Carl Johanneson – punching through the hype by Paul Concannon Oct 27th 2006

Carl Johanneson's reputation is one of being a man of few words. That's true. Smart men will tell you Carl is painfully shy, or inarticulate even, but don't believe the hype. Beneath the exterior is a serious fighting man, unfettered by ego and the need to create a fuss with what he sees as hollow words. You know that old saying about people of few words being worth hearing? That sums up Carl Johanneson to perfection. Don't expect long-winded answers or hyperbolic Don King style gesticulating; refreshingly, what Johanneson does is tell the truth – in as many or as few words as he sees fit. We caught up with the Leeds man and his manager Rick Manners one week ahead of his first British super-featherweight title defence against Bradford challenger Femi Fehintola to find out his thoughts on the bout and his preparation ahead of the all-Yorkshire showdown. BB.Net: How is your preparation ahead of next week's title defence against Femi Fehintola? CJ: Very good – I can't wait to get in there now… Everything's gone according to plan; I am just looking forward to fighting. BB.Net: How's your weight? CJ: Not far off now, pretty much bang on schedule. BB.Net: Is the super-featherweight limit typically comfortable for you to reach? CJ: Absolutely, I have no problems with it. BB.Net: Who have you been sparring with? CJ: (Smile) You know, a couple of people…but I'm not giving you any names! BB.Net: At ringside on SKY there was a heated confrontation between yourself and Femi; was it hype or genuine grudge? CJ: To tell the truth, I didn't have anything to do with all that; it's not my style. Femi made a big deal of it all. It's no secret I let my hands do the talking. All these games that people play - at the end of the day, it will only be Femi and me in the ring, end of. I'm not into that stuff about psyching people out. BB.Net: Femi is a smooth boxer, what sort of problems do you think he will pose for you come fight night? CJ: Pretty simple, I adapt to whatever he throws at me. What you can expect to see from me is good performance and a good fight. BB.Net: Carl you are a proud Leeds man, born and bred, and of course Femi is from just up the road in Bradford, thus the bout is surrounded with the usual hype on any local derby; does this have any significance for you? CJ: None. He's from Bradford; I am from Leeds – that doesn't matter. What does matter is that I am going to win no matter what. BB.Net: Fehintola's stats indicate that he isn't a puncher but he insists he punches harder than his 14-0 (1) record suggests – did you feel his power during your well-publicised sparring sessions? CJ: Difficult to say because he was never on the weight – he was always heavier than me when we sparred. What it is with Femi he's talking a good fight right now. BB.Net: He says you were pretty equal when it came to sparring, but on the last day, he got the better of you, in fact took you to school, sparring and fighting are two different things, but do you feel that has any relevance come fight time? CJ: No he didn't, that's all baloney – to tell the truth sparring is sparring. Let him speak all he wants but come next Friday, we will see who wins. BB.Net: Can you talk about your gameplan? CJ: (Smiles) I'm going to win! BB.Net: What's your prediction? CJ: I'm going to do it in style. BB.Net: Any message for Femi or your fans? CJ: Femi get ready, I am ready to rumble. BB.Net: Carl, I suspect I know the answer to this, but what the hell, all being well, what's next for you? CJ: I am not thinking about that, I never do. Right now Femi is the man on the list. BB.Net: Rick, any final thoughts from you? RM: I just think it's going to be a great fight and my prediction is my man will win and win in style. CJ: I would also like to say thanks all the Leeds fans for their support. RM: And also a big thank you to everyone who has helped get us to this point. BB.Net: Okay guys, thanks for your time and good luck next week.

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