This Wednesday, Curtis “Showtime” Stevens (27-4, 20 KOs) will face Hassan N’Dam (30-1, 18 KOs). Over the last several weeks and months, he has stepped up his training camp routine to prepare for this fight and put himself in the best possible position to win on Oct. 1.
The 29-year old from Brownsville in Brooklyn, NY has always been known for his power with an impressive 74% (20 of 27) knockout-to-win ratio but, this time around, in addition to his power, “Showtime” has added speed to his game. The new training routine developed by his trainer/uncle, Andre Rozier, includes a huge cardio component to strengthen Stevens’ endurance and improve his speed.
“For the [Gennady] Golovkin fight I had a personal trainer. For the Saul Roman fight that was just all me. I noticed that when I do it myself it is more of a push. I am the only one that knows what I am doing. If things go bad, it’s on me,” explained Stevens. “I fight for three minutes so if I can hold a sprint for two minutes, somebody’s in trouble. You fight twelve rounds but it is different when you are holding a two minute sprint with 30 seconds’ rest. With the power I got, if I am on your ass for two minutes, it’s a blood bath.”
Rozier also added a program he calls “box and rumble” into Stevens’ camp, which combines intervals of speed punches with intervals of targeted combinations over five to ten minute sets. “‘Box and rumble’ is a continuous exercise for endurance and exertion,” explained Andre. “Nobody likes it but it builds up your endurance and your consistency with punching. It is a long one and it makes you work.”
Stevens also altered his diet for this fight and, with the increased cardio, he is ahead of schedule to make weight for Oct. 1. “In the past, after the weigh in I would go get steak and eggs. I am not eating steak while I am training, I eat fish. Once I hit 164 last week, I went and had some pasta. The next morning I went running and I felt great.” He added, “By me eating red meat the night before the fight I am taking the speed out of me. Power is there. I need to keep that speed there. He’s [N’Dam] worrying about the power but once he sees the speed, man down!”
Curtis knows that he is most effective when he lets his hands go and does not overthink in the ring. Andre believes that by Curtis taking control of his own conditioning he has the added confidence he needs. According to Rozier, “I think N’Dam is really gonna get it. I think as long as Curtis understands that he is ready for competition; he won’t come up short. If he feels ‘I haven’t done enough to prepare for whatever it is I am going to be facing’ then he sort of does a mind game with himself. But now he knows he can run right through N’Dam when he wants to. He can run through anybody when he wants to.”
