Ten days ago, Guido Vianello thrilled Italian boxing fans with a masterful performance, demolishing the towering Russian puncher Arslanbek Makhmudov. The fight was stopped by the ringside doctor at the start of the eighth round when Makhmudov’s face, having clearly lost every round up to that point, was in such bad shape that a technical KO became inevitable.
Now back in Italy, Vianello is enjoying some relaxation, without losing sight of his goals, as he revealed in a brief but interesting interview with Louis Hart on the Boxing Social YouTube channel.
Speaking about his recent victory, Vianello said he fought with great calm and ease, never wondering when the referee or doctor would stop the fight and never rushing to score a KO:
“I could have fought twenty rounds in the same shape.”
Guido then admitted he was a bit surprised by how easy the fight turned out to be but added that it was only possible because of the hard work done in the gym:
“A tough preparation makes the fight easy.”
Louis Hart asked Vianello if he thought the fight should have been stopped earlier, and he replied affirmatively:
“Yes, but it was his home turf, in an event organized by his promoter, and there was a lot of crowd support for him, so they tried to push him as far as they could. There was nothing more he could do to win, so it was stupid to let it go on that long.”
The Italian boxer then explained the significance of this victory in giving him definitive awareness of his abilities:
“With this win, I understood who I really am, and now I know I can fight anyone. I just need a name and three months to prepare, and then I can take on any heavyweight out there. I needed this fight to understand who I am, and now I’m truly ready to face anyone.”
Vianello briefly mentioned his previous fight against Nigerian boxer Efe Ajagba, which ended in a controversial Split Decision loss:
“I wasn’t ready to fight over ten rounds; against Efe, it was my first time doing ten rounds. But after Efe, I had everything I needed for a step up, and everyone saw that against Makhmudov.”
The interviewer reminded Guido that Makhmudov defeated him in the amateur ranks and asked him what changed over the years to result in such a different outcome ten days ago. Here’s Guido’s response:
“You know, I believe I could have done the same fight many years ago, but the problem was that back then, I wasn’t working the way I am now. When I was an amateur, I was trained by the national team coach, so I couldn’t choose my coach. I didn’t prepare well for that fight; I didn’t pay enough attention to technical and tactical aspects. Now, with my current coach (Simone D’Alessandri) and my team, I can finally fight at my best. I didn’t have to do anything particularly difficult in this fight; I could have done the same things ten years ago, but we can’t change the past. We can do well now, and that’s what we’ll do.”
Hart then shifted the conversation to upcoming plans, asking Vianello if he would be interested in a fight against the young American Jared Anderson, as rumors suggest it might be proposed to him.
“I honestly don’t know anything about that, but like I said before, I’m ready for any opponent. Top Rank and my manager will discuss it. Give me a name and three months, and I’ll have no problem.”
When asked if he’s enjoying his well-earned vacation, Guido didn’t hide that his mind is always focused on his sporting goals.
“Yes, I’m really enjoying this moment, but my mind is always focused: I’m already thinking about my return to the gym. I really, really want to reach the elite level of heavyweights, I want to become world champion. This desire gives me strength and adrenaline. I can’t wait for a new fight to be proposed to me, and I can’t wait to train for it.”
At this point, Hart asked the Roman heavyweight if there is a particular name at the top of his wish list, and Vianello didn’t shy away from the question:
“Anthony Joshua. Why not? Anthony Joshua in Italy (he smiles). There are several good heavyweights right now, so we have a lot of good names available. Let’s see who will give me a chance: it’s about who will give me the opportunity to fight against a top boxer. I’m now climbing the rankings, so I want to face someone who’s ranked higher than me. Let’s see who wants to fight me; I’m ready.”
We’ll have to wait to find out who Guido’s next opponent will be. From this interview, it seems quite clear that the Gladiator fears no one and that his confidence in his abilities after his recent success has never been higher.