Matt Godfrey ready for world boxing title shot

World cruiserweight contender Matt “Too Smooth” Godfrey made a major statement on April 6, loud and clear to be precise, when he stopped Felix Cora, Jr. in the second round of their ESPN2 Friday Night Fights main event fight at Mohegan Sun Arena.

“I am the best cruiserweight in the world,” Godfrey looked back at his scintillating performance to describe the statement he made. “I’m ready to take on anybody in the world who’s ranked ahead of me. An opportunity to fight (Jean Marc) Mormeck for his titles would be a gift from heaven for me.”

Godfrey (15-0, 9 KOs), 26, recently moved up to No. 3 in the World Boxing Council ratings. He’s also ranked No. 7 in the World Boxing Association and No. 9 in the International Boxing Federation.

“There’s nobody out there who is as talented as Matt,” Godfrey’s manager Bret Hallenbeck added. “We believed Cora was a top 5 talent. We’re coming after all of the top cruiserweights.”

Godfrey broke down some of the top cruiserweights in the world although he passed commenting on WBO champion Enzo Maccarinello, IBF title-holder Krzysztof Wlodarczyk, Marco Huck and Pietro Aurino because he hasn’t seen them fight.

Jean Marc Mormeck (WBC/WBA champion): “Very limited. He dies-out in fights after really coming out and pressing the action early. He’s a power fighter who’s in trouble when he has to box like in the last four rounds against (O’Neil) Bell. When his opponent comes right back at him, he doesn’t know what to do.”

Steve Cunningham: “He gets better each fight. He’s a prototypical cruiserweight – 6-3, 190 pounds. A very good boxer.”
David Haye: “I think he’s the best one out there. A hard power puncher who is wild at times. He’s really gotten better since his only loss to (Carl) Thompson.”

Vadim Tokarev: “I’m surprised he’s won as many fights as he has because he had no amateur background. He was a kick-boxer and now he has 23 wins as a professional fighter. He’s won some good fights, but he doesn’t have enough boxing experience, at least not for me.”

Valery Brudov (WBA Interim champion): “Not impressed at all. He got his ears boxed off against an old Virgil Hill.”

Virgil Hill (WBA regular champion): “Over the hill, he’s all done. At 43, he’s still better than 75-to-80 percent of the cruiserweights in the world, but his time has gone.”

O’Neal Bell: A very hard puncher who relies too much on his power. He’s a real good fighter. He goes too much for the knockout, which is what happened in his last fight against Mormeck. The same thing against (Dale) Brown and (Sebastian) Rothman, who he(Bell) finally got in the 11th round.”

Guillermo Jones: “He should go back to the middleweight division where he belongs. His last fight was as a heavyweight.”

Wayne Braithwaite: “He’s been exposed. His time has come and gone.”

Jonathon Banks: “A very hard puncher who is 99-percent offense like all of Emanuel Steward’s guys. He was down twice in the first round against Eliseo Castillo (Banks won via a 4th round knockout), who’s about the only one with a pulse who Banks has fought.”

Matt Godfrey: “A fighter a lot of guys want to stay away from because you don’t know if he’s coming out left or right-handed, boxing or coming right at you. He’s a wild card; a very dangerous fighter.”

For more information about Matt Godfrey visit his web site at www.mattgodfreyboxing.com or his promoter’s at www.cesboxing.com.