by Geoffrey Ciani – This past week’s edition of On the Ropes featured two exclusive interviews. Highlighting this episode was a nice conversation with former undisputed welterweight champion Zab Judah. Here are some excerpts from that interview:
Regarding his last fight against Ubaldo Hernandez:
“It was a great feeling. I prepared myself well for it, and as you can see, it only went two rounds. It was a great night for me and I’m just looking forward to some more of those.”
On the debate between Manny Pacquiao and Floyd Mayweather regarding the Olympic style drug testing:
“Mayweather’s got his beliefs, Pacquiao’s got his beliefs, they’re going just to ride it out. For them, it’s not about the money, they’re going to make the money anywhere..”
Regarding a potential match-up between him and Pacquiao:
“No matter what, if he is on steroids—allegedly—if he is, he can shoot the sh*t right in front of me. It doesn’t matter.”
Reflecting back on his fight with Floyd Mayweather Junior:
“It was a good night. I felt that I fought the wrong fight going into the fight. I fought the fight with a little bit of emotion. Emotionally I got kind of taken out of character. I just went in there and tried to go for the knockout, so by around the sixth and the onward rounds I was kind of fatigued and tired. All I do is pray every day for a rematch.”
On his fight with Joshua Clottey:
“Pacquao should get him. I was beating Joshua Clottey. I suffered a cut and they stopped it on the cut. Everybody thought that I was still doing good because I was winning on the scorecards but it was a different game being played that night.”
On the possibility of facing 140 pound champion Amir Khan:
“Who is Amir Khan? This kid is a young little kid with a big mouth. He’s never won a world title, he’s never done anything great in boxing. He could never match up to none of my stats.”
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Jeff Mayweather
Next up we had a good discussion with former fighter and current trainer Jeff Mayweather. Here are some of the things Jeff had to say:
On his goals for 2010:
“Hopefully 2010 will be a really good year for me. I was blessed to being able to train Celestino Caballero. Then I have Mickey Bey who actually we’re trying to secure a title fight for as well, so hopefully I’ll be working with two world champions this year and I have a few other fighters as well.”
Regarding how he thinks Caballero can become a better known commodity amongst fans:
“It’s just a matter of him getting the right fight and actually being broadcast on HBO or something like that where everyone gets a chance to see him and watch him showcase his ability.”
Regarding his plans for Mickey Bey in the upcoming year:
“We’re looking to fight, possibly Robert Guerrero somewhere down the line, hopefully pretty soon. From there, Mickey is a very, very good fighter and I believe that if he wins the title he’s going to have it for awhile.”
On Olympic style drug testing being the breaking point in failed negotiations between Floyd Mayweather and Manny Pacquiao:
“Only a fight of that magnitude can bring change. I mean, boxing always needs change for the benefit of boxing. I think that if someone thinks that this guy is using whatever he’s using, I think that if he’s not using he would easily step up and say, ‘Hey, test me any time’.”
On the fact that Mayweather and Pacquiao could not reach an agreement:
“It is a big blow to boxing because it’s a fight that boxing needs. Boxing is kind of losing ground to UFC, MMA, and all these other combat sports that are coming to fruition now and moving towards the forefront.”
Regarding what other dream fight he thinks would be very good for boxing:
“It’s strange, the first fight that comes to mind is a fight that I know will never happen, and basically that’s Klitschko versus Klitschko.”
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If you missed last week’s special edition of On the Ropes, be sure to tune in and listen now!
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To contact Geoffrey Ciani or Jenna J:
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