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Q&A With Derrick Samuels

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By ANWAR RICHARDSON | The Tampa Tribune

Published: March 26, 2009

St. Petersburg junior welterweight Derrick Samuels (16-4-1) will fight against Mexico's Roberto Valenzuela (48-45-2) during "Fight Night At The Pavilion" on Friday.

Valenzuela has lost lost six of his last 10 fights, but the bout is a step up in class for Samuels, 27, who hopes to land bigger fights later this year.

Here are 5 Questions With St. Petersburg Welterweight Derrick Samuels:

Q: Your opponent is step up for you, but he is 48-45-2 and lost six of his last 10 fights, so what type of challenge do you expect?
A: I think he poses more of a mental challenge to me than anything. I've never really be in with really tall guys and I'm really working hard on that. This is going to help me to get a lot of experience and the way I've been training, I don't think I'm going to have any trouble beating him. I think it will be more of a mental thing for me.

Q: He hasn't really lost by knockout, so is that something you're going for?
A: If the knockout happens, I'll definitely take it. I never do into a fight looking for a knockout. I will go in there to do my job and my job is to win. If the knockout comes, that's great, but I am going to win.

Q: What makes you so confident about that?
A: Because of the way I've trained and the way I've progressed. Despite my four loses, I think I am a fighter that has something a lot of fighters haven't seen. I possess a lot of special talent and I've been in there with some great fighters. You haven't seen anybody like me, you haven't seen anybody with my speed or ability. I've very confident, plus this training camp has been more than excellent.

Q: What is it going to take for you to get to this next level of your career?
A: I definitely have to continue winning. What's going to happen with me is these prospects are going to be looking for a tune up fight and they are going to call me because I'm a guy who has a decent record. They are going to call me thinking that I'm another win for them. When I get that golden opportunity I got to take it and whoop these fighters.

Q: What can fans who go out to your fight on Friday expect to see?
A: They should expect to see a lot of speed, a lot of talent, a lot of action. I don't back down and I know Roberto is not going to back down. I think it's going to be a great fight. I'm hoping for a great fight. I'm hoping he comes ready to go to war with me because I want to please the fans and that's what I train for. I train to go to war. I train to box and fight. I'm ready for whatever he brings. It's going to be action packed night.

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