Q&A: Zsolt Erdei!

WBO light heavyweight champion Zsolt Erdei will make the next defense of his title against former world champion Mehdi Sahnoune headlining Saturday's big Universum Box-Promotion card at Color Line Arena in Hamburg. The 31-year-old Erdei, a former world champion in the amateurs, is undefeated as a pro with a record of 22-0 and 13 knockouts. He has made three successful defenses since seizing the WBO belt from Julio Gonzalez in January 2004. He spoke about what is expected to be his toughest defense yet.

How was your preparation?
I’ve been training since the beginning of April. I have prepared for Sahnoune with my trainer Fritz Sdunek for 8 weeks. I had two training sessions a day in Hamburg. I had good sparring partners. My physical preparation was very important for me. There is no problem with my stamina. I’m in good condition and form. I’m very excited because of the fight.

What about your weight?
Fortunately I have never had any problem with my weight. Presently I’am about 175 lbs.

Is it important for you that your fight is the main event of the night?
Yes, it’s very important for me because it’s great to fight on the ZDF (German Television) live for a Hungarian fighter. I have already fought in the main event on the occasion of my first fight against [Hugo] Garay in Germany. But now I feel I get more attention. I’m glad that the leaders of Universum Box Promotion appreciate and trust me. I try to do my best to thank them.

What do you know about Sahnoune?
I think he is a really tough opponent. He was a world champion who deserved the opportunity of fighting for my belt. It shows everything in his record of 31 wins with 27 KOs and only one loss. We analyzed three fights of his on video. He’s a power puncher but he seems to be limited a little bit. We will pay attention to his hooks.

Did you meet an opponent earlier whose style is similar to Sahnoune’s?
No. Not really.

You have better speed and boxing skills then Sahnoune but is there anything else in which he is better than you?
I feel there is nothing in which he would be better than me. I think his punching power is also not better. He has more knockouts because our style is different.

What do you expect in the fight?
I expect a tough fight. I don’t underestimate my opponent. Probably Sahnoune will come ahead and try to pressure for me for the first moments of the fight. My jab will be the key to this fight. He is a brawler and I’m a real boxer. He might think that his boxing skill is not good enough to win the fight on the scorecards. So he probably will seek a KO.

What do you want to do if you defeat him?
I don’t think anything in advance. I’m focused only on Sahnoune. If I defeat him I will think about my future.

Allegedly IBF champ Clinton Woods and WBA champ Fabrice Tiozzo are interested in a unified title fight with you. What do you think about that?
I'm interested in the big fights. I dream a lot about the unification of the light heavyweight belts. If Tiozzo and Woods want to fight against me, it will be no fault of mine. But what is the most important thing for me that is to defend my title.

How many fights do you plan this year?
I will probably have one more fight.