These last few weeks have been like a midterm cram-session for Vladine Biosse, except this fighter is no wide-eyed freshman.
The popular super middleweight, dubbed “Mr. Providence” by his hometown fans, is working with new trainer Paul Andrade for the first time as he prepares for Friday’s showdown against Latif Mundy (10-5, 4 KOs) at Twin River Casino. Like any new relationship between a fighter and his trainer, this one is a work in progress, so Biosse (14-2-1, 7 KOs) will lean heavily on his own experience in Friday’s eight-round co-feature while implementing as much of Andrade’s game plan as possible.
“I’m learning things I never knew before,” Biosse said. “My mind is expanding. I’m just soaking it all in.”
After losing to Marcus Upshaw in January, Biosse decided to make changes within his camp. Andrade, the father of former Olympian and Providence native Demetrius Andrade, replaced Orlondo Valles, who trained Biosse from the start. The opportunity to add a new voice and expand his network intrigued Biosse.
“I really didn’t want to leave Orlondo,” Biosse said. “I wanted to add another point of view. He and I have worked together since 2007. He started me off. I didn’t even know how to throw a punch before I worked with him. Nothing against his style, or his ability to train, but I reached the point where I felt I was at a standstill, and you should never feel stagnant in anything you do in life.
“He wanted to do it his way, and I wanted to do it the way I felt comfortable doing it. No hard feelings – we just parted ways.”
Upon working with Andrade, Biosse spent two weeks in California last month training and sparring at the infamous King’s Boxing Gym in Oakland, the home of undefeated super middleweight champion Andre Ward and countless other pros.
“It was an eye-opener,” he said. “Sometimes when you’re in this game you get so close-minded about things and you don’t get the understanding of what goes on elsewhere until you go there yourself and witness what goes down at a world championship level. Seeing how it’s done firsthand is awesome – very motivating. Sometimes it’s what you need to get back on track.”
In order to shake off the loss to Upshaw in January, Biosse will need to take care of business Friday against the dangerous Mundy, a tough Philadelphia native who’s gone toe-to-toe with some of the elite middleweights in boxing, including Ossie Duran, Matt Korobov and Patrick Majewski. This will be Biosse’s first fight at Twin River since he dominated fellow Providence native Joey Spina almost one year to the date in May of 2012.
“There’s nothing better than being in Rhode Island and fighting in front of your fans,” Biosse said. “This guy is a tough fighter. He comes right at you. He’s a skilled fighter – a very tough fighter – and I take nothing away from him. I know he’s coming to win. So am I.”
The Biosse-Mundy fight is one of nine on Friday’s card, promoted by Jimmy Burchfield’s Classic Entertainment & Sports. “The New Era” also features the eight-round main event between undefeated female bantamweight Shelito Vincent (8-0) of Providence and South Carolina’s Angel Gladney (8-7-1, 6 KOs) for the vacant Women’s International Boxing Association (WIBA) International title.
Tickets for “The New Era” are $41.00, $76.00, and $126.00 (VIP) and can be purchased by calling CES at 401.724.2253/2254, online at www.shop.cesboxing.com or www.twinriver.com, at the Players Club booth at Twin River, or through any TicketMaster location. Doors open 6 p.m. with the first bout scheduled for 7.
