Newly crowned world champion Jose “Bolivita” Uzcategui was a guest today of the ESPNDeport
es Boxing show “A Los Golpes” that is hosted by Bernardo Osuna, David Faitelson and the great Mexican champion Julio Cesar Chavez, that its taped at the ESPN studios at LA Live in downtown Los Angeles.
Uzcategui felt there was a miscarriage of justice when he was controversially disqualified against Andre Dirrell for a vacant interim super middleweight title last spring, but in the mandated rematch he proved his point.
Uzcategui laid a beating on Dirrell, forcing the fight to be stopped two seconds into the ninth round as he claimed the International Boxing Federation (IBF) interim 168 pound belt in a one-sided fight on March 3 of this year at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn.
"I am very happy to be a world champion and to be able to do it against Dirrell was also important to me after what happened in the first fight,” said Uzcategui a native of Venezuela who has lived in Tijuana, Mexico for the last seven years.
Uzcategui was asked about his move to Tijuana and his development as a fighter in a city of great boxing tradition.
“It’s being a tough journey for me. I come from a very small town in Venezuela with only two major streets, so I was overwhelmed by Tijuana because it’s so big. I went there to get my boxing career going after not finding any support in Venezuela. My boxing style was also not taken well by the Mexicans trainers and boxers in Tijuana, they in turn made me into a more aggressive fighter, I am a boxer at heart buy I knew that I needed to be more of a warrior to survive in that gym and that’s what I did,” said Uzcategui.
Uzcategui declared himself ready for anyone at 168, but if he had a choice he would like to take on the World Boxing Council champion David Benavidez.
“I think there are plenty of good fights at Super Middleweight and a fight with Benavidez would be great and then one with Jose “Zurdo” Ramirez would also be a great fight. I am ready to take on anyone at 168 pound,” said Uzcategui who was with his trainer Jose Cital in Los Angeles.