Pudwill Set For Vanda
Photos and Story By Jesse Kelley
4.17.09

North Dakota's Tocker Pudwill will share the main event spotlight this Saturday night with East Saint Paul's Matt "The Predator" Vanda at the Target Center in Minneapolis, MN.

Pudwill is no stranger to headlining fight cards. In fact the veteran of almost 50 fights has traveled the world, having fought for two world titles. Pudwill's eyes lit up when I asked him to reflect on the most memorable fights of his career.

"It was always a dream of mine to fight for a world championship. I've been boxing ever since I was five years old and I finally got that opportunity in 2001. I went over to Germany and fought Sven Ottke for the IBF super middleweight championship. At the time I was rated number 8 in the world by the IBF. I got the shot but it was a short notice fight. Two weeks notice but I always wanted to fight for a world championship so I took it. Obviously two weeks notice is not the best circumstance but I accepted the fight and I think things went alright. I lost a twelve round decision to him but it was probably the biggest highlight of my career, going the distance with the IBF world champion."

Pudwill's second title shot came two years later only this time it would be a single week to prepare. Pudwill faced future hall of famer Joe Calzaghe for the Englishman's WBO title. Pudwill says that he took the fight because of the opportunity and the nice payday.

"I didn't have the proper training to face a southpaw like Calzaghe and I paid the price. He knocked me down three times and that was pretty much it."

Those highlights would mark the beginning of an inactive streak though as Pudwill would fight only once over the next five years (2002-2007), losing a close decision to Vinny Pazienza in 2004. Pudwill pins the lapses and inactivity on the fact that he simply lost the determination and drive after boxing for nearly his entire life.

"After I fought Vinny Pazienza I was going to call it quits. Two years went by and I got the urge to do it again. The plan was to go down a weight class to middleweight and get another big shot."

Pudwill's return to the middleweight division came against Canadian tough guy Brooke Wellby around a year and a half ago today. Pudwill dominated the fight with speedy combinations which he credits to the drop in weight. However, his plans to chase another title came to a screeching halt as both happiness and tragedy struck at once and his boxing plans were temporarily forced onto the shelves once again.

" The fight with Wellby went real well, I felt great at 160 pounds. Me and my wife ended up having another baby girl shortly after. But due to complications from the pregnancy, my wife ended up having to go through brain surgery to remove a tumor that had grown."

Pudwill says that is the reason he hasn't been in the ring since October of 2007 but happily confirms that his wife is now 100% recovered from two separate surgeries.

Pudwill was out of action in that time but says that he has been in the gym for the last five or six months preparing for would be fights.

"Actually I have had three fights fall through that I was training for. When I was offered this fight for April 18th though I said definitely"

Interestingly, Pudwill and Vanda share a common opponent, and that opponent arguably happens to be Pudwill's biggest win as a pro. In 2001, Pudwill rumbled with former Minnesota middleweight champion and Vanda conqueror Anthony Bonsante.

"It was my first fight back from fighting for the IBF championship when I fought Bonsante. I was out of action for a year. We had an opponent fall out named James Crawford from Iowa. We offered Bonsante the fight and they accepted it. I trained a certain way for Bonsante because I knew exactly how he fought. The main thing I trained for was to counter his right hand with a left hook. I ended up catching him with a left hook in the first round and he went down. The knockdown changed my whole game plan though because it kind of got my adrenaline going and I wanted to knock him out after that. Instead of trying to outbox him I brawled with him. I think in the end I was just too strong for him. But it was a good fight". (Pudwill won by unanimous decision 80-74 | 79-72 | 78-73)

So now we stand on the eve of what should be a very interesting showdown between two recognizable Midwest middleweights. Minnesota boxing fans don't really need a description of East Saint Paul's Vanda as they are all too familiar with his action packed style when his opponent wants to trade. I will admit that last Saturdays interview with Tocker Pudwill was the first chance I have had to see him in person. I can say that Pudwill seems to share similarities with Vanda stylewise. Tocker himself agrees that there are similarities to a point but stresses his belief that he holds advantages in a few key departments.

"I've seen him (Vanda) fight many times. I know quite a bit about him. I know what kind of fighter he is and he is a tough kid. He's been around the block a few times and fought some tough fighters. He brings a good fight to the game. But I feel like I have the advantages going in with him. I am bigger, stronger, quicker, and I just feel like I have the better boxing skills then Matt Vanda. But he is a tough kid and I know he will keep coming. I prefer to fight guys like that. I am looking forward to a good fight."