Billy Dib: “I have what it takes to stop this man”

 
IN what looms as possibly the most important fight of his career, former IBF featherweight champion, Billy ‘The Kid’ Dib (39-3, 23 KOs) has yet another shot at world title glory.

 
This time the 29-year-old Aussie is set to face Japanese WBC super featherweight champion, Takashi Miura in Ota-City Japan on May 1st.

 
Dib chats to Aus-Boxing about the importance of winning this title for Australia, his willingness to fight fellow Aussie Will Tomlinson and his losses to now world champion, the menacing Evgeny Gradovich.

 
The confidence in Billy Dib could have understandably been at an all time low after his two bouts with Russian destroyer, Evgeny Gradovich.

 
So much so, I don’t think many would have blamed him for calling time on what has been an outstanding career. He has held world titles, fought on the big stages in the US, and probably made enough money to be comfortable for the rest of his days.

 
You see, that is not Dib’s way.

 
The slick and crafty Sydneysider still has the fire in his guts. The will and hunger to once again be on top. To keep succeeding and achieving in the most brutal sport on the planet.

 
Dib is riding a three fight win streak since moving up to super featherweight after his losses to Gradovich. He feels it has been a solid move and explains.

 
“Yeah I am feeling really good man, healthy,” said Dib in an interview with Aus-Boxing.

 
“My training is going really well and we are getting ready to go to Japan and take this title from Miura, who we respect a lot. Having said that, I believe I have the skills to be able to stop this man and win another world title,”

 
“The WBC super featherweight title means a lot to me. It is the very belt our legends, Lionel Rose and Jeff Fenech couldn’t get their hands on,”

 
“I would love to be able to do that for them and for Australia, it would mean the world to me,” Dib said.

 
When asked about the mental toll his losses to Gradovich took on him, Dib said it was a very difficult time in his life. But in typical Dib fashion, he took time to have a think about the positives he could get from the experience and how to use them to move forward with his career.

 
“It was a pretty difficult time in my life for sure,” Dib continued. “You have doubts, we all have them as people. I just tried to get the positives out of those losses and I feel they have made me a better, hungrier fighter,”

 
“I felt like I have belonged on the big stage for a while now and I have that confidence back. Come May 1st, Miura is in for his hardest fight yet and am looking forward to getting in there and putting it on him.”

 
Dib credits the team at the Bodypunch Boxing Gym in Sydney, saying that respected trainer, Billy Hussein and their camp of highly skilled hungry fighters have kept him very sharp.

 
“Billy has been amazing, he has been with me for a long time and he really knows me,” Dib explains. “He has been just an amazing support to me and I really appreciate it,”

 
“When you also have guys like the calibre of Billel and Ahmed Dib, Luke Jackson and Paul Fleming in the gym, it certainly keeps you on your toes,”

 
Dib is still promoted by rapper Curtis Jackson’s (50 Cent) SMS Promotions, this fight being his last for the outfit. Dib says he will sit down after the fight and see what transpires afterwards in regard to promotional arrangements.

 
Dib came across composed, happy and very excited about his next world title challenge.

 
It’s quite apparent the hunger to taste success on the world stage is still there, and that May 1st could well be a brand new and exciting chapter in the career of “The Kid”.

 
 
Words: Dan Smart (Follow Dan on Twitter @dansmart76)
Photo: Christopher Lane