whoever mergers from there, if you're the under spirit
of light heavyweight champion, there you go. Humongous fight, don't
you think?
Speaker 3: Yeah? Why why why not here? Why why not? If
another fighters could move, why I cannot? I can also,
But first of all, I have to think about very much.
Speaker 2: And of course, uh yes, no doubt about it.
Speaker 1: And uh like I said, if it's a great matchup
with you and Arthur, maybe you do a third fight
with him. Maybe maybe also it could be yeah, but
we're not going to know any of that until we
see what happens in the rematch it takes place on
February twenty seconds.
Speaker 2: I know you're getting ready for that.
Speaker 1: Like I said, I appreciate taking some time out of
a camp to talk to me today. Very much appreciate it.
I wish you're the best of luck in the fight, Dmitrie,
much appreciated.
Speaker 3: Thank you them, Thank you ribly. Dave