March 8, 2000

Boxing.de: Armand, people say Swedes are very good at languages. Which languages do you speak? Krajnc: Swedish, English, Slowenian and Yugoslavian. I understand a bit Russian and Ukrainian. My German gets better as well. And I understand a bit Spanish.

Boxing.de: You are the first boxing world champion out of Sweden since Ingemar Johansson. What does that mean to you?

Krajnc: It means to me that people in Sweden might resume the controversial discussion whether professional boxing should be allowed or not. Maybe they go to court with it. In one or two years many things can happen. Maybe professional boxing will be permitted by then and we can promote boxing events in Göteborg, Stockholm or Malmö. Perhaps an event with Swedish, German and Danish boxers can be made. That would be great for European boxing.

Boxing.de: Are you nervous before your first title defense on March 11?

Krajnc: Yes, a bit. A lot of boxing fans from Sweden will come to Lübeck. I'm nervous because I want to show that I'm a real champion and didn't win the title because I was lucky. It's real hard to remain champion. Like my stable mates Dariusz [Michalczewski] and [Juan Carlos] Gomez for example. They won their titles a long time ago but still they train hard every day and defend their titles successfully over and again. That's real hard. I also admire Mike Tyson who in all his title defenses was showing that killer instinct and scored first or second round knockouts.

Boxing.de: What do you know about your opponent Jonathan Corn?

Krajnc: I watched some fights on video. He does not have very good skills but he is a strong fighter. That suites me.

Boxing.de: How were your preparations going?

Krajnc: Very good. I prepared for two months in Hamburg. That was my longest preparation ever. In addition we had been on the Canarian Islands for two weeks. Everything was going well und now my head tells me that I want to step into the ring and fight.

Boxing.de: Do you have a specific opponent you would like to face?

Krajnc: I want to fight in America, a big fight in Las Vegas. I don't want to make 15 title defenses like Dariusz or Artur [Grigorian]. That's not what I want. I want to get somewhere. When I lose I don't care. I would go back to the gym and continue learning. And I would try it again next time. I want to defend my title twice or thrice and then I want to find out whether I'm the best inside my weight class or not. That's also what boxing fans want to see.

Boxing.de: Bert Schenk was the WBO middleweight champion before you. He had to lay down his title due to an injury. Will there be a clash between Schenk and you?

Krajnc: I really don't know. That's a question to my management. Bert and me are stable mates, we have the same management and the same coach. That's a bit problematic. But we have seen that everything is possible in boxing. It was proven with the fight between Grigorian and Marco Rudolph [two former stable mates of Universum] and in the near future we might get to see a fight between Ahmed Kotiev [WBO welterweight champion] and Michel Trabant [WBO #1 contender].

Boxing.de: Do you know the other middleweight world champions?

Krajnc: Of course I do: Bernard Hopkins for IBF, William Joppy for WBA and Keith Holmes for WBC. I've seen them all on video. Hopkins might be the best, maybe together with Joppy. But the other top contenders shouldn't be overlooked either, like Anthony Hall, Brian Barbosa and Robert McCracken. The middleweight division is very strong. European champion Erland Betare isn't bad either. All these guys are experienced and have many professional fights behind them. I need one or two more years before I'm ready for them. Then I want to fight the best.

Boxing.de: For the first time you fight on a double header together with Cuban cruiserweight world champion Juan Carlos Gomez.

Krajnc: Yes. After the event Gomez and me and our common trainer Torsten Schmitz will be very happy finishing our work and celebrating on the party together.