Heavyweight "Mean" Eugene Hill Eugene Hill is one of the hottest young pros to emerge in recent months onto the Houston Boxing Scene. Reminiscent of Mike Tyson in the ring, down to his black shoes with no socks, the 29-year-old native of Dickinson, Texas, just southeast of Houston, stands 5'11" and weighs in around 235 lbs. He's 6-0 with 6 KO's and plans to pound out a name for himself in the heavyweight division. HBS - Tell us a little bit about how you first got involved in boxing. EH - I got involved in boxing back in ninth grade, started boxing. My dad didn't want me to box but after he passed away back in '96 and then I started boxing with Walt Hailey. Been going from there. HBS - So tell us about your amateur career. EH - I won Golden Gloves a few times down here in Houston. I won the Ringside Nationals. I was ranked number three last year and got the little bronze medal at the USA tournament in Colorado Springs. I won the Blue and Gold national tournament. I could have tried and went to the Olympic Trials and stuff but I decided to turn professional last year under Bob Spagnola. HBS - What was your amateur record? EH - I had like 50 amateur fights and like 27 knockouts, four or five losses. HBS - What is it that you enjoy about the sport? EH - I love it. I love the one-on-one competition you know, ain't no team. You know I can't get tired and say "I'm tired, come switch me out". It's just one-on-one, going at it and I love it. HBS - You're pretty vicious actually in there, coming pretty much straight forward and you've got this real big right hand. I guess that's how you came up with the name "Mean" Gene. EH - My Mean Gene name came from one of my childhood friends back in Dickinson. He used to always call me Mean Gene when we was kids so I just stuck with it, the neighborhood name, Mean Gene. HBS - Have any of your pro fights gone past the first round? EH - One made it to the beginning of the second but pretty much they've all been stoppages in the first. HBS - From an objective standpoint, most of the guys you've fought were not exactly the greatest fighters in the world so far and most people understand that, you need to build up a record but the question would have to be what are your plans for stepping it up in the level of competiton? EH - Well I just take them as they come. Every time I fight I'm looking to go the distance, and I'm looking at is as though it's going to be a hard fight. My last fight I was supposed to fight like three or four guys that backed out. As a matter of fact one of them beat me in the amateurs and he backed out so I'm just taking them as they come. If they're first round knockouts I like it. If they're good I'm ready for them. If they're not so good then they get knocked out. (laughs) I'm just ready you know? Ready for any and everything, to go the distance, really. I don't look for first round knockouts neither. HBS - So maybe some better guys that might normally be set up to fight you are afraid of you? EH - Yes sir, I think so. HBS - What are you working on in the gym right now? Your style is pretty much you coming forward and blasting guys. There's not a lot of complexity there. EH - I'm working on a lot more movement and not just head shots, a lot of body shots too. So I've got vicious body shots that I've got to work on, a vicious body punch really but I'm just headhunting so I need to focus on working on the body and a lot more head movement. So I got some stuff I still need to work on HBS - At the age of 29, what do you see as the prospects for your career long-term? EH - I'm just taking it one day at a time and taking these fights and trying to fight every month. That way I can move on up pretty fast and I'm excited about how everything's going and I'm feeling good. I feel great. I wish I had turned pro a little earlier but I'm satisfied with where I'm at right now because I feel good. I'm ferocious and I'm just taking it one day at a time, one fight at a time. HBS - On the positive side of it, Evander Holyfield's in his forties and he's about to fight for a title so there's nothing that says you have to be in a hurry to do this. EH - Yeah, you're right. I look at Evander and I realize if he can do it I feel like I can too. So that's a motivation, looking at him still in it and doing good. HBS - Have you ever fought anybody who competed with you much or hit you much? EH - Yeah, my fight pro fight in Houston the guy hitting pretty hard, man. They all hit hard. You know I just do what I do and whatever they got they bring it to me. I let them see whatever I got. I take them on out of there. But I have had guys that could hit pretty hard. I just try not to get hit so that's why I say I need to work on a lot of head movement, that way I won't get hit that much.