By Bryce Wilson

We caught up with Izu Ugonoh, after his impressive 2nd round demolition of durable Frenchman Gregory Tony; a fight that ended after Ugonoh unleased a thunderous left hook to the body that most likely broke one or more of Tony’s ribs after a straight right hand had already busted Gregory’s nose, marking a tough night for the durable journeyman.

It was a fight that Ugonoh (17-0, 14KOs) controlled with ease, showcasing a fast accurate jab and double jab, his signature right hand and vicious body punching which all proved too much for Tony. It also added another highlight reel knockout to Ugonoh’s already growing resume of highlight worthy KO’s.

BS: Everything you talked about in camp, the jab, the right hand, throwing shots to the body you executed in your fight with Tony. How satisfying is that?

Izu: It’s what I’ve been focusing on in training and this is what I believe should be the case every time I fight. Listen, this was just the plan A. Sometimes in boxing you have to adjust to plan B or C, but this time we didn’t have to because plan A was good enough.

BS: Your trainer Kevin Barry made a bold pronouncement after your last fight that you are the best body puncher in the heavyweight division. How did you feel after you landed that left hook to the body to finish the fight, because he got up once but promptly went back down again?

Izu: I actually think I broke his ribs with that second body shot and my first right hand broke his nose, so those are pretty damaging punches. I set them up behind the jab which is becoming my weapon. At the end of the day I was too fast, too strong and he didn’t know what he was dealing with, but look it’s one step at a time and this was a step up fight for me and I finished it in the second round.

BS: That being the case do you view this as your best performance as a professional?

Izu: Yeah I think so. I had huge respect for Tony. Coming out of kickboxing I never had the opportunity to fight the greats that he had and not only that in boxing he has done very well for himself owning a win over Takam. And I believe that coming to Auckland he secretly fancied that he could upset me and that I didn’t know the type of guy that I would be facing.

BS: You looked like you were in a zone for this fight, can you pinpoint exactly what it was that had you so focused?

Izu: I was very very excited for a couple of days before the fight and I honestly haven’t felt that way in ages. And the excitement came from the belief that this would be a challenge for me. He was a bigger guy than me, a southpaw, very experienced but as I’ve been telling you before that I need that type of excitement to lift the levels of my performance and bring the best out in myself.

BS: And it was a fight that you ended up winning quite convincingly.

Izu: I have this thing that in the first round I kind of figure out my opponent and many of knockouts have come in the second round, and it just happens. I don’t plan it, but it is what it is, if I am capable of figuring out my opponent and once I figure out the type of speed my opponent is coming at me with then I know what to do after that.

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Indeed, it does seem like Ugonoh is increasingly looking like a fighter capable of knocking on the door of some larger and more high profile fights. With this win an immediate bump up to possibly 12 or better with the IBF looks imminent which should only make Ugonoh an increasingly attractive option for other highly ranked fighters.  The performance against Tony looked like that of a fighter looking to put the recent disappointments of failed negotiations with Wach and Wawrzyk behind him and take a big step forward onto bigger and better things.

Trainer Kevin Barry hopes to have another step-up opponent for his promising charge within the next few months and 2017 being the year they have targeted as a team to line up some seriously significant names in the heavyweight division. With the landscape of this fractured division currently changing by the day if not the hour, don’t be surprised to see Izu Ugonoh emerge in the next 12 months as one of its breakout stars and most exciting fighters to watch.