By Anthony Bosco
It doesn’t look like Vinny Maddalone could get much bigger.
When the 6-foot, 233-pound heavyweight enters a room, it’s hard not to notice. He has the swagger of an undefeated boxer and the rippling muscles to go with the title, a moniker he’d like to hold on to a bit longer.
Maddalone, 28, of Bayside, will put his 15-0, 10 knockout record on the line Saturday when he takes on Russell Chasteen in a scheduled eight-round bout on the undercard of the Wladimir Klitschko-Ray Mercer World Boxing Organization heavyweight title fight at the Taj Mahal in Atlantic City, N.J.
Judging by his demeanor, Maddalone has no intention of returning to Queens Sunday with his first loss.
“This fight, this is everything for me right now,” Maddalone said. “All I’ve been doing is focusing on this fight. There’s no way it’s going [the distance]. I feel too good.”
Chasteen, who represents Muhammad Ali’s hometown of Louisville, Ky., brings a 16-5 record to the dance with 13 knockouts. Chasteen has not beaten an elite-level opponent, but has been in the ring with several quality fighters, including Henry Akinwande, Frans Botha and Shannon Briggs. Chasteen also has a decision loss to the king of the four-rounders, Butterbean.
Chasteen also brings a considerable size advantage into the rings, standing just over 6-feet-2 and tipping the scales at an estimated 285 pounds.
“It’s going to be perfect,” Maddalone said. “The guy comes straight at you. This big guy is going to be perfect. This fight is going to be the telling tale of what I’m working on.”
According to Maddalone, trainer Bob Jackson has been preaching angles and side-to-side movement in the gym, all the while imploring his fighter not to load up with every punch and pick his shots.
“Bob Jackson, that’s the key,” Maddalone said. “I’m learning something every day with him. I feel good.”
Like many Italian-American heavyweight fighters before him, Maddalone is trying to avoid the stereotypical comparison with former champion Rocky Marciano everyone seems to heap upon him.
While Maddalone acknowledges that the straight ahead brawling style he has employed for many of his fights thus far has been successful and certainly garnered him fan support, in the long run he knows he will have to adapt his style if he will be successful down the road as fights get tougher.
“You can have it both ways,” Maddalone said. “It’s almost like killer instinct. I go into that mind-frame when I have a guy hurt. That’s what I do, I just try and finish him off. I can’t do that. The more experienced guys are going to roll with the punches and cover up. I’m going to give everything I got and be done after that. I got to learn to not load up on every punch and pick my shots.”
Maddalone’s promoter, Joe DeGuardia, said that this fight is a step up in competition for Maddalone, who hasn’t fought since March 2, when he scored a second-round knockout over Clarence Goins, but that each and every fight should be tougher than the last.
“It’s a step up, but he’s got to continue to step up if he wants to move on,” DeGuardia said. “Vinny is starting to move into the national spotlight and this is one of the fights he needs.”
Despite his immense local popularity, Maddalone has yet to cross over to television, fighting only on local TV cards on tape delay. DeGuardia and Maddalone have been in discussion with several networks regarding bouts in the coming months and DeGuardia seems all but sure that Maddalone will be fighting on national television before the year is out.
“It’s inevitable that he will be fighting in a major national fight by the end of this year,” DeGuardia said. “There are just the terms and the specifics. He’s an exciting heavyweight, one of the most exciting in the division. And it helps that he brings a lot of fans.”
After Chasteen, DeGuardia said he hopes to have Maddalone fighting in the New York City area again before a possible “big fight” in October.
Until then, Maddalone is working on getting better and training to beat yet another opponent on his road to the contender status.
“I’m 100 percent,” he said. “It’s just about being relaxed. That’s everything. You’re not going to knock everybody out. You’re going to go 10 rounds, 12 rounds.
“I don’t want to be just one dimensional,” he added. “I want to learn to be multi-dimensional. It’s a learning process.”
Reach Sports Editor Anthony Bosco by e-mail at TimesLedger@aol.com or call 229-0300, Ext. 130.
