Light heavyweight contender Sullivan Barrera talks about future opponents, potentially facing Kovalev and more

Undefeated light heavyweight contender Sullivan Barrera (15-0) is gunning for a title shot in 2015.  The highly decorated Cuban amateur is ranked in the top 15 of three of the major sanctioning bodies and plans on making a statement this year.

Question: Sullivan, you recently stated that you want to fight the top guys in your division but that you are having trouble getting them in the ring. Why do you think that is?

Barrera: Because of the recent changes in boxing, fights seem to be hard to attain. You got certain promoters that will not work with others and then you have certain fighters that will not risk their record to fight a fighter like me. So it’s definitely tough. We must give the fans a good show and we must give the fans the fights they want to see. That is really only for the better of boxing.

Question: We know that there are many good Cuban fighters but some of their styles aren’t really crowd pleasing. How would you describe your style?

Barrera: Not all Cuban fighters have the same style. I am well aware that the fans want a good show and that the fans want to see an aggressive fighter. With the help of my coach Abel Sanchez, he has helped me mix up my technical Cuban style boxing with aggressiveness. I would have to say I have the best of both worlds. I can be aggressive and I can box and I believe that’s the perfect formula to be CHAMPION.

Question: You are ranked #10 by the WBO, #13 by the IBF, and #15 by the WBA. How many more fights do you think you need before you are ready to fight for the title?

Barrera: With 300+ amateur fights I think I have the experience to fight for a title tomorrow (laughing) I’m 15-0 and I’m willing to face anyone, Like I said earlier, it’s tough for me to get fights because no one is willing to risk their “record” to fight me. Ideally I would like to fight a top 10 fighter and after that fight for a title.

Question: Sergey Kovalev is obviously the champion of all of the organizations that you are highly ranked in. How would you beat a guy who is running through the division the way he is?

Barrera: Kovalev is a guy you must respect for what he has done in his career so far. To worry about Kovalev now does me no good. We will assess every fight as they come and when the time comes to fight Kovalev if he is still champion at that time, then we work on how to beat Kovalev. 

Question: What would you like to tell all the fans?

Barrera: I want to thank my fans for there continued support. 2014 revived my career. I fought 5 times and 2015 will be even bigger. I hope to be in contention to fight for a world title. I think my team is working really hard to put me in the right situation. Stay tuned to all my social media channels for any updates. You can follow me on Instagram @elmastalentoso. Go check me out.  The first 5 comments with the hashtag #chasingsuenos will receive a signed t-shirt from me. You can also check me out on Twitter @sullivanbarrera.