Boxingtalk sat down with former contender star “K9” Cornelius Bundrage and got his thoughts on fighting former IBF light middleweight champion, Kassim Ouma.  This fight is not a done deal, but it is strongly in the works, and is scheduled to take place on March, 28th, 2008.


BT – What's the good word K9?

CB – What's happening, you doing alright?

BT – Doing great, talk about this possible fight with you and Kassim Ouma.

CB – It's close to being a done deal, nothing is guaranteed because I can get hurt, he can get hurt, anything can happen.  But as far as right now, it's looking really good.

BT – Talk about that match up, how do you match up against him?

CB – I haven't really studied it yet because it's a couple months away, and I am not used to having a full training camp for a fight.  I am excited that I am able to get the time to prepare for a fight.  My last fight I only had 3 weeks, and I had to lose 35 lbs to get ready for that fight.  I wasn't as strong for that fight as I will be for this fight coming up.

BT – Give yourself an assessment on how you have done since the contender show ended.

CB – My main thing is to know that I have fights coming up.  I grade myself a 75 percent, I would have given myself a 100 percent if I would have beaten Joel Julio.  People are calling me out because I lost that fight.

BT – Looking back, would you still take that fight with Joel Julio being you had to drop that much weight?

CB – It's done, but I would have taken it again.  I knew it was a great opportunity, but the guy didn't want to fight me, then he did, one minute he took the fight, then he didn't want it.  I was eating pizza when Jeff Wald called me and told me the fight was on.  I had to put the pizza down, and run like Forrest Gump (laughs).  I was too weak for that fight, I mean I think that I am the only person to lose 35 lbs in three weeks, and then fight 8 rounds with a number 2 guy in the world.  I learned a lot from that fight, so it wasn't a loss for me.

BT – This is a big fight for you against Kassim Ouma.  Talk about how important this fight is for you.

CB – He's a former champion that went the distance with Jermain Taylor.  A win over Ouma would be huge for my career.  People don't take the contender fighters serious.  I was 21 and 0 as a pro before I was even on the contender.  I was boxing for many years before I appeared on the contender.  I believe that after this fight with Ouma they will respect me, and they will tell people that I am the real deal.

BT – Do you put a lot of weight on your shoulders representing the contender family of fighters?

CB – At the end of the day if you win, they love you, if you lose, they don't care about you.  I want my son to look at me like a winner, not a loser.  It's a lot of weight on my shoulders, and this could be my last big fight, so I have to take full advantage of it.

BT – Was your experience on the contender a good one for you?

CB – It was harder than people think.  It was real strict, we couldn't watch television, and we could only talk to our wife's, and only for like 15 minutes every other day.  After I came home I was ready to reap the benefits, and eat, and watch television.  I couldn't do my normal workouts either because you would be interrupted by doing interviews, because we were making a reality show.  When I came home and fought Norberto Bravo you could see the difference because I had my normal trainers to work with for that fight, you could really see the difference.

BT – What was the experience like working with the great Ray Leonard?

CB – That was amazing, he's a great guy.  Ray has a wonderful wife, a beautiful house, he's living it up, he really likes to take care of people.  Ray is a real humble, cool guy.

BT – What was the highlight experience on the contender, and what was the lowest point?

CB – The high was when I found out that I was going to be on the show.  I took that charm and put it into my bag and I couldn't wake up in the morning to see if it was real.  I was actually picked on the first season but I had to turn it down because I was in a contract with someone else.  The low part was when I got robbed and couldn't fight for the contender championship.  Another high for me was being able to be on the show for the entire time. 

BT – The high for me was when Michael Clark was making fun of you when you were sparring in the ring, and then you ended up dropping him in the 5th round, and going on to the victory.

CB – Yea man, and you know what?, I didn't know he was picking on me when I was in the ring.  I was concentrating on what was going on in the ring.  When I watched the show, I was like, 'hey this guy is making fun of me.'    Another high for me was when they told me that my wife wasn't going to be able to come to my fight, then she surprised me and showed up.  I also was blessed to be able to reach out to Andre in New York.  That guy really needed me, and I was able to share the Lord with him.  I wish I could have been on the first episode to help out that other guy (Najai Turpin).  Andre needed the Lord man, and I didn't do that stuff for no television.

BT – How busy do you want to be in 2008?

CB – I would like to fight 5 or 6 times this year, and out of the 5 or 6 to win 5 or 6.  Expect to see big things from me in 2008.  I'm just a regular guy, and I have to continue to prove myself.  I am not a champion yet, so I have to be ready on short notice to be able to go on short notice.  I was so caught up doing interviews, and being a special guest, and being invited all over the place while on the contender, that I wasn't preparing myself like I should.  Now I am working hard, because like I said, I have to be ready on short notice.

BT – Do you have any closing thoughts for your fans, and the Boxingtalker's?

CB –  I want first thank God first and foremost for blessing me, and giving me the opportunities that he has.  Thanks to my fans for all of their support.  Big ups to all of my people that route for me.  I expect to win this fight against Kassim Ouma!

M

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