How different is watching a fight on TV compared to being there
live?
How different is watching a fight on TV compared to being there live?
Oh yeah, being at the fight is more exciting. You see the sweat, the blood and you can feel the vibe from the crowd and the excitement. I played football, I’ve been to a lot of events and nothing measures up to boxing … There’s nothing like (that intensity), not unless you go back to the Roman days and the Gladiators.
What do you think about the idea of open scoring, where judges show how they scored each round on a scoreboard for everyone to see, including the boxers, throughout the fight?
It’s a good idea because it will make the fight more exciting with the fighter knowing that he’s down and he’s got to pick it up, that he’s not going to be able to cruise through. It’s also a bad thing though because if you get a fighter that feels he’s too down, he might quit on the fight … I think I would keep it the way it is. The only thing I would change in boxing is I would step it up to 15 rounds.
Why is that?
Because you have more rounds to beat on somebody. (With) 12 rounds I can fight eight rounds and survive four. But if you have to fight 15 rounds then the real conditioning of somebody can come out, because a guy can fight (poorly) the first half and come on in the second half of the fight and have enough time.
This is your second title defense. The first one obviously was marred by Orlando Salido taking steroids before the bout. Is anything different about how you prepared this time around?
Yeah, we’re out here in Big Bear and we’ve never been out here before. This is where we’re at with top-quality training.
Do you take your fights personal or do you treat them as strictly business?
I treat them as strictly business. It’s a sport and when you take things personal, you don’t have fun doing it.
Have you heard any talk out of Martin Honorio’s camp?
No, we don’t really care about all the talk and all the hype that goes on with the other fighter. We just prepare and let our fighting do the talking.
From watching film of Honorio, have you seen anything glaring or a fatal flaw?
Yeah, I’ve seen a lot of stuff, a lot of holes, a lot of openings. I don’t want to give nothing away, everybody is just going to have to wait and watch the fight.
Can you tell me what his nickname, “El borchas,” means? I’ve heard several definitions.
I really don’t even know what it means.
What would a win on Sept. 15 mean to your career?
It would mean a lot. It would be a title defense. It would open up a lot of doors for big championship fights, unification fights, fights as the main event. (This fight), basically, it’s to showcase (myself) on HBO Pay-Per-View. It’s going out all over the world.
