One-on-One with Grant Elvis Phillips

Grant Elvis Phillips, manager of IBF welterweight mandatory Cosme Rivera told Boxingtalk, "we're very excited to finally be getting this opportunity for Chino. Chino is Cosme's nickname because of his Chinese looking eyes, but like I was saying, we're very excited.  Obviously Cosme has been blazing a trail lately, he's been winning a lot of fights that he wasn't supposed to win. He's upset a lot of good fighters and he's won his last six in a row. We're not here for nothing, we're not with Don King and there's no monkey business going on about how we got the shot. This is a legit challenge to Zab's title."  Rivera is #12 in the Boxingtalk welterweight ratings.

GL: Word is that Judah will defend against Cosme on the Trinidad-Wright undercard?

GEP: "That's just talk right now, but nothing has been negotiated or signed. That's something that will be discussed in the coming days with myself, Nick Ratteni and Jimmy Montoya of Guilty Boxing. Everybody has to agree to agree before any announcement is made."

GL: How pleased are you that Zab is the undisputed champ and he's not looking to vacate the IBF title just because Cosme isn't too well known?

GEP: "Undisputed means undisputed. When you're undisputed all roads lead through you, and I think it's a very smart move on Zab's part. If he gives up the title he's no longer the undisputed champion and maybe Cosme fights De La Hoya for the vacant title."

GL: Based on some of my previous convo's with you, I know that you're confident Cosme will beat Judah...

GEP: (cutting in) "We're very confident. This guy didn't have any easy road to get there. He's from the same part of Mexico that Julio Cesar Chavez and Jose Luis Ramirez are from, those guys are tough dudes and Cosme's right there witht those guys. A lot of people haven't seen him fight yet, but this kid is something special."

GL: Like you said, a lot of people don't know anything about Cosme. Give us a rundown on what we should expect from him if he does in fact face Judah on the Trinidad-Wright undercard?

GEP: "You could expect to see a boxer puncher with a lot of power. The guy doesn't have a physically imposing frame, but he's got the face of a killer and he fights like one. He's not one of those stupid swinging for the fences type guy. He's a lot better than that."

GL: How did he get seven losses then?

GEP: "He got seven losses by not being with Jimmy Montoya and having Jimmy Montoya take care of him. But once Jimmy took over his whole life and whole career turned around. We'd put him in there with anybody, he's put together a great string of performances, he dominated James Hare and he sent Hercules Kyvelos to the hospital."


GL: Has he ever been stopped or knocked down?

GEP: "Nope and he's tough as nails with real welterweight power."

GL: Although Spinks was the undisputed champion, he wasn't a puncher at all. Do you think Cosme's welterweight power will be too much for Zab?

GEP: "I personally don't think that Zab is a legit welterweight. And we're looking forward to proving it on May 14. I respect Zab, I like Zab, I like his father, I like Daniel and I'm cool with all of then, but I just don't believe that he's a true welterweight. And I also believe that had Cory Spinks not struggled as much as he did to make that weight, which I was aware of the whole time, I think Cory would have won a unanimous decision the second time around as well. Cory was dead in there and I still thought he was winning the fight going into that last round."

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