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Undefeated IBF light heavyweight champion Tavoris “Thunder” Cloud (23-0, 19 KOs), from Tallahassee, Fla., will make his fourth title defense on Saturday against former WBA light heavyweight champion Gabriel Campillo (21-3-1, 7 KOs), from Madrid, Spain, at American Bank Center in Corpus Christi, Texas on Showtime Championship Boxing at 10 p.m. ET/PT, delayed on the West Coast.)
“I’m going to make a statement that I am a vicious champion and I refuse to be defeated,” Cloud said. “You can train as long as you want, you can train as hard as you want, but it just ain’t gonna help you.”
Cloud finds the mere thought of Campillo thinking he can take his title distasteful.
“Campillo’s coming to take my title,” Cloud said, “and I’m offended. That’s why he’s in for a nightmare. It’s going to be Armageddon for him. I need to get your [Campillo’s] ass in the ring. Let’s get this over with. I’m real serious inside of my head right now.”
That’s tough talk, but Cloud has always backed it up in the ring. He is a throwback fighter in the sense he comes right at his opponents and throws lots of leather. Cloud says his power in the ring comes from his unique training regimen. He’s even got a name for it.
“We do somethin’ called Kill-a-Bitch Training,” Cloud said. “This ain’t regular training for a regular 12-round fight. I can’t even come to the gym and say the wrong thing. My team says, ‘Get your mind right.’ I’m in a good place because I am world champion.”
Cloud also resents the fact other world champions and top contenders are avoiding him. Cloud became world champion in 2009, and he doesn’t think they can hide from him much longer.
“Guys are refusing to fight me, and they come up with every excuse in the book,” Cloud said. “They don’t want to deal with my promoter, things like that. But I know it’s B.S.”
Tickets to see the event live and in person are priced at $25, $35, $50, $75, $100 and are available at the American Bank Center box office and on Ticketmaster.com. VIP packages are also available by calling (817) 296-4546.
Showtime will also telecast a second fight (10 p.m. ET/PT, delayed on the West Coast) when former world champion Paul Williams (40-2, 27 KOs), of Aiken, S.C., will face Nobuhiro Ishida (24-6-2, 9 KOs) of Osaka, Japan. Ishida has won his last two bouts via first-round stoppage, including an upset over then-undefeated James Kirkland in April of 2011, while Williams owns victories over Sergio Martinez and Antonio Margarito.
An additional heavyweight fight featuring Chris “The Nightmare” Arreola vs. Eric “Drummer Boy” Molina will be televised on Showtime Extreme at 8 p.m. ET/PT (delayed on the West Coast).
The event is presented by Goossen Tutor Promotions. The Williams-Ishida bout will be promoted in association with Golden Boy Promotions and Canelo Promotions. The Cloud vs. Campillo bout will be promoted by Don King Productions in association with Sampson Boxing, LLC.
