... picking yourself back up after that, how tough was that?

Uh, it wasn't tough.

Uh, it was just more so like a...

It was just, like, a bummer.

Like, it was just, like, something that, you know, I gotta live with and explain a lot, you know what I'm saying? But it wasn't tough because I know what I did that night, you know? I, I know, I know what I did that night.

I know what I did in that training camp leading up.

I know what I did.

Mm-hmm.

What was your process? What were you going into that fight? How did you want to fight? And did the fight turn out the way you thought it would?

Well, honestly, yeah, the fight, the fight went exactly how we planned it to go, honestly.

You know, uh, we're familiar with him, we've been familiar with him.

Uh, we just knew it was a matter of time for everything to fall into play.

Um, and back to the whole everybody not giving me a shot, saying I'm gonna get knocked out and all this and all that, I, I know what I'm capable of and, um, I know what I can do.

Like, they, they just, i- in a nutshell, they had, they had me totally messed up.

And, um-

Yeah.

What was your process? What were you going into that fight, how did you wanna fight, and did the fight turn out the way you thought it would?

Well, honestly, yeah, the fight, the fight went exactly how we planned it to go, honestly.

You know, uh, we familiar with him.

We been familiar with him.

Uh, we just knew it was a matter of time for everything to fall into play.

Um, and back to the whole everybody not giving me a shot, saying I'ma get knocked out, and all this and all that, I, I, I know what I'm capable of, and, um, I know what I can do.

Like, they, they just...

Thank you all so much for all the support.

Mm-hmm.

Um, I think so.

It's been a lot of good fights happening, um, and more.

It been, it been more good fights happening, actually.

Um, they been getting made, so I think it's on the way.

It's just a little, it's just, like, little bumps.

Like, it's ob- it's like, it should be obvious that two people, sometimes two people are the best at one division and they don't fight each other, but that been happening for a long time.

So, so when you get in the ring with somebody like him, how do y- how do you control the pace instead of fighting his fight?

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Okay.

Um, regardless, um, Vegas did do the right thing and made me finally the favorite, but, you know, I'm not too much worried about that.

I know I was considered the underdog in, you know, two world title fights, three world title fights, so, you know, they just, they had me messed up.

What was your takeaway from him? It, it felt like he was so disengaged from the sport and from your fight.

I think, uh, I don't, I mean, there's, obviously there's something mental there.

Um, and, you know, whatever's going on, whatever was going on with him, um, it was definitely present.

I think, um, maybe he was disengaged, maybe he wasn't.

I just, you know, I, me personally, I felt like all right, don't bring that energy to, to fight with me because you really kicking yourself in the behind, like having one foot in, one foot ou- one foot out.

I don't know if he didn't take the fight, like, I don't, I don't know if he felt like I was gonna be a breeze, just like, you know, a lot of other people was gonna do.

But personally, deep down inside, I knew that he knew he was in for something.

When you started hearing about that, did you think, "Like, there's no way?"

Mm-hmm.

... y'all gotta think the first fight didn't happen when it was supposed to.

It happened, what, four months later after it was originally scheduled, um, in a different venue, everything.

So, you know, it, it's...

When it comes to that one specific fighter things, uh, up in shambles and, you know what I'm saying, like, it's just, you know, he control the show, so it was just like, "All right, whatever." So, um, gen- gen- genuinely speaking, like, we already knew, so we had some what ifs, like, once we, once we signed the contract, we already knew, like, all right, if this doesn't take place, we still wanna fight this year, so that's kinda how that...

Who's that next fight though, to put you on that superstar stage? Because now everybody's looking at you like you're a superstar, for sure.

Well, I think, uh, it's only fitting if, you know...

If I'm, if I'm of, if I'm of that status, why not fight somebody of the same status? Why not fight the likes of a Shakur? Why not fight the likes of a, you know, uh, whoever's, whoever's the champions, but you know, but of that status? You know what I'm saying? Like, uh, me and Shakur already talked about it.

When, when you, when you, when you go to camp, and you're looking for sparring partners, are you trying to find partners that will resemble the fighter that you're gonna actually fight? What, what are you looking for in a f- a sparring partner?

No, my dad handles all that, and, um, he definitely looks for guys that resemble, um, guys that are gonna be...

Yeah, that resembles and, and, uh, guys that, who are actually, like, you know, gonna be challenging as well too.

Like, uh, my sparring partners for this camp, a few of my sparring partners, they were, they was tough.

[laughs]

He is.

Uh, who else? I like, um, I like, I like, um, Steven Fulton too.

That's my, that's my homie though.

Testosterone levels are higher.

Yeah.

T- scientifically, my sports doctor told me beyond four weeks is excessive.

He said four weeks, four weeks and under, you know, you might, you should save it.

Because after that four weeks, it's just going, it's gonna build up but it ain't, it ain't going higher or it ain't, it's, it's gonna be at max.

So, you gonna be cool.

Okay.

... um, at 140.

What was your process? What were you going into that fight? How did you want to fight? And did the fight turn out the way you thought it would?

Well, honestly, yeah, the fight, the fight went exactly how we planned it to go, honestly, you know.

Uh, we familiar with him.

We've been familiar with him.

Uh, we just knew it was a matter of time for everything to fall into play.

Um, and back to the whole everybody not giving me a shot, saying I'm gonna get knocked out and all this and all that.

I, I know what I'm capable of and, um, I know what I could do.

Correct.

He a hustler.

So you know what I'm saying? Like, he, he just hung the phone up. He was like, "That was, uh, that was Tank's team and all that," like, you know, "who represent him." And he asked, "You wanna do the fight?"Yeah. (laughs) Yeah, like, it was, you know. And then we got to, like, you know what I'm saying, weighing our options. But obviously, you know, we wanted to do the fight, and that's what... And solely because he a knockout artist, he sell the number one, the, the, the number one attraction in the US, um, and he's considered pound for pound, one of the pound for pound best. And I know what I can do. So you got to think the upside of that, uh, for a win is crazy. You can be two division world champ, simultaneously champ at two different weights. Um, I woulda knocked off a pound for pound fighter, uh, and then I'll be in that conversation. And that's, that's all the stuff that drives me. I wanna be the best. I wanna be one of the ones that everybody talk about when they come to boxing, so.

Yeah.

And I think that's probably where it probably went left for him far as the, the fuel or whatever, 'cause there ain't no animosity there. I don't got no problem with him, and he don't got no problem with me. So, I think he had to rev his self up. Like, say the whole, the DC press conference. When, when my, when the people from DC started talking to him, that's when he got hype or whatever. Like, he like, "Oh, uh, yeah, he gonna pay for it, he gonna pay for it. Y'all gonna get him hurt." All this and all that. Like, I ain't stuntin' that shit, though. Like, it don't, it don't, it don't really matter. Like, yeah, that's fuel, like, 'cause, 'cause my mother is right there. She like, "What are you gonna leave me at home for?" Fuck, uh, every, uh, front and center. My mother gonna be there front and center every time. Backing my plate. 10 toes down.

after

him.

So when I came into boxing, 9-year-old, 10-year-old, I already knew who he was because he was already, you know what I'm saying, like a self-proclaimed good fighter in the area.

DC and Baltimore, you know, they fight each other or fight in the same, you know, tournaments, the local tournaments.

So I've been seeing them since a kid.

We sparred a lot, probably 13, 14.

And then we fought, we finally fought when I was 15.

Yeah.

No, thanks for hav- thanks for joining us. Take us through Saturday night. You go into that fight. You move up five pounds. You're 135 and you move up. And you're feeling, I mean, everybody's like, "Man, they know he got no chance." Tank told you a couple of days earlier, he going, "Hey, you not going the distance." Y'all shake, um, for a little, 250, whatever the case may be. You go into that fight. You know Tank's a slow starter, builds up as the fight progresses. Know he's trying to land hook to the body, come up top with it. What was your process? What were you, going into that fight, how did you want to fight? And did the fight turn out the way you thought it would?

Well, honestly, yeah, the fight, the fight went exactly how we planned it to go, honestly. You know, uh, we familiar with him. We've been familiar with him. Uh, we just knew it was a matter of time for everything to fall into play. Um, and back to the whole everybody not giving me a shot, saying I'm gonna get knocked out, and all this and all that. I, I know what I'm capable of. And, um, I know what I could do. Like, they, they just, i- in a nutshell, they had, they had me totally messed up. And, um-

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It's three things that coulda happened in that ninth round alone with that knee. It coulda been a 10-round score to knockdown, coulda been a disqualification, or I coulda won by TKO. So, honestly, when you look at that and you say that I got a draw against the number one spectacle in America, a pound-for-pound talent and a, a guy with a 90% knockout ratio, you look at it and like, okay, if you got a draw, more than likely you was supposed to win that night. So, even though I didn't get to win, I'm not a moral victory guy. I'm pissed that I didn't win, honestly.

No, thanks for hav- thanks for joining us. Take us through Saturday night. You go into that fight, you move up five pounds. You're 135 and you move up. And you're feeling... I mean, everybody's said, "Man, they know he got no chance." Tank told you the couple of days earlier, he going, "Hey, you not going the distance. Y'all shake, uh, for a little, 250," whatever the case may be. You go into that fight. You know Tank's a slow starter, builds up as the fight progresses. Know he's trying to land hook to the... body, come up top with it. What was your process? What were you going into that fight? How did you want to fight and did the fight turn out the way you thought it would?

Well, honestly, yeah, the fight, the fight went exactly how we planned it to go, honestly. You know, uh, we're familiar with him. We've been familiar with him. Uh, we just knew it was a matter of time for everything to fall into play. Um, and back to the whole everybody not giving me a shot, saying I'm gonna get knocked out and all this and all that, I, I know what I'm capable of. And, um, I know what I can do, like... They, they just... In, in a nutshell, they had, they had me totally messed up and, um-

Yeah.

They think that a blemish would knock down the value of their con... whatever they have in their contract, or whatever they have presented to them, which is, you know, crazy to me. I think if you put on a good enough fight, no matter if you win or lose, the performance is what matters. It's, it, it's, it's really what matters. So people wanna pay to see you fight. If you fight the good fights, that's what, that's what-