Harris believes win over Paez Jr. puts him back in the mix

In this interview, welterweight Vivian Harris (32-9-2, 19 KOs) discusses his recent majority decision victory over Jorge Paez, Jr. (37-5-1, 22 KOs). Harris defeated Paez last weekend in Mexico. Now on a three-fight winning streak, Harris also talks about how he has turned his career around after a long period without a victory in the ring.

DL: Tell me a little about your win over Jorge Paez, Jr., who is 37-5-1 What happened in the ring from your perspective?

VH: I kept the fight in my control and made sure he didn’t do the things he likes to do. Once I took that away from him, the fight was mine. I watched his tapes. I watched a fight he had on Youtube and studied that the week and a half before the fight. I was supposed to fight in London, but it got cancelled. When I came back home, I didn’t stop training. I was running and sparring and when they gave me this fight, I just studied him and made adjustments. I’ve been training since January and never stopped.

DL: That’s why in boxing you have to stay in shape, because you never know when the next opportunity will come.

VH: Exactly. That’s what me and my wife said we were going to do. We knew they would call us at short notice, so we stayed ready. Once you’re in condition, you can adjust to anything.

DL: You’ve now won your last three fights. Before that you had not won a fight since 2008 [Harris was 0-6-1 with one noc ontest over that span]. How were you able to pull yourself out of that slump and regain some momentum in your career?

VH: I always had momentum. If I didn’t have that, I never would have gone in there and fought. The fights I had were on short notice. I have a family I have to take care of, so I took the fights. I didn’t have a lot of time to prepare, but I took them. I wasn’t training like I should, but if you do train too hard, you can over train. That’s what I was worried about with this last fight. I had been training so hard that I got fatigued, so I stayed out of the gym for two days. I didn’t run or do anything. When I came back, I felt much better. I just thank God I didn’t over train for this fight.

DL: During the time when you were on a losing streak, what were your thoughts about yourself as a fighter? How were you able to maintain any belief in yourself?

VH: I felt great. I just prayed to God that he would restore my career. What you have to understand is that when you have the support of your family, your wife and your kids, you don’t care what outsiders think. That’s what I have. I made some flaws, but I knew I could correct them and that’s what I did.

DL: So, now that you’re back in the winning column, what are your plans for the future? What do you have your sights set on?

VH: My goal is to keep doing what I do. Keep training and hopefully get back some of those big fights that we lost. I took fights at 147 at short notice because I couldn’t make 140. Other times I strained to make 140 because I didn’t have time to prepare.

DL: You turned pro in 1997 and you’ve been in the ring with the likes of Ivan Robinson, Oktay Urkal, Stevie Johnston, Juan Lazcano, Lucas Matthysse, Victor Ortiz, Lucas Matthysse… That’s pretty amazing!

VH: Thank you! Glory to God!

DL: You spent some time training under Emanuel Steward. What stands out in your mind about that experience?

VH: He gave me confidence. He let me know who I was. He made me believe that I was a good boxer and I have the style to be the kind of champion I want to become. When he passed, I read an article of him saying that I was one of his favorite boxers to watch. He loved the way I boxed and it really touched me. When I read things like that, I couldn’t give up. I went back to the drawing board and got back to watching fighters like “Sugar” Ray Robinson. I got back that feeling and that love for boxing. It helps our kids today to know that in life you don’t give up. You keep going forward.

DL: Well, I wish you all the best as you continue with your career. Is there anything you would like to say in closing?

VH: I just want to thank all the fans who don’t believe in giving up. Let’s let the people who do believe in giving up to not give up. In life. Keep pressing forward to get success. Just keep moving forward.