Travis Kauffman Wants Grano Rematch Bad

TRAVIS KAUFFMAN: “HE IS A COWARD AND IS DUCKING ME” February 25th, 2010 | by Sabrina Montez http://vegas.fighthype.com/2010/02/25/travis-kauffman-he-is-a-coward-and-is-ducking-me/ “My eyes are set on my next opponent. I never look past nobody. Then, after I win this fight, I would love for a rematch with Tony Grano. I’m sure the fans want it as well. He is a coward and is ducking me, but I don’t blame him,” stated heavyweight Travis “GW Hope” Kauffman, who’s set to return to the ring this Saturday against Mike Miller after suffering the first loss of his career. Although his bout with Miller, a 6-round main event, is highly important, avenging his loss to Tony Grano (15-1) last September on ShoBox can’t be ignored. Sporting a record of 18 wins and only one loss, Kauffman continues to be considered a serious prospect in the Heavyweight division. “In boxing, one loss and people tend to forget about you. I think that’s why boxing isn’t as big of a sport anymore and MMA passed us because you see UFC and MMA fighters still fighting for titles with 6 or 7 losses,” says Kauffman. Training in his hometown of Reading, Pennsylvania, Kauffman looks stronger and better than ever. “Training has been going well. I have been sparring with Tomasz Adamek and a couple of other guys from my area. I haven’t really been focused on sparring one style or type of guy. We were supposed to fight Bernard Brown, but he got scared, so we reached out to Zuri Lawrence and a couple of other guys.” Kauffman hopes to get back to adding to his win column beginning Saturday against his opponent Mike Miller. A tough fight schedule looms ahead as he is already lined up for fights in March and May following the Miller contest. When asked if he had adequate time to prepare for each fight, Kauffman stated, “Yes, I have enough time. All I got to do is stay in the gym.” In recent times, Kauffman has been a lead sparring partner for top heavyweight contender Chris Arreola. “Chris was my sparring partner. I never go into camp with a sparring partner mentality. I go to make the guy work and to learn, not just for a payday. I would love for the opportunity to one day fight Chris. If someone called me today to fight Chris, I would say hell yeah. Even though we’re good friends this is a business,” he added. The influx of Europeon Champions has shown dominance over American Heavyweights as of late. Kauffman gave his theory on why American Heavyweights are unsuccessful when facing the Europeans. “I think Americans are unsuccessful against Europeans because I think Europeans live this 365 days a year and are hungrier than Americans. I believe us Americans have gotten lazy because we have so many more opportunities and are spoiled,” he continued. Kauffman shared some closing thoughts, “I love boxing and always will, but my number one goal in life is to be the best father I can be to my 2 boys.”