MA: Everything is very good. I am working extremely hard and feel that I am in great shape. I have been getting tremendous sparring from Shamone Alvarez in the gym and am just looking forward to the 5th. I always work very hard in the gym so that way come fight night I know I will be ready. I had some trouble with my legs for my last training camp, but I am one hundred percent healthy now and ready to go.

Q: You are fighting again in your adopted home city of Atlantic City. Do you enjoy fighting there?

MA: Yes without a question I love fighting here. I have so many fans and supporters here in Atlantic City and it's always great to fight in your home city, even if it is my adopted one. The Greek community is great with all the support they show me. I have a lot of fans coming out from Astoria and best of all, after the fights over, my house is only a quick drive away.

Q: What do you know about your opponent Nasser? What is your game plan coming in to the fight?

MA: I saw him fight live before right here in Atlantic City when he took on Juan Urango. He is a tough guy with good speed and a pretty good jab. That being said he is nothing special, especially for someone on my level. I plan on going right after him and setting a fast pace as I always do. I want to really put the pressure on him from the opening bell and I feel that after about the 4th round he will begin to fade and my pressure will be too much for him to handle.

Q: You always seem wherever you go, to have your loyal Greek fans there to support you, playing the war drums, chanting your name and waving their Greek flags. What does it mean having your fans there showing as much support as they do?

MA: It means everything to me. These people are rallying behind me, they believe in me and I do not want to ever disappoint them. This is why I fight, for them and for my family. Without them I wouldn't have had the success I have had in my career. I love when the crowd gets behind me, it gives me that extra push, or burst of energy that enables me to turn it up an extra notch.

Q: Mike in your picture perfect world, explain to me how you see the next year playing out? Where do you want to be, who do you want to fight?

MA: I don't really want to look too far ahead of my upcoming fight. I never want to fall into that trap of looking past an opponent. That being said, I am in excellent shape and know that I am ready to go and will come out victorious on September 5th. After that I hope to fight again very soon in a world title eliminator and by the beginning of next year I expect to have one of the major belts in the jr. welterweight division. I really do not care which champion I face, I feel I match up very well with any of those guys and do not see any of them as a bigger threat then the other. 2009 is going to be my year, the best of Mike Arnaoutis is still to come.

Q: Before you go Mike, looks like there has been a recent new addition to the Arnaoutis family?

MA: Yes, that is true me and my wife Eleni had our first child back on August 5th. She is a beautiful baby girl that we decided to name Agapi-Michelle Arnaoutis. She weighed 6 lbs. and 11 ounces when she was born. Things are different now. I have a lot more responsibility with her. She inspires me to train harder and come fight night I know she will be motivating me to go out there and look my absolute best. It will be exactly one month since she was born on fight night and I can not disappoint her on her month birthday. I am really looking forward to strictly spending time with her after the fight is over and just relaxing with her and my wife for a little while.

Q: Anything you want to say in closing?

MA: I want to thank my promoter Joe DeGuardia and Star Boxing and my manager for putting this fight together. I want to thank my trainer and everyone I have been working with at the PAL gym in Atlantic City, NJ. I want to thank everyone who has supported me so far and thank those who are coming to the fight in advance. I am very focused and really looking forward to this fight and putting on a great showing for all those in attendance at Bally's next Friday.

Tickets are priced at $90 and $60 and can be purchased by calling Ticketmaster at 1(800) 736-1420 or going online to ticketmaster.com. Tickets are also available by calling Star Boxing at (718) 823- 2000 or by going online to starboxing.com.  Kevin Rooney Jr.
Star Boxing