Exclusive Interview: Matthew Barney.

“I’m gonna stop him. I don’t normally stop people and I don’t normally say I’m gonna stop people, but I’m gonna stop him. I don’t like him.”–Matthew Barney on his upcoming clash with Carl Froch.

If you ask Carl Froch, this fight has been two years in the making, and judging by what Froch had to say about Matthew Barney the last time we spoke, I believe him. However, while “The Cobra” has been on the path to superstardom, garnering the attention of boxing luminaries such as Oscar de la Hoya, Matthew Barney has gone about his business with quiet efficiency. That was until he faced Thomas Ulrich recently and reportedly fell victim to some poor judging, losing narrowly on points. This, however, may have been a blessing in disguise for the thirty-one-year-old, as he was quickly installed as Froch’s mandatory, setting up a bout likely to get more attention than any European title victory. With this in mind, Matthew was kind enough to grant SaddoBoxing.com an interview as he plots to derail all of Froch’s plans of big money fights against the likes of Joe Calzaghe.

SaddoBoxing: How’s your training been going?

Matthew Barney: Going really well. I’m feeling really good. Everything’s gone to plan.

SB: Have you been working on anything specific in your preparation for Carl Froch?

MB: Nah, I’ve just been doing what I normally do. As with the last few fights, I’ve just done the same thing.

SB: Recently, you’ve been operating at light heavyweight. Is the move down to super middleweight a permanent move or do you plan on moving back up, depending on the outcome of the fight?

MB: I went up to light heavyweight just because the opportunity to fight Tony Oakey came up. That led to a European title shot. My natural weight is super middle but I’m happy to fight at either light heavy or super middle, or even middleweight if I get a chance.

SB: Does where you decide to fight depend on the outcome of this fight?

MB: Oh, I’m gonna win the fight and just defend or try and get a shot at somebody else.

SB: Froch is still a relative novice at this stage of his career. Do you think Hennessey has made the right decision in putting him in with you at this point?

MB: It’s definitely the right decision for me! I didn’t think I’d get the chance so quick, but the board made me the mandatory challenger for the British title. So he’s got to defend the title against me or vacate. I would have expected him to vacate, but lucky enough he thinks he’s better than what he is. So I’m gonna get my shot and prove to him that he’s not

SB: You recently lost a close decision to Thomas Ulrich for the European light heavyweight title. How hard was that to take and do you feel a win over Froch would be immediate redemption?

MB: It’s come really quick, which is a good bonus. I thank the board for making me mandatory challenger straight away. It was a bad result and I thought I won the fight easy. I thought I would easily get the decision the way I won it. And it’s good to know, myself, that I beat a world class fighter. That proved to me that I am as good as what I thought I was.

SB: I haven’t actually seen the fight. So you feel you were robbed in that fight?

MB: Oh yeah, it was a terrible decision. I won about ten of the twelve rounds. He only hit me about four or five times in the whole fight. Even Boxing News, which normally don’t come down on my side, thought I won the fight quite comfortably and had me winning by four or five rounds. And on Eurosport, the commentator said it’s the worst decision he’s ever seen.

SB: From what I’veread, it seems that you and Froch don’t like each other. There seems to be a bit of bad blood. I read an article recently where he said you had been badmouthing him for the past couple of years.

MB: Well, I’ve only met him once and I offered to fight him. I said, “I think you’re good, but I know I’m better.” I don’t think there was anything wrong in me saying that.

SB: Actually, I interviewed him not too long ago. He had a few things to say about you.

MB: What did he say? (laughing)

SB: This is me quoting him: “He doesn’t even come to fight. He’s just a coward. I don’t know if you’ve seen him fight. I have absolutely no respect for Matthew Barney whatsoever. I just think he can’t fight. I’d get a hold of him and smash him. I know what he’s like. He’d just run and jab” I don’t know what you think of that, but that’s what he had to say.

MB: Well, that’s his opinion. He won’t be saying that after Saturday night (laughing). Obviously he’s just trying to badmouth me and put me down a bit. But that’s up to him. I’m not gonna put him down. I mean, he’s a good fighter. He’s a bit above average. I don’t think he’s a great fighter. I don’t think he’s the world’s best prospect and all that rubbish. I know I’m a better fighter and it’s as simple as that.

SB: Do you think he’s attempting to punch above his weight when he calls out the likes of Joe Calzaghe or do you think he belongs in that company?

MB: He’s entitled to call anybody out. He’s a professional boxer who holds the British and Commonwealth titles and he’s entitled to call those people out. Whether he’s gonna beat them or not, I don’t think he will. Not at all.

SB: Do you feel you belong in that sort of class, with Joe Calzaghe and Jeff Lacy?

MB: I would love the opportunity to fight Joe Calzaghe and Jeff Lacy. And I’ll prove next Saturday that I am in that class by beating the so-called world’s best prospect (laughing). Somebody told me that he said he’s going to put me in row Z. He said I should buy a ticket for row Z. The only chance he’s gonna get me there is if he sneezes, you know.

SB: What’s your opinion of Froch as a person?

MB: Oh, he just comes across as really arrogant, you know. I mean, he’s entitled to be a little bit arrogant—that’s the way of a lot of boxers—but he’s putting down other sportsmen like David Beckham and Tim Henman. I mean, what’s that got to do with boxing? He’s just trying to make a few headlines again. I mean, put him in with the likes of Joe Calzaghe… Joe Calzaghe has had so many title defenses. What’s Froch done? What class of fighter has he fought? In my eyes, he ain’t boxed anybody who’s any good.

SB: What’s going to be your plan to counter Froch’s somewhat unorthodox style?

MB: I’m just gonna box, you know. I’m just gonna throw jabs, a couple of jabs and a right hand. Just use basic stuff to beat him.

SB: As far as British boxing is concerned, have you noticed a difference in how we’re perceived since Ricky Hatton’s historic win over Kostya Tszyu?

MB: I think it was a great win. Totally shocked me. I thought he was gonna get beat, as a lot of people did. But he got in there, he believed in himself and performed great, didn’t give Kostya Tszyu a chance. It just proved what a great fighter Ricky Hatton is.

SB: Up to this point, what would you say the highlight of your career is so far?

MB: In a strange sort of way, in my eyes, I beat Thomas Ulrich. I really enjoyed myself over there, everything apart from the decision. Everything apart from the decision was great. The lead up to it, the actual fight,the venue that I boxed in and fighting a good fighter like Thomas Ulrich. Winning the British title was great as well.

SB: You’re thirty-one just now. What would be your ambition for the future? How far do you see yourself being able to go?

MB: I just want to get a genuine world title shot, you know. I wanna get a fight for a genuine world title and win it.

SB: Do you see that as quite a long-term goal? I mean, how long do you expect to box on for?

MB: I only had ten amateur fights when I was seventeen and then stopped. I only started again when I was twenty-three. I’m a novice really compared to most fighters around my age. I could probably go on for another seven or eight years yet. I mean, you’ve got fighters like Carl Thompson who are forty odd years of age. I don’t get hit much. I don’t have many wars, so I feel like I’ve still got a long time.

SB: Do you wish you’d turned professional earlier?

MB: I was busy working and I was going out because I was young. I couldn’t do it all at the same time, so I chose to work and go out. Looking back, I wish I had a better amateur career. Maybe it would have served me better as a professional. I haven’t done too bad for myself, though. I’m a former British champion, won the WBU title and I fought for the European title, so I can’t really grumble too much. And I’m fighting for the British and Commonwealth titles, so I haven’t done too bad.

SB: What was it that got you started in boxing anyway?

MB: I’ve always been interested in boxing, like my dad and my brother. When we were brought up, we always watched boxing. And when I was seventeen, I thought I’d get myself a bit fitter and have a few fights. I won a few, then lost a couple. Then I stopped because I was working. The second time I got into it, I was twenty-two and just under seventeen stone. I only went down the gym to lose some weight. I didn’t have any interest in actually boxing, but once you start training again, you wanna fight. The next thing I knew, I was fighting. I just carried on from there.

SB: I’m going to ask for your opinion on a couple of fighters. What’s your thoughts on Jeff Lacy?

MB: I haven’t really seen much of him. I think I saw one of his fights earlier on. I think he was on the under-card of some show. But yeah, he’s got a good left hook. Not a bad fighter.

SB: What about Joe Calzaghe?

MB: Good fighter. He’s proved himself. He’s been WBO champion for years now. He’s pretty much the number one super middleweight in the world. It’s just a shame he hasn’t had the big fights he should have had, you know. Maybe he should have gone over to America or gone over to Germany to fight Sven Ottke, if he had the chance to at any time. It would be nice for him to look back on his career and say, “I beat Sven Ottke.” Personally, Sven Ottke, a lot of people don’t like him, but I thought he was a great fighter.

SB: Yeah, I was going to ask if you feel he’d shot himself in the foot by staying at home rather than seeking out the big fights in America.

MB: Yeah. I mean, if he don’t get the big fights out there later on in his career, I’m sure he’ll be kicking himself. He’s not the oldest fighter out there, though, so he’s got a few years yet. I heard that he had the chance to fight Glencoffe Johnson and pulled out. I mean, personally, if I was up there I would want to fight the best and I’d want to go to other countries to fight the best. Obviously he must have earned enough money out of boxing now to do it for the pride. I mean, I’m so proud to say I went to Germany to fight the European champion. I went to America and beat an American.

SB: Do you think British fighters get a bad rap from the boxingfans and press in The States, as a lot of our fighters are perceived as protected?

MB: I think, obviously, American sport is better in every way, not just boxing. I think they put a lot more into their sport. And their sport gets a lot more recognition. Boxing doesn’t get a lot of recognition in this country at all. I mean, Joe Calzaghe could walk down the street and nobody would know him, which is a bit of a shame considering what he’s done. But yeah, I think we do get a bit of bad press. Hopefully that will start to change. We’ve got the likes of Junior Witter. Ricky Hatton’s already done what he’s done. Clinton Woods has got a world title. The promoters are basically pushing them a lot more and taking these big fights. I mean, take the likes of Scott Harrison over to America to fight. What’s the point in staying over here? They’re getting no recognition. They’re not gonna get any recognition “til they do it, you know.

SB Is there anything you’d like to add before we finish up?

MB: I’m just looking forward to being British and Commonwealth champion.

SB: What’s your prediction for the fight?

MB: Ah, I’m gonna win.

SB: Got any outlandish first round knockout predictions? (laughing)

MB: I’m gonna stop him. I don’t normally stop people and I don’t normally say I’m gonna stop people, but I’m gonna stop him. I don’t like him.

SB: Well, the best of luck, Matthew. Thanks for taking the time for the interview.

MB: Thank you very much. Bye.

James MacDonald can be reached at ac009b5460@blueyonder.co.uk