Originally published on August 31, 2004

GL: How do you feel about headlining in NYC?

Sechew Powell: "I feel good and after my last fight my people have been so good to me. They know I had a bad night in my last fight and they know what I'm capable of, that's why they brought me right back on top and that shows me that's they're on the same page as me. And that has me just thrilled. I'm looking to fighting in New York and I want everyone to come out. If you love boxing, don't miss this fight. This is going to be the best show in the city."

GL: What do you know about George Armenta?

SP: "I know him pretty well. I beat him once in the amateurs. He's a solid guy though, very strong and very aggressive. To me he seems a little slow for the junior middleweight division, but he's still strong and effective so I'm expecting a good fight from him, he's coming off a nice win on Shobox and he's a good fighter. But I'm great and that's the difference."

GL: Your last performance wasn't so great. It was the worst anyone has ever seen you look. After the fight you change trainers, how much of that move was based on your performance? Why the sudden change?

SP: "The changing trainers didn't have anything to do with the fight in particular. It had to do with the management of the corner while I was in the fight. I didn't really like a lot of what was coming from the corner, and I didn't really like the instruction of lack thereof that was coming from the corner. I think that came from a lack of experience,  I still think he's a good trainer, but he has a little bit of work to do and at this stage in my career I'm not in a position where I could help somebody work on their game. I need somebody who knows their game and knows how to take it to the next level. That's what the change in trainers was about. It didn't really have much to do about anything else. Besides the fact that the corner was in shambles, he's a good guy...I just had to make this change for the benefit of my career."

GL: I spoke with your father recently. He feels that you were less than stellar against Brewer because you were dominating everyone placed in front of you and that you were just going through the motions while preparing for Brewer. Was that the case?

SP: "Honestly, that was not a good night. It was like 100 degrees in the ring at night, but my momentum was destroyed when I was in the ring ready to go when they had a problem with the lights. They stuck me to the side for 25 minutes and told me to come back to the ring, but the problem still wasn't fixed so then I went to the side for another 25 minutes. People can say it's not big deal or whatever, but let it happen to you, where you so focused at taking care of business and then you have to wait for an hour. It was just a bad night for me."

GL: Do you look at your last fight as a wake up call?

SP: "I don't look at that fight as a wake-up call because I wasn't sleeping. It was a learning experience, one that I needed but it wasn't a wake-up call. I had never been in there with a stiff guy like Grady and he did everything he said he would do and what some people thought he would do. I won the fight going away, but he put up a good fight. During training, I was unable to get any solid rounds behind till the fight came. I hadn't heard round five and six in a long time. But that's what I needed and I still feel I need some more before I start moving into the top ten or anywhere else."

GL: Do you feel that a rematch with Brewer is necessary to eliminate any doubt about the first fight?

SP: "Necessary? No. Credible, yes. I won the fight hands down. A draw would have made it necessary. Grady Brewer is not the type of person who deserves a rematch, but will he get one? Yeah, he probably will get one, because I want to clean the slate up, first for me personally, and then for all of my fans out there who know what kind of fighter I am. Does he deserve a rematch? No. But I feel he's going to get one because that's the kind of cat I am."

GL: Will this fight with Armenta go the distance?

SP: "I can't call it, but I will tell you I'm going to be looking to end the fight with any opportunity that I get. If I get an opportunity he won't make it. If I get an opportunity in the fifth he's not going to make it. Mentally, I'm coming to win and I can tell you that I will win."

GL: Is there anything you'd like to say in closing?

SP: "Everybody in New York City and the tri-state area, come out to The Hammerstein Ballroom on September 30, it's going to be a great show and it's going to be a wonderful night of boxing. Don's miss it, come on down....it's going to be a big show and you're going to see a lot of special effects."

 

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