In this episode of the Joe Rogan Experience podcast, I sit down with former world champion George Groves to talk about his incredible performance in the WBC World Boxing Super Middleweight title fight against one of the best fighters in the world, Gio Teofimo. We talk about what it was like to be in the ring with one of boxing's biggest stars, and how he handled the pressure of being a 7 1 underdog in a massive fight. We also talk about the mental and physical effort it took to get to where he was at the time of the fight, and the mindset that he had to go through in order to be the best that he could be. I hope you enjoy the episode, and don't forget to subscribe to the show and leave us a rating and a review! -Joe Rogan Subscribe to the podcast: Rate/subscribe in Apple Podcasts! Subscribe on iTunes Learn more about your ad choices. If you're a supporter of the podcast, please consider pledging a small monthly fee which can help support the podcast in the form of just $1, $5, $10, $15, $20, $25, $50, or $60, or even $100, and we'll send you an ad-free version of the entire show for next week's episode. Thanks for supporting the podcast! -Jon Rogan Podcast, all future episodes will be sponsored by Paypal - Subscribe, Rate, Review, and Review! I'll be giving you 5 stars and a FREE shipping address. -Shout-Outro Boxer Talk - Subscribe on Podcoin - Subscribe to Podcoin.fm/Rogan Podcast - Subscribe & Review? - Thank you Jon Rogan's Podcasts - I'm listening to your Review & Reviewed Podcast? Thank you for supporting this podcast? Subscribe & Share the podcast and Reviewed by Tom's Reviewed Song: "Rogan Experience Podcast: Train By Day Podcasts: "By Night, Train by Day, by Night, All Day All Day, Train By Night, By Night All Day" - Tom's Thoughts on Podcasts & More! "The Joe Rogans Podcast" - Tom talks About It's a Podcasts Podcast, "The Real Talk Podcast?" - Tom Talks About It All, Tom talks about It's All About It, Tom Talks It's My Life, My Thoughts On It's A Good Day Podcast,
00:00:24.000Does it feel like you're living in a fog, like a dream?
00:00:27.000A little bit, but I've had that vision, you know, for so long.
00:00:31.000You know, I've manifested for so long and before this fight, even as a young amateur, I knew I'd be world champion.
00:00:38.000I knew one day more time would come and, you know, it finally did.
00:00:42.000Well, I was told about you a couple of years ago by my friend Vinnie Shorman, who's big in the Muay Thai world, and Liam Harrison is a Muay Thai world champion.
00:00:51.000They were telling me how awesome you were years ago.
00:00:53.000But until Saturday night of last week, the world, you know, they didn't know.
00:02:19.000That's right, I haven't had my moment yet leading into that fight, but...
00:02:25.000He was coming off the big Lomachenko fight, the big win there, what he'd done in that fight, so impressive.
00:02:30.000He knocked out Richard Comey as well, so the hype, the noise that he was making, this was just going to be a normal mandatory fight that took so long to make, and he was supposed to just do the business and move on to something bigger.
00:02:44.000That hunger that I had, that tunnel vision to show who I am, to show how great I am, and I had to go through it all in that fight, from the cuts to being put down in round 10, but I knew that this is my greatness now, how good I can be and show the world and shock the world.
00:03:02.000It is a reoccurring theme in boxing and in all combat sports when someone takes an opponent lightly.
00:03:11.000And they go in thinking they're just going to steamroll this guy, and then they get met with reality.
00:03:17.000I mean, it's happened so many times in fighters' careers.
00:03:21.000And then there's also the other reoccurring theme, a guy like yourself, who has his eyes on the prize, is completely focused, and people are counting them out, and then they rise to the occasion and become a superstar.
00:03:41.000I felt as we led into the fight and we had that first press conference where we looked into each other's eyes and I saw a guy who it came too fast and he needed to be matched with someone that was not going to take a step backwards.
00:03:56.000And the whole thing was this whole preparation.
00:03:59.000I was never going to take one step backwards.
00:08:38.000Well, June 19th was the original date.
00:08:40.000And four days out, he tested positive for COVID. So on the day that I found out, obviously I've been away from my kids, my family, I flew my pregnant wife out to be with me for that fight week.
00:08:51.000She took a lot of sacrifices as well because the doctors were telling her not to go with the way the world is at the moment.
00:10:52.000You know, from my pro debut to winning the Undisputed Championship, I've prepared for every opponent, given them respect and prepared as a World Championship fight.
00:11:03.000When I got put down in round 10, I was actually smiling.
00:11:06.000I was enjoying the whole adversity because this is what makes fights like this great.
00:12:55.000Having trained with Manny Pacquiao had to be a huge asset for you because even though Bay was probably your biggest name opponent up until then, how many rounds had you done with Manny?
00:15:03.000And me being me, you know, I turned around him being a school teacher and said, I've never asked for permission from a school teacher ever, so I'm gonna go do my thing with Pacquiao no matter what.
00:15:15.000I think he's gotta understand that you had to.
00:15:21.000And to be able to have an opportunity like that to spar 250 rounds with one of the greatest of all time, I mean, he won world titles in what, eight divisions?
00:15:44.000I mean, when he knocked down Thurman in that fight, I was like, this is crazy.
00:15:48.000This guy's 40 years old, and still can crack, and still as fast as lightning.
00:15:54.000Yeah, look, the power that he possesses, but it's not a thumping power, it's that explosive speed, that explosive power, the forework he gets in position, and all of a sudden he's landed three, four, five shots, and then he's angled off.
00:16:06.000A lot like I did in my fight against Lopez.
00:16:08.000A lot of that sparring paid off and it did shape me.
00:16:12.000And I know he did put out a tweet as well saying that I hope the sparring we did helped you in this fight straight away.
00:19:05.000In the amateurs, yes, as a young amateur coming up, I did feel certain times were overtrained.
00:19:11.000But I think the reason is, as an amateur, you're fighting so constant.
00:19:14.000You might have three fights in one week, and then you've got two fights the week after.
00:19:18.000But in the professional ranks, I've always been very smart, got a good team around me, and I made sure that every preparation is pinpoint.
00:19:26.000And a lot of people were thinking I was going to burn out for this fight and overtrain because it was such a long preparation, nearly 10 months.
00:19:34.000But I said, look, I've got a good team.
00:19:50.000Well, you did it perfectly as far as your preparation because you were in tip-top shape in the 12th round.
00:19:56.000You never lost any steam, you never lost any endurance, and the way you bounced back from that knockdown in the 10th really showed what kind of conditioning you had.
00:20:06.000And I think that the conditioning there, especially to bounce back after getting put down, it shows.
00:20:14.000Because if I wasn't conditioned, I wouldn't be able to survive that round.
00:20:19.000When you think of, like, preparation for fights, you know, and you see guys like Manny Pacquiao, you see guys like Floyd Mayweather, you see guys that are just always in peak condition, that extra edge that they have that seems to be,
00:20:36.000I mean, that is, there's not one elite world-class fighter that you can say doesn't have that same kind of endurance and that same kind of discipline.
00:20:46.000I think that elite level guys, you need to have it.
00:20:51.000If you don't have that conditioning, I don't think you even get to that elite.
00:20:54.000I think you need to have that from a young age, from early in your professional career, to be able to have that work ethic, that relentless drive, to have that conditioning.
00:21:03.000The only guy I could think that wasn't like that is James Toney.
00:21:07.000Yeah, but his defense too was unbelievable as well.
00:21:58.000I've only had 20, and to think how the preparations are, and what you put your body for, and how sore you are after a fight, especially a 12-round fight, to think these guys would fight, and then a week or a week and a half later, they're fighting again, that's real worrisome.
00:24:11.000And the end of his life wasn't the best.
00:24:15.000When you see guys like that that stay in too long, like Ali, like a lot of these guys, do you have it mapped out when you're going to exit the sport?
00:26:18.000Sometimes fighters want to sacrifice that weight division and lose that extra bit, but they lose themselves in the actual battle, in the fight.
00:26:55.000Conor never lost at 45, but also never missed weight.
00:27:01.000He made weight every time he tried at 45, but it was a rough one.
00:27:05.000When you would see him at the weigh-ins, he looked like a skeleton.
00:27:08.000And that's when you see big issues in fights and problems start where You know, brain damage and fighters unfortunately pass away and we've seen in boxing because they lose all that weight.
00:27:20.000They're so dehydrated in the brain where they don't hydrate properly as well.
00:27:26.000And all of a sudden, you know, you see it in the fights, they take brutal shots and unfortunately things happen in the fight.
00:27:32.000So, you know, I'd rather be feeling great, be hydrated.
00:27:35.000You know, I know that I'm going to this fight, you know, that there's going to be no issues with that and, you know, I feel good.
00:27:42.000No, I think that's the right approach to be healthy.
00:27:44.000And if you look at boxing, I think the vast majority of deaths occur when guys have caught weight.
00:27:53.000I don't think there's very many deaths at all in the heavyweight division.
00:27:56.000I think the heavyweight division is unusual in that.
00:27:59.000You get the biggest guys with the hardest punchers.
00:28:02.000Hardest punchers, and yet you have the least amount of deaths because they're not cutting anywhere.
00:28:27.000You're trying to figure out what's the best approach, to be bigger and have maybe a little bit more horsepower behind the punches, or to be healthy and then you have more gas tank, you can go longer, you can push a faster pace, you're lighter on your feet.
00:28:43.000It's a great example, my fight with Lopez.
00:29:10.000And the way I've always had that approach is it's about the size of the heart, you know, how much you want it, the willpower, what you're ready to go through.
00:29:16.000And that's the way I took him to that fight.
00:29:18.000Have you gone back and watched the fight?
00:30:02.000I have heard about that, but we knew that coming in.
00:30:05.000I knew that, you know, the corner that he has, you know, I don't want to put anyone on the spot, but his father, you know, is...
00:30:14.000When you're getting information, you've got to have trust in your corner.
00:30:19.000My corner is unbelievable from my coaches, Javier Santino, Mick Ackerway, to my cup man, Mike Basil, to even my father was the fourth, Jimmy Cambosis, which I'll tell a funny story with that as well.
00:30:33.000You want to have trust in your team because, again, you could be taking a lot of punishment.
00:30:37.000And again, as much as you don't want to stop the fight, I expect my corner to have that trust and to throw in the towel or stop the fight.
00:30:45.000Because we want to leave that ring and go back to our kids and family.
00:30:49.000Now his corner, you know, they didn't do a right job.
00:30:53.000His cut man took forever to get in the ring.
00:30:55.000You know, his dad was giving the wrong information.
00:31:04.000Round by round, we executed it round by round.
00:31:07.000These guys had no game plan and that's on them.
00:31:10.000I think after he beat Lomachenko, they had this idea that he was the next superstar and he was gonna steamroll you and steamroll everybody else and because he's such a heavy puncher and the way he fought like with that Super stiff jab with Lomachenko and like real aggressive and the fact that he was able to maintain that pace throughout the entire 12-round fight and Lomachenko I think it was in the 11th he put it on him a little he really got to him and Lopez survived that and then came back to win the 12th I
00:31:41.000knew from that fight that the size difference between myself and Lomachenko, obviously I'm a lot bigger, but my speed, my explosive power, the way I move and get in positions and throw punches and combinations that are quite awkward shots, shots that you don't see.
00:31:55.000I knew that I would have that advantage and I was never going to wait.
00:31:59.000I was going to come in there like I did in round one, take the shots, be prepared to take shots and obviously land my shots as well and put him down and show what I'm about and get my respect.
00:33:39.000I think it can be done with the right personalities.
00:33:42.000But oftentimes, the problem is it seemed like in the Lopez corner, you know, his dad was so accustomed to Lopez just fucking everybody up that he thought that he was going to wake up eventually and catch you.
00:34:03.000But when you come against a guy that was prepared to die in that ring, as scary as it is, and as much as I trust my corner, I was honestly prepared to die in that ring.
00:34:12.000I told my wife before we went to the arena that I'm prepared to die tonight.
00:34:17.000If anything happens, everything's for the kids and yourself.
00:34:21.000I'm here to win this fight by any means.
00:34:25.000And the shots that I took in that fight, I think he takes out any other lightweight in the world.
00:34:30.000There were some big shots, but I just kept coming.
00:34:33.000And I know for a fact, when he did put me down in round 10, and I got up and survived that round and finished that round strong as well, And this is like a Rocky IV movie.
00:34:43.000He came back into that corner and he said it to his team and his corner men that this guy's made a steal.
00:34:51.000And I know psychologically that would have broken him as well.
00:34:53.000That's why that round 11 was so successful.
00:34:56.000That round 11 really showed what I was about.
00:34:59.000It really did, and the fact that you came out as hard in round 11 as you had in round 1, and maybe even harder because you had something to prove.
00:35:08.000You were letting them know that that knockdown is not how the rest of this fight is going to go.
00:35:15.000A testament to myself and how hard I prepared for this fight.
00:35:18.000I just want to show how great I am, especially in the last two rounds.
00:35:21.000I've been put down and, again, in life you get put down.
00:36:41.000Look, everything was great until Lopez tested positive for COVID. And then everything went downwards.
00:36:49.000You know, postponements, date changes, you know, venue changes.
00:36:53.000As a fighter, and again, Lopez as well, we're preparing for a fight.
00:36:58.000You can't expect the fighter to be making weight, to have the right sparring, the right preparation, and all of a sudden they said, okay, let's move it back again.
00:39:27.000And then on top of that, there's this new thing that they're saying, that he had an esophageal tear and that his lungs were filled up and his body cavity was filled up with air.
00:39:38.000And they were saying that he went into the fight like that, but...
00:39:42.000When you go through a brutal fight like the one you two went through and you hit him with, how many body shots did you hit him with?
00:40:07.000And there was nothing before the fall when he was screaming, you know, and the videos of him screaming at the poster of me saying, I'm going to eat you.
00:41:09.000But when you're getting, you know, badly attacked and my shots are landing and the bodywork that I was landing, you know, and the placement of the shots, you're going to feel all types of ways.
00:42:21.000With the thought of him moving up to 140 pounds, which is interesting, because post-fight, when there's a fight like that, it takes a while for the dust to settle, especially when he got hit with a lot of big shots and he's badly cut and battered.
00:42:38.000When the dust settles, if he chooses to go up to 140, do you see yourself ever fighting at 140?
00:42:46.000At this stage, there's so much unfinished business at 135. And because I make the weight so good, you know, there's no vision of 140 right now.
00:42:55.000But once I take all these guys out, the Haneys, Javonte Davis, you know, Ryan, go see if he gets his act together and starts fighting, Lomachenko.
00:44:36.000I started the big fight, you know, and I gave a fight of the year.
00:44:41.000Then I was at the Haney fight, watching ringside, and we had our little chat as well after the fight with the cameras there, which was all respect, you know.
00:44:50.000And then I was at the tank fight as well, and I know he walked past.
00:47:21.000And again, too, he came out with, you know, the excuses, which it made him look worse because he put out the videos of the highlights and showed the world, look what I did, but the world saw.
00:47:51.000Yeah, well, the world saw it, and that's why with Lopez coming out and saying, I won the fight, the whole world, whatever, saw it, blah, blah, blah.
00:47:58.000I said, man, the whole world saw this.
00:48:01.000The arena, your own fans are booing you now.
00:48:03.000That's a crazy thing too, because when I walked inside that arena, I was getting booed like crazy.
00:48:09.000Yeah, but that's the thing about Brooklyn, man.
00:48:11.000If you're fighting your Brooklyn fighter, you're going to get booed.
00:48:15.000But if you beat them, they're going to cheer you.
00:48:19.000I stood on that ring before I entered the ropes inside, and I just stared at them like a gladiator, like a Roman gladiator, like a Spartan warrior.
00:48:28.000I could see him booing there, doing all types of stuff.
00:48:31.000I said, okay, you boo me now, but I tell you, by the end of this fight, you're going to applaud.
00:48:36.000And when that round 12 was done, I stood on the ropes, and I'm bleeding, and Eddie Hearns there clapping like you couldn't believe it, like a little kid.
00:48:44.000And I'm wiping the blood off my face and I'm showing the crowd and say, this is for you guys.
00:51:30.000That arena is beautiful and the way it's set where it can be open for the undercard and the co-main and then on the main event to be closed.
00:53:58.000I go to bed, I have a good sleep, and I'm up, I feel great.
00:54:02.000That seems the only way to settle it, is a hard workout, right?
00:54:06.000Yeah, you need to have the hard workout, and I've told guys coming over, because I've done it so many times, I said, as soon as you land, don't sleep.
00:54:13.000As much as you want to sleep, do not sleep.
00:55:29.000I have a high protein, so my chicken, my turkey, lean beef, and then I like my complex carbs, my sweet potato, my pumpkin, some brown rice, some quinoa, and then from there...
00:55:44.000My salad, my veggies, and that's it, yeah.
00:55:51.000My wife, obviously, when we're at home together, but when I'm here, I'm doing most of it myself, and I enjoy it.
00:55:58.000You know, I love the aspect of the nutrition, you know, eating right, getting the right fuel into your body, because a lot of fighters, they train unbelievable, but all of a sudden they stuff up on the nutrition.
00:56:09.000They stuff up with The post weigh-in, the right meals.
00:56:14.000Straight after the weigh-in, I had my hydration and I had a meal ready to go.
00:56:18.000My turkey, my avocado, the good fats, the good protein.
00:56:22.000I had to put all the good stuff back into me.
00:56:24.000Now, have you worked with the nutrition to develop this meal plan?
00:56:29.000Very early in my career, I think I was still an amateur.
00:56:33.000I did get to a nutritionist, learn a couple facts, and then the rest was just my own study, trial and error.
00:56:39.000You know, I'd sit there and, you know, I'd have a big sparring session, you know, on a certain date, and I'd work on things leading into that sparring session, see how I felt.
00:56:48.000You can have a nutritionist, you can have a dietitian team, but it depends how your body feels.
00:56:54.000It might work for you, it might not work for me.
00:56:58.000I've come to a point where I know exactly what I've got to do to make the weight, to have the right energy.
01:00:14.000You know, in that fight, the world might have thought that they've seen the best of Kambosis, but, you know, for me, I feel like that was 15%.
01:01:01.000That's the kind of fighter I am and dedicated to this sport.
01:01:05.000You got the Ring Magazine belt, which is by many people, they think that that's probably the most unbiased of the belts.
01:01:14.000Because if you look at the regulatory bodies, they all have their own mandatory challengers, and there's a lot of shenanigans that go on with that.
01:01:23.000So now you have the IBF, you have the WBO, and you have the Ring Magazine title?
01:01:29.000I have the IBF, WBO, Ring Magazine, WBA super title which is the best WBA belt you can get and I also have the WBC franchise belt which to me is a super title as well.
01:01:43.000I know Haney has a WBC belt and the way the WBC has set this up is You got a super champion, a guy who, you know, cannot have any mandatories, can be able to maneuver, you know, and have options to do what they want to do,
01:01:58.000which I like, because the last thing you want to do is be caught up in a mandatory where it doesn't make sense.
01:02:04.000You know, I can maneuver where I have to.
01:02:06.000How did you get to become a super champion?
01:03:08.000And we get to the airport, and even yesterday, we get to the airport in LA, and as we're going through customs, they open them up, they check them.
01:04:08.000Your resistance, your heavy lifts, your load work where you're going down on a certain count.
01:04:17.000As you get closer to the fight, your resistance bands and the speed work, the explosive power.
01:04:23.000Your speed and agility work, part of that shrink conditioning cycle in the morning.
01:04:28.000And then we go to our boxing in the afternoon, early afternoon, where you're doing your pad work, your sparring, your bag work, your game planning, your shadow boxing, everything that is involved, you know, to get to that level of the top.
01:04:47.000I love the roadwork, especially at the end, because you've put in the hard work to get up again and say, okay, I've got to do my roadwork now.
01:05:20.000As a young amateur, you start off with one session a day and you see the professionals in the gym when you're watching them and idolize these guys.
01:05:28.000You know, you say, okay, they're training twice a day.
01:06:28.000My goal is to get back and do heavier lifts, build that more strength, push my body to the next level.
01:06:35.000And we got all the data and we got everything from every past fight that I've been working with this team.
01:06:40.000And we can see the figures continually go up.
01:06:43.000Now, if them numbers and figures didn't go up in the next preparation, I don't feel right because I'm always trying to get better and better every day.
01:06:50.000So we'll put in the heavy strength work now to build that power, to build that next level numbers.
01:06:56.000And then as the camp progresses, the date will get locked in, then we start to pinpoint, okay, we're sparring on these certain dates.
01:07:38.000The strength conditioning is one aspect, but when you're boxing and you're losing so many calories and then you're running on the road doing your 45 minute to one hour road work, you're always going to be in that peak condition.
01:07:50.000The body type is going to be very similar.
01:07:52.000Do you have specific foods that you eat right post-workout to try to recover?
01:07:57.000Because when you're training three a day, one of the most important things is refueling your muscles before you give it a go again in a couple hours.
01:08:03.000I used to have obviously your protein shakes and all the good stuff to get back into you, but I took it out of my system, the protein.
01:08:20.000I'd rather have the good food, the eggs, the spinach, the broccoli, the veggies.
01:08:28.000I still put in my glutamine with my hydration because it's very important to get the lactic gases and keep the hydration up.
01:08:35.000But real food, my body's never looked better and I'm on real food.
01:08:40.000Yeah, I agree with you on the real food thing.
01:08:42.000I think the best thing about protein shakes is when you're on the go and you need to get calories, and you need protein, and you could down a shake, but I really prefer real food too, and I think I prefer that athletes eat real food.
01:08:56.000Well the thing is too, when you're a professional and you're working non-stop in the gym and this is your craft, I don't have to go to a job, I don't have other work.
01:09:08.000So you take the time, you use your time management and I learned that from Manny Pacquiao too, time management is very important.
01:10:25.000Now, when it comes to recovery, when you're doing these kind of brutal workouts and you're doing something like that three times a day, do you do anything for recovery, like in terms of massage, sauna, ice baths?
01:10:40.000We do our massages, but the biggest thing I'm on is three to four times a week, I'm in the Epsom bath.
01:12:54.000I'm thinking of that ice bath in the gym.
01:12:55.000My favorite is sauna straight to ice baths, back to sauna.
01:12:59.000That's the best because you get to the sauna to the point where you just can't be in there anymore.
01:13:04.000Like 20 minutes in, I do like 185. 20 minutes in at 185 degrees Fahrenheit and then right into the cold plunge, freeze my dick off for like three minutes and then back to the sauna.
01:13:16.000When you get back to the sauna, that 185 feels like nothing.
01:13:30.000We were in Russia fighting in the amateurs and they took us to the mountains with the snow and they had this little, you know, hut with a sauna in there.
01:13:54.000Yeah, so Fedor, we used to watch him prepare in Russia, and Fedor's arguably, if not the greatest heavyweight of all time, definitely in the argument of one of the greatest heavyweights of all time.
01:14:06.000He's probably three guys you could make that argument about, and Fedor's one of them.
01:15:00.000I think, yeah, with the way the body is, I think from going to the cold and then the heat, it just relaxes the muscles, gets the lactic acids out.
01:17:08.000And literally before the fight, I'm there looking at it and I go, okay, that's the place.
01:17:13.000But another little trick that I do is, you know, you've got my diary that I write every day.
01:17:17.000I'd write three things that, you know, What I'm doing it for, what it means most.
01:17:22.000Obviously, every time, my kids, my kids, but, you know, you're writing for your legacy, for, you know, your country, all the little things that, first thing in the morning, you're having your coffee, you write it down, it just sets me in a right path.
01:17:53.000And just writing it down kicks off the day in a good place.
01:17:58.000But the visualizing and manifesting and seeing it before it actually happens from a young kid, I feel like I've always had this sixth sense and I could just see it.
01:19:04.000I was playing rugby, you know, back in Australia, you know, as a 10, 11-year-old, you know, from starting at age 6. That's all I wanted to do in my life.
01:20:57.000All of a sudden, instead of coming last, you know, in whatever we did, I was coming first.
01:21:03.000So all of a sudden, you know, that passion for boxing, that real combat took over.
01:21:08.000So as I went back to the next year for rugby, you know, I was playing really good rugby and I got picked for a representative team.
01:21:15.000But at the same time I was boxing and, you know, I made the state championships, the team, And I just, I still love both, but boxing was everything I wanted to do, and I wanted to take that to the next level.
01:21:28.000So with the representative team, they sat us down, the coaches sat us down, and they said, okay, you'll be training Monday, Wednesday, Friday.
01:21:37.000And straight away I said, okay, Monday, Wednesday, Friday is when I have boxing on.
01:21:42.000So I sat in the car with my father on the way home, had all the footy training gear, the rugby training gear, and He goes, how good is this?
01:21:49.000Something you want to do your whole life?
01:21:59.000I said, yeah, well, you're going to have to make a decision.
01:22:02.000He goes, remember I was telling you about the crossroads?
01:22:04.000I go, I know what it is now, the crossroads.
01:22:07.000I said, this is like 11, 12 years of age.
01:22:10.000So you guys, look, it's the weekend now.
01:22:12.000I'm going to give you the weekend to think about it.
01:22:14.000Come Monday, after I finish work, I want to see what bag's going to be here, the boxing bag or the footy bag, and we'll go where you want to go, where your heart is.
01:22:36.000Look, they were upset because they saw how dedicated I was and what a good player I was, but they understood it because they knew that boxing was there and that's how I'd lost all that weight and become a good player.
01:22:48.000So they said, look, whatever he wants to do, the kid made his decision.
01:24:09.000You know that feeling before a fight, especially in the amateurs, you're using the same gloves, you know, that we're used in the tournament.
01:24:15.000So you're putting them on, you can see the blood and you can smell it and You know, the sweat and everything, you know, you got everyone there ready to watch.
01:24:55.000Eventually he did, but even before this fight, when we spoke to him, you know, before he passed away, leading to this fight, with all the dramas that we had, he said, Just accept it, whatever they say, just take it, get the money, you know, for your family.
01:25:09.000It's still that old-school mentality, make money for the family, and that's what they did.
01:25:12.000They came overseas in the 60s from Greece, you know, didn't speak the language at all, you know, to give a better life for themselves, and all of a sudden, they met their wives and their husbands, and, you know, all of a sudden, they have a family, they raise a family, and they move on to me being here,
01:25:47.000You know, to think about it that a year and a half, two years ago, when I fought at MSG, when I beat Mickey Bay, I only got paid like 20 grand.
01:25:55.000And when I paid everybody else and worked out my training expenses and had my kids there and my wife with me.
01:26:05.000I lived off the sponsorships, the small amount of sponsorships.
01:26:09.000That was your first real world-class opponent, right?
01:26:23.000I go, this is what I came here to the U.S. for.
01:26:26.000This is the kind of guy, a veteran, a guy that's been there, a guy that knows the ins and outs of boxing, the little tricks, you know, the smooth moves.
01:26:38.000Let's suck up another guy and let's get close to the rankings and hopefully we'll get a shot and we'll make some money and see how we're going.
01:26:51.000It's a wake-up call to people too when they hear about that purse.
01:26:56.000Because a lot of people, they think of boxing purses, they think of the purse that Tyson Fury gets or that Floyd Mayweather gets or Deontay Wilder.
01:27:04.000The reality is guys coming up, even when you're headlining, even when you're the main event, it's not a lot of money.
01:27:21.000I was originally set with Triller to get 2.1 million US. All of a sudden, the problems that happened and the issues, you know, it was a lot less now for Matrim.
01:27:31.000But for me, it was never about the money.
01:27:33.000And people online and friends were saying, you're crazy, man.
01:28:42.000When you started out your career, did you have a boxer that you emulated or that you wanted to be like or someone who you admired their career and wanted to resemble their style?
01:29:43.000And I had my Duran moment in that fight as well because in round 12 when we both looked at each other, And he didn't want to accept it, Lopez.
01:29:53.000I was waiting for some kind of acceptance, and he didn't want it.
01:29:56.000So I gave him that shove, that push, like, bang, and then I'm going to celebrate.
01:30:01.000Like Duran did with Sugar Ray in the first fight.
01:30:03.000Yeah, well, Duran, I think he called him a whore.
01:31:03.000Well, I think he really truly has his mind set on being the greatest Mexican champion of all time, and maybe even the greatest boxer of all time.
01:31:14.000When you see the Danny Jacobs fight, and you see his head movement, and you realize how much he's taken from the one loss that he had to Floyd.
01:31:24.000That was a fight where he realized, man, there's levels to this shit, and there's some guys you just can't hit.
01:31:30.000And how amazing was that transformation from him before that to afterwards because now his head movement and his defense is sensational.
01:31:50.000That's wild, man, because you're talking about a guy who's probably 210 and cutting down to 95. He did say that he was not going to come in heavy at all.
01:32:01.000But he said he's going to try to stay around that natural weight that he's at because he doesn't want to put on anymore because it'll probably affect his speed and his movements.
01:32:11.000Well, all he has to do is be over 175, right?
01:35:20.000He does it so well and he has that patience and confidence of a multi-division world champion who's faced the best of the best so that when he gets into those championship rounds, he gets into those later rounds, he knows that he's managed his energy so perfectly.
01:35:37.000The Kovalev fight's a good example of that, right?
01:35:39.000Because Kovalev looked pretty good early on in the fight.
01:36:02.000Truly an all-time great and a guy that we're getting to witness and have the pleasure to witness right now.
01:36:09.000So to be able to FaceTime with him and just hear his advice about keeping that dedication, don't lose sight of what you're doing, and continue reigning for a long time was amazing.
01:36:47.000When that fight was done, I knew I'd won the fight.
01:36:51.000I said, you'll bounce back, you'll bounce back, you know, respect, you know, but he's young, he's going to learn and, you know, I can't sit here and knock the guy.
01:36:59.000I bled with the guy, I sweated with the guy.
01:37:01.000You know, we gave, you know, the world an unbelievable fight.
01:37:05.000Well, the beautiful thing about what you did is that he is a great fighter.
01:37:10.000And because he's a great fighter, it made your victory so amazing.
01:37:14.000If he wasn't a great fighter, it's not going to be that impressive.
01:37:17.000It was the fact that you were facing a guy who just beat Lomachenko, who was just a world-class fighter who many people thought was the scariest guy in that division.
01:37:28.000Look, straight after my world title eliminator in London when I beat Lee Selby, you know, another former champion, a guy who's been around a long time, straight away I called him out.
01:37:38.000And like you said, this guy was posed as the scariest guy in the division, the guy that no one wanted to fight.
01:37:44.000Unbelievable power, unbelievable boxing, had it all.
01:37:46.000And he does, he does have great attributes.
01:39:08.000Like, when you look at him, he's got a lot of power.
01:39:10.000And you gotta wonder how much of that is because he put a lot of weight on after the weigh-ins.
01:39:15.000But, you know, he has made 135 successfully in the past.
01:39:19.000I don't know what his diet and regimen and training routine is like, but it seems like if you want to chase the big money, I mean, it was such a close fight.
01:39:29.000If you wanted to chase the big money, I would imagine that they would take a break, take a breath, regroup, and look at all the options on the table.
01:41:51.000For me, even going to the fights on the weekend, the Haney-Jojo Diaz fight, going to the Javonte Davis fight with Isak Cruz, As a fight fan, not only as a guy that I was scouting to see who might be the next guy.
01:42:06.000Just as a fight fan, seeing the fights, being there.
01:42:48.000I think everyone is trying to become the undisputed champions in their divisions and what better way because then it solidifies there's the one champion.
01:43:55.000Do you think when a guy gets so thoroughly outboxed like that and almost put away in the 12th, do you think that's quick to come back from a fight like that?
01:44:04.000It is, but again, it shows that the testament that Joshua has.
01:45:32.000I wish more nationalities were like that in the fight game, but that's one country that they really love their fight game, and they've got some tremendous champions.
01:45:45.000I mean, arguably one of the greatest of all time, Oleo Cesar Chavez, and then I think now with Canelo moving into the position, first of all, he's the number one pay-per-view draw right now, or right up there with Tyson Fury.
01:45:58.000And arguably, not just the best that's active right now, pound for pound, but one of the best of all time.
01:46:22.000But, you know, the amount of work that it takes to get down to that, if he had done that For that Joshua rematch and came in looking like that, who the fuck knows what would have happened?
01:46:32.000And psychologically, too, if he came in looking like that, Joshua would be like, okay, this guy's serious.
01:51:03.000That really is the most important thing.
01:51:06.000There is a time when a fighter becomes very famous where the hanger-ons and the people that are parasites will try to come and hang out with you.
01:51:27.000You know, I can see someone that's trying to take advantage, you know, for their gain.
01:51:33.000If these guys haven't been there from the start, through the trenches, the hard work that we've had to go through, you know, because I've really had to earn every spot and every position I'm in right now.
01:51:44.000They're not there for the right reason.
01:51:46.000If I don't see them firsthand, my father will.
01:52:33.000Obviously I'm involved in it as well and make sure it's right, the deals are right, you don't get sucked into anything stupid and you go from there.
01:52:45.000It's beautiful to see a young guy like yourself with so much success but has his brain totally straightened and tied down correctly and your mind is right.
01:52:56.000It's very important because this fight game, especially boxing, is filled with sharks and chameleons, change their skin real quick.
01:53:16.000It's about, you know, what does my promotional company, Ferocious Promotions, what are they going to be involved in?
01:53:23.000Do I get opportunities to have guys that are with me, you know, guys that are signed with me on the cards?
01:53:30.000You know, so that there, because I didn't have that.
01:53:32.000I had to go through the hard road, the local circuit, you know, literally selling my tickets, selling the tables, getting your $5 here, your $10 here, you know, for each table you sold or your ticket you sold to make it.
01:53:44.000So if I can be able to change a talented kid that I've seen and that I have with me and put him on a card and give him the opportunities, It's worth more than money.
01:53:55.000For me, like I said, it's about being smart, having the right approach and changing the people around me, the good people around me, changing their lives as well.
01:54:04.000So is that part of your goal, to try to elevate the boxing scene in your area as well?
01:55:14.000Well, there's insight that a guy like you can provide, you know, a guy who's a world champion that you're just not going to get from anybody else.
01:55:21.000Well, me and Sean Porter, we're just feeding off each other and back and forth with things that we see and the aspect that we see in the fight game.
01:55:28.000So definitely the commentary is something I love to be involved in.
01:55:31.000You know, the promotional side of things, the managing side of things and I love to be in the gym too, so I think the training side of things as well.