Chambers vs Mchunu: Fast Eddie Media Workout

On a very hot summer's day at Shuler's gym, July 17, 2013 to be precise, Eddie Chambers worked out in front of media, answered questions, and sparred. He may not have convinced the world that he's the best fighter in the cruiserweight division today, but no one in attendance would have argued otherwise. Now he just has to actually take a fight in the division...

On August 3rd Chambers takes on hard hitting Thabiso Mchunu (13-1, 10 knockouts). Mchunu recently emerged victorious in the Super 8 "Last Man Standing" South African tournament and subsequently became the African Boxing Union cruiserweight champion. Such accolades were apparently enough to earn him a top 8 worldwide cruiserweight ranking according to BoxRec. But let's not pretend BoxRec is particularly adept in the rating department. Make no mistake about it; Mchunu's never fought anyone on Fast Eddie's level.

Not only that, but Mchunu might not even hold any physical advantages over Chambers. For the first time since KOing Livin Castillo in 2008, Chambers will be taller than his opponent. Ironically, like Mchunu, Castillo is also a southpaw. So can Mchunu do any better than the vastly more experienced Castillo did? We'll see...

In any event Eddie Chambers is ready to go. He's weighed in the low 190s during this training camp and has maintained the speed and strength of his youth. Don't believe me? See for yourself. The workout videos below are arranged in the order they took place. Eddie shadow boxed, then worked pads / mitts with trainer James Ali Bashir, then hit the heavy bag, and then finished on the speed bag before taking a break to do interviews (one of which with yours truly). More on the interview later...

And then of course Eddie caught up with me. We obviously discussed his opponent and fight preparations, but we additionally tackled the cruiserweight division at large. He gave his insight on the world title holders, where they rank, and the excitement the division brings in championship fights. In the past such excitement has often been provided by Philadelphia's former top cruiserweight and 2 time world champion Steve Cunningham, who has since established himself at heavyweight. Cunningham, who celebrated his 37th birthday 2 days earlier, was in attendance and can be seen clowning in the background during the interview. You can tell him and Eddie are good pals.

If you bothered to watch / listen to the interview, which I'm told is good, you would have picked up that Eddie had sparring with Jessie Hart coming in shortly. Fortunately for you I recorded it. Hart is 8-0, 7 KOs and an extremely fast super middleweight. I've been in the ring with him and know from personal experience how fast he is. But somehow Eddie, 20 lbs heavier, and shorter, could still match his hand speed and reflexes. The man is truly gifted, see for yourself:

Tune in to see Eddie Chambers vs Thabiso Mchunu live on NBC Sports, Aug. 3 from Mohegan Sun Casino, Uncasville, Connecticut. The card, promoted by Main Events, also features Tomasz Adamek vs Tony Grano and Curtis Stevens vs Saul Roman. Undercard fighters Karl Dargan and Vyacheslav Glazkov may additionally make airways.

Update: Dominick Guinn replaces an injured Tony Grano.

Also, shout out to FAMJUICE, a local Philly business that sponsors Team Chambers, for providing tasty ice cold beverages in the 100+ degree heat. I helped myself to some lemonade and ice tea...

---------------------

Ryan Bivins is a staff writer for BadLeftHook. You can contact him on twitter (@sweetboxing) or through email (rgbivins@gmail.com).