"Celestino is going to punch a lot harder at 130 than he did at 126. Here is a guy that can carry the weight up to 147 pounds. He spars with a lot of guys that are a lot bigger then he is. He spars with guys as big as 155, so he's not worrying about Litzau and the fact that he's supposedly the bigger guy. He prepares with guys that are a lot bigger than him, so Jason Litzau is nothing in terms of being the bigger man. At the end of the day, Celestino is going to be taller than him, and just because Celestino campaigns at a smaller weight class, that doesn't make Litzau the bigger guy, the bigger puncher, or anything of that nature. We will bring the fight to Litzau. Celestino has stressed to me that he wants to be impressive, so we're going into attack mode early and trying to get Litzau out of there," stated world-class trainer Jeff Mayweather as he talked about super bantamweight champion Celestino Caballero and his upcoming debut at super featherweight when they take on Jason Litzau. Check it out!
PC: How is it going Jeff?
JM: Everything is good. I'm keeping busy with my fighters. I got a real good stable of young fighters.
PC: Celestino Caballero will be making his 130-pound debut against Jason Litzau on November 27th. Is that a fight you like for Celestino?
JM: I commend Jason for stepping up to the plate. It's a shame that he has to fight out of his weight class in order to get a fight. No one would give him the opportunity at 126, so he had to move on to the next weight class.
PC: He was a huge 126-pounder. How is the weight feeling on him right now?
JM: Naturally, it worked out great for him. Celestino is fairly heavy when he comes to camp. He came to camp 140 pounds, so to lose 10 pounds is nothing for him. It's just a matter now of getting technique down as opposed to worrying about the weight, so it's going to be a good camp. It's going to be a fun camp.
PC: Are you happy with the progression of getting him fights since signing with Dibella?
JM: I think that Lou Dibella is doing what he can do. He can't force any fighter to fight Celestino. He's probably one of the most feared fighters out there; especially in that weight class, he is the most feared fighter out there. With that being said, that makes Lou's job hard as well. You had one guy [Daud Yordan] yelling Celestino's name, but that was a guy that nobody cared about, nobody knew about, and he was out there doing all of that yapping and Celestino crushed him. And then you got Juan Carlos Velasquez just trying to take a shortcut to become somebody. Celestino has the actual footage of them sparring on his phone, so he should keep his mouth shut in terms of saying what he did because, realistically, Celestino could put it out on YouTube if he wants to and make this guy look like a complete fool.
PC: Style-wise, how do you like this fight, and do you think Celestino's power has carried up a weight class and he'll be able to stop Litzau?
JM: That's the plan. I feel that one thing about Jason Litzau is he's got pretty good boxing skills, but his chin is very suspect. I know Celestino is going to punch a lot harder at 130 than he did at 126. Here is a guy that can carry the weight up to 147 pounds. He spars with a lot of guys that are a lot bigger then he is. He spars with guys as big as 155, so he's not worrying about Litzau and the fact that he's supposedly the bigger guy. He prepares with guys that are a lot bigger than him, so Jason Litzau is nothing in terms of being the bigger man. At the end of the day, Celestino is going to be taller than him, and just because Celestino campaigns at a smaller weight class, that doesn't make Litzau the bigger guy, the bigger puncher, or anything of that nature. We will bring the fight to Litzau. Celestino has stressed to me that he wants to be impressive, so we're going into attack mode early and trying to get Litzau out of there. he's not going to be the same way he was when he fought Yordan, but at the same time, I think he wanted to punish Yordan a little bit too because he was doing all of that talking. I think it was kind of good that he got that kind of beating put on him for that duration because maybe now he will think twice before he opens his mouth.
PC: Is it a situation where Celestino could go back to 126 or is he just taking fights wherever he can get them?
JM: It's unfortunate the situation he's in. the whole world knows Celestino has been chasing Juan Ma [Juan Manuel Lopez] for 2 years. He never got a response. He even went on YouTube calling him out, and that's really coming out of character because Celestino really isn't that kind of person. He don't antagonize people and talk trash; that's not him, but he felt like it was his job to go and say, "I'll fight him in Puerto Rico or wherever." He really wanted that fight and never really got a response. The only response that I have heard, and it was more of an article, was that Celestino is too tall. But how can a guy be too tall if y'all are going to weigh the same? Not only that, but another thing is when it comes to Gamboa, everybody he fights is taller than him. Why all of a sudden now it boils down to the fact that he's taller than he is? At the end of the day, if y'all both get on a scale and weigh 126 pounds, that means the fight can be made. Celestino has said that before he ends his career, he wants to go as high as 135. If the opportunities come at 130, he will stay.
Of course, he is always looking behind him because the two guys that he really wants, and the two marquee guys that are there, is Gamboa and Lopez. They are always going to be in the rear view mirror. He's always going to be looking back, so if the opportunity presents itself at 130, then he's going to have to move forward and leave that behind and make a statement at the weight class that he's at. Hopefully he can make a statement at 30, and then go up to 35 and continue on with his career. He said he wants to finish his career there. This fight is the first step in the higher weight classes and he's pointing in that direction. Hopefully HBO will make the fights because they are the only ones that will be able to make it. It's not going to happen if it's up to Bob Arum. Realistically, after Lopez and Marquez is done, that eliminates one of them; more than likely it's going to be Marquez. So that leaves Juan Ma and Gamboa. Gamboa is supposed to fight someone, but I don't remember who he is supposed to fight. But if he wins, then that will leave those two guys to fight each other and they definitely will because they are under the same banner. But once they eliminate each other, there is only one real threat still standing there and that's Celestino; the same guy who has been chasing these guys will still be there. Even if he's up at 130, he's willing to drop back down to make the fight happen. It's a marquee fight that for him...it's not just important for his legacy but monetarily as well. He's looking for a big payday as well, like everyone else is. The fight will only happen if HBO makes a tournament or say they are willing to pay what these guys want to make the fights happen. Once Lopez and Gamboa fight, then Celestino would be the only fight left that really has any value and would make sense.
If it's up to Bob, he's going to take whoever has the title and if it's a great fight, he's going to do a rematch and if it's not, he's going to do what he's been doing with Pacquiao. He's going to give a bunch of retreads and let him fight these guys and beat them all over again. That's not what the boxing fans want to see, but they will have to accept it because all of those guys are under his roof. Don't get me wrong...basically what Bob has done is take a page out of Don King's book; especially when he had all of the heavyweights. That's why he had a lock on that division for so long. He went out and signed everyone from the #1 spot all the way down to the #15 spot. All you would see is his guys fighting each other and maintaining control of the heavyweight championship. And that's basically what Bob is doing now. He's just doing it at a smaller weight class. He can have his guys fight one another without any interference and without having to co-promote, so everything goes to him. It's a no-lose situation because whoever wins, he still has a champion. So that's why I think HBO would actually have to make these fights. There are fights that a lot of people want to see get made, but it's business decisions right now and it's working fine for him. I don't think Arum would deprive one of his fighters from making a great payday, so if HBO brought it to the table, I think he would make it happen.
[ Follow Percy Crawford on Twitter @MrLouis1ana ]