The Iron Horse:
Working to get back on track!

By Matt Thompson

October 10, 2008

Photo: David Greene

In what many boxing insiders considered a huge upset, #1 IBF jr. middleweight contender Sechew “Iron Horse” Powell lost in an exciting, give and take war to previously unheralded Deandre Lattimore on ESPN in June. Many people criticized Powell and his team for even accepting a fight when he was in the top position to fight for the title.

Now ready to return to the ring against crafty veteran Clarence “Sony Bono’ Thomas, Powell talks for the first time about the Lattimore fight and his future in boxing.

So what really happened in the Lattimore fight?

Well, I think it was a number of factors. There were some things surrounding the fight I really won’t go into, since I feel that it’s only right to accept the blame for the loss myself. I think the bottom line was that I took him too lightly, was too comfortable in my belief that I was the top 154 pounder in the world, and nobody could touch me.

Were you familiar with Lattimore before the fight?

Yes, and that’s probably one of the errors I made, I knew him too well. We were in camp together, and although he was a determined, strong guy, I watched him many times and thought I could pretty much do what I wanted with him. I definitely underestimated him, and the progress he had made since we trained together.

You had your moments in the fight also. Were there times you thought you had him?

Definitely. I hurt him on several occasions. Again, I think that backfired. I think down deep, I believed I could stop him whenever I wanted to turn it on. I waited too long, drifted away from the game plan, and let him get too much confidence in the fight. It won’t happen again.

We don’t want to dwell on the fight, but at the time, there was a lot of criticism for taking the fight to begin with.

You know what I found interesting about that? Most of them were Monday morning quarterbacks doing the criticizing. We discussed it carefully. We felt that I needed the exposure on ESPN in order to help sell the title fight with Verno Phillips. He is a great fighter, but not exactly a household name. We believed that an impressive win on national TV would enable us to possibly bring the fight to HBO or Showtime, so everyone could earn what they deserved. It was a good strategy, and as far as the opponent goes, the only criticism we got before the fight was that he wasn’t tough enough. He was turned down initially, nobody thought he deserved to be there. I think it was a sound strategy taking the fight, and if I’d knocked him out in a few rounds, we would have been geniuses. You know how it works. Hindsight is 20:20.

Let’s move past that to October 11. What’s in this fight for you?

A chance to start from scratch, essentially. Get a win over a tough, skilled veteran, get in some rounds.

We understand that there has been a change in trainers for this fight?

Yes, I’m back with Angel Rivera, who was my original trainer, from when I was a kid through my first few years as a pro. We’ve been friends forever, and I always regretted not remaining with him, but that’s another story all together. I’m back, training has gone very, very well. I feel that I’m learning a lot of new things, as well as returning to the things that worked for me in the past. My conditioning and strength is also at a new level. Angel is a very skilled, knowledgeable guy, and I have the utmost in respect for him.

Where did you train for this fight?

Back at my roots, in New York. It was really nice training here. Granted, the weather has been great and all, but I felt that I was home, not only being here to box, where I began, but with Angel, who helped me get started in boxing.

Any strategy for the fight on the 11th?

Back to basics. In the Lattimore fight, I lingered on the ropes too much, looked to load up with one shot at a time. I want to get back behind my jab, work off good boxing skills, solid defense. If it goes 10 seconds or the distance, I want to get good work in and show what I can do in the ring.

Any thoughts on what’s next?

I want to get past this one first. I’m not taking anyone lightly again, but overall, I want to keep busy, keep rising in the rankings again, and get that title shot. Wouldn’t mind a rematch with Deandre one of these days either!