Tony Del Vecchio talks McCulloch camp, assessment of Chudinov

 
ONLY days away from one of his biggest nights as a professional boxing trainer, Tony Del Vecchio is confident his underrated pupil can pull off a remarkable upset win.

 
Speaking from their Moscow base, Del Vecchio and his undefeated title challenger Ben McCulloch have been going about their business as usual. However, the one difference between this fight and every other that has preceded it, is that an upset victory will have a remarkable impact on their short term future.

 
“We have settled in very well over here and the people here at the Khimki Arena have been great,” said Del Vecchio in an exclusive interview with Aus-Boxing. “We’ve been received really well by the Russian public,”

 
“They love their sport over here and as such, they have treated us with respect and admiration.”

 
Very much like his well-spoken fighter, Del Vecchio is methodical in both his approach to this fight, as well as his breakdown of their undefeated opponent.

 
With that said, Del Vecchio believes that the foundations are in place for his fighter to pull off the upset.

 
“Ben is a very good boxer with a huge skill set,” Del Vecchio continued. “He has been sparring the likes of Danny Green, Choc Mundine, Daniel Geale and Sakio Bika for years, most times as the main partner for the relevant camps,”

 
“He has what it takes to be the one of the top fighters to have ever come out of Australia,”

 
There is no disputing McCulloch’s raw talent and pedigree as fighter.

 
With that in mind, there are still sceptics that point to McCulloch’s inactivity and lack of meaningful fights domestically as a hinderance leading up to his interim WBA super middleweight title fight at the Dynamo Palace of Sports, but Del Vecchio cites circumstances that have been out of their control for regular fights not taking place.

 
“Ben’s inactivity has mainly been down to hand injuries,” Del Vecchio explained.

 
“He had a staph infection which was an ongoing issue and the fact that we have had numerous good Australian opponents pull out of fights with him, so we have had to go elsewhere.”

 
“Are we concerned coming into this fight? No way not at all. We have trained so hard for this fight and he is in the best shape that he has ever been in,”

 
In many ways, Del Vecchio’s reasoning is valid. He has a fighter that is primed to score the biggest win of his career and with a complete training camp behind them, he has every reason to have confidence in his fighters capabilities.

 
After all, McCulloch has won fights on the road more than once and by all accounts, he is in the midst of a genuine purple patch after a long spell away with injuries.

 
“Without giving too much away, we have had a very good training camp, Ben’s fitness is up on all other past camps,” he added.

 
“We have been fortunate to have sparring partners that are very similar to Fedor Chudinov – so yeah we are happy – we have the game plan that we know will work and we are extremely happy with our progress,”

 
“We have a game plan and it has been devised over time with this opponent, being Fedor Chudinov, in mind,”

 
“We have watched him on film and I have instructed Ben on what is required to win. Ben has also added to the formula by being as fit as he has ever been,” Del Vecchio said in closing.

 
In the end, McCulloch and Del Vecchio can only control the small part of the situation that is in their hands, the fight. And after months of training and endless weeks of preparation, they are ready.

 
“What we can expect is a very good and hard fight – and at the end of the day – both the boys will go at it,”

 
A year of forgettable title challenges abroad will be a distant memory if Ben McCulloch can pull off the remarkable upset win.

 
 
Photo: Supplied