Welterweight Arroyo Talks About Big ShoBox Opportunity

ByBoxing Press

Give Vincent “Vinsanity” Arroyo (11-1, 7 KOs ) a brutally cold Buffalo winter day to train and he’s as happy as can be.

The 24-year-old explained why and answered other questions just days before his 10-round welterweight fight against Hector “El Flaco” Sanchez (19-1, 9 KOs) on ShoBox: The New Generation, Friday, Sept. 9 live on Showtime at 11 p.m. ET/PT, delayed on the West Coast.

Question: What’s the coldest weather you’ve ever run outdoors in during a Buffalo winter?

Vincent Arroyo: “Oh, man, you don’t even want to know. To be honest with you, I love running in the winter. There’s definitely snow on the ground. I love it when the winds blowing and it’s bone-chilling cold and snowing. [I do it] just to test myself, to battle all forms of adversity.”

Q: What do you think about Hector Sanchez?

HA: “I don’t think much of him, just like I didn’t think much about Willie Nelson in my last Showtime fight. I don’t care about any fighter. I just care about myself and knowing that I’m going to war against another guy. I don’t care about talking junk. I don’t care about nothing but winning. It’s what drives me and keeps me going in this game.”

Q: Growing up in New York, was it always your dream to fight at Madison Square Garden?

HA: “Yes, of course. I’ve always had that dream. I would like to fight there and go down in history with some of the great fighters like Muhammad Ali, Joe Frazier and Felix Trinidad. But I’m in no rush. I still have a lot of learning to do. But it’s always fun to dream.”

Q: What fighters did you look up to as a kid and whose style do you try to emulate?

HA: “I emulate myself. I never take anything from anyone. I fight like me and only me. I grew up watching Trinidad, (Hector) Camacho, (Julio Cesar) Chavez, Mike Tyson. One of my all-time favorites was Roy Jones Jr. People think I have the same style and that I’m a forward fighter. I just want to put my name up there with the greats.”

Q: Was your father a big influence in your decision to become a professional fighter?

HA: “My father was a Golden Gloves champion and he watches my fights and congratulates me but he’s been out of the game for a while. My trainers Hector Alejandro and Rick Diaz have been there for me the entire time and I would say they are my biggest influences.”

Q: What can we expect to see from “Vinsanity” Friday night?

HA: “It’s going to be sensational. Take this down: It’s always different when you see Vincent Arroyo. You never know what you’re going to see or what’s going to happen. I don’t know if it will be a knockout or if we’ll go to the cards, but I will be the last man standing. It will definitely not be boring.”

Promoted by Gary Shaw Productions, the ShoBox telecast will originate from the Grand Casino Hinckley in Hinckley, Minn.

Bernard Osuna will call the ShoBox action from ringside with Steve Farhood and Antonio Tarver serving as the expert analyst. Gordon Hall is the executive producer of ShoBox with Richard Gaughan producing and Rick Phillips directing.