Exclusive Interview: Paul Spadafora

A particular junior welterweight who has been notably absent to the division, has his sights set on a come back.

Paul Spadafora (45-0, 19 KO) is currently training in Miami, FL alongside Buddy McGirt. He also made an extremely positive choice in his life; Spadafora is in a treatment center for alcohol and substance abuse.

SaddoBoxing: How is training? And when are you fighting?

Paul Spadafora: Training is so great right now. I’m in Miami now, training with Buddy McGirt. My managers told me to start preparing and be ready to fight in 10-12 weeks.

SB: Any opponent named?

PS: There’s no opponent yet, but I will be fighting sometime in June.

SB: Paul, you’ve faced numerous adversaries, what is keeping you motivated to fight?

PS: You know what? I love boxing. Getting up in the morning, doing roadwork, going to the gym. I’m at a point in life that i feel like I owe it to myself.
I want to give myself an honest and sober second chance.

SB: You are battling addiction?

PS: Yes. I decided to go to a treatment center, Transitions, here in Florida. I owe it to myself. I never really wanted to get help before. I was sitting down here in Florida, and people reached out to help me. Someone saw something in me. And it showed me how amazing it is that people want to help me with out getting anything in return. And I am so grateful for that.

SB: Paul, you can lead by example.

PS: I have three young children and when they get older, I want them to see that daddy started here with nothing and now look at where I will be at. Not just my kids, but other kids. You know a lot of kids don’t have parents or one of their parents left them. My dad overdosed and my mom was there but she was battling her own addiction.

SB: How is your mentality outside of the ring helping you in boxing?

PS: I know that as far as my past in life goes, no one messed it up for me. I messed it up for me. I now realize that I could turn it around. I know that whatever I touch is going to be okay. If I can come out of this battle to where I wanna be, I just want to fight the best there is. I still believe I can do that. For me to come back from where I was couldn’t be without experiences. Nothing is like the experiences I had.

How can you tell me to recover when you were never hurt? How can you tell me about being in a penitentiary if you were never in a penitentiary? And how can you tell me what the canvas feels like if you were never knocked out? I have never been this confident.

I am a fighter. I can tell you how to fight and get away from punches. I’m interested in training and teaching young southpaw fighters.

SB: I commend you on getting the help you deserve. Any last thoughts?

PS: Thank you. Spiritually, God helps me a lot. And I believe highly in my boxing game.