Abell Faces Rhode Friday Night
February 12th, 2008
By Ben Tighe

Joey Abell (right) mixes it up with Andrew Greeley in Rochester, MN (Photo by Jesse Kelley, DesignPrince.com)

"Minnesota Ice" Joey Abell is set to headline at Epic Nightclub this Friday night. Abell will be opposite a Minnesota fighter of sorts in Marcus "Big Tuna" Rhode (34-36-2). Rhode, 36, was born in Detroit Lakes, MN and has fought in Mn sporadically since turning pro in 1995.
Rhode is known mostly for being an opponent to some of the bigger heavyweight names world wide. Perhaps the most marquee bout being his fight with Tommy Morrison in 1996. Morrison had recently tested positive for HIV and special rules were put in place that if any boxer were to be cut, the bout would immediately go to the cards. That wouldn't be a factor though as Rhode was dropped 3 times and stopped in round 1.
For Abell (21-4), it will be another chance to build his confidence as he did on Jan. 1st against Derek Amos (1st round ko win). "Minnesota Ice" chatted with writer Ben Tighe about his last fight, Rhode, and his boxing future. Here is what Abell had to say...

I appreciate you taking the time to talk with me today, Joey.
Sure, I'm happy to do it.

I wasn't lucky enough to be at your last fight on January 17th, but I was glad to see that no luckyhaymaker or headbutt or disqualification kept you from winning that day.

Yeah. [chuckles]

I was at the event in Sioux Falls on November 28th, the DQ to Jason Nicholson. You're probably tired of being asked about it, but would you give me your take on that one more time, and I promise not to ask again.

Sure, well I felt good and my wind was there. I was feeling good and I could have thrown all night. Ah, my opponent had ducked down earlier in the round and that time I thought he was down, but he wasn't. This time he did go down to one knee and I didn't know it, so I finished a combination that hurt him. That's really all there was to it.

Would you tell me about your last fight, against Derek Amos, how it went down and what you took from it?

It was another fight kind of like the one before, Nicholson. He moves real good and he's been around. I felt good and I felt like I got a little bit anxious because I didn't want to go past the first round if I didn't have to. So I was swinging a little bit wildly. But it was a good one for me for building confidence and getting some time in the ring and feeling comfortable and so forth.

Friday night you're fighting Marcus Rhode. How do you say his name, is it like Road or like Roadie?

I'm not sure, I've heard it both ways.

What do you know about Rhode? What do you expect on Friday?

I know he has a lot of experience. He has seventy fights and he knows what he's doing in the ring. It'll be another good fight for me to see where I'm at. I'll probably talk to him afterwards to find out where I stack up with the other top fighters he's been in with. I'll have to stick to the basics when it comes to keeping my hands up and keeping my chin down.

Rhode just fought John Sargent [a 5th round TKO loss in December]. Any interest in Sargent, or in any other Minnesota heavyweights?

I'm friends with John. When I was training with Ron Peterson he was living with Ron, and we sparred together. He's a very experienced guy and he really knows what he's doing. I'm sure that fight wouldn't happen. Me and Raphael Butler have talked about putting a fight together if the money was right. That's probably the only one that I'd do. That would bring the people in, I'm sure.

The venue for Friday night, Epic nightclub, is a new one. Have you been there yet for a look around?

No, I've seen a couple of pictures but no, it's a dance club. It'll be new for everybody - new for the people setting it up deciding where they want the people and everything, and new for the fighters. When I look at the pictures it kind of reminds me, with the balconies, of the Blue Horizon in Philadelphia.

You've got a history there.

Yeah, I've fought more there than I have here [in Minnesota].

You've got a pretty good fan base in Philadelphia.

Yeah.

Those people in Philadelphia, some of them are wondering where you went and whether you're coming back. Will you go back to the Blue Horizon soon, or do you feel like you've left that behind?

We've actually talked about it. We've been talking about fighting in March in Sweden, but I recently heard a rumor that that one might be off, so if that doesn't happen I'll probably fight at the [St Paul] Armory or at the Blue Horizon. Even though I haven't met many of them outside the ring, when I fight there it feels like the whole place is family. I've fought there more times than I've fought here, and it's the same crowd every time. They line up to congratulate me after the fights. I look at my tapes and you can see the same faces in the same places!

Jesse Kelley recently wrote that this year is "make or break" for you. Do you have a plan for the rest of the year? Any opponents you have your eye on?

I think the plan this year is to get me up into contender status. So that sometime this year or next I'll be able to fight for a belt somewhere. So the plan is to this year get me some more experience and some more exposure this year. Don Elbaum has the ideas, he always has about fifteen ideas about what he'd like to do.

Joey, thanks again for your time.

You bet.

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