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Boxing with Chris Mannix - Undisputed

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Published May 18, 2024, 5:01 AM

Boxing with Chris Mannix

Chris Mannix will bring fans closer to the sport and its personalities with in-depth conversations with the top names in boxing.
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Joining Mannix this week from Riyadh is former super featherweight champion Barry Jones. Mannix and Jones break down Saturday’s huge heavyweight unification fight between Tyson Fury and Oleksandr Usyk. Later, Todd Grisham joins to talk about the recently announced worldwide release of the newest boxing video game, Undisputed. #Volume #Herd

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This is boxing with Chris Manning or somebody punch him in the face.

Empty Joshua is a composed and ferocious finisher.

Watch this Your weases is the Heavywee posted by Sis Chris Mannings. That was my moments now with interviews, analysis and everything going on in the world of boxing.

When you have talent, you are given another chance.

Here's Chris Mannix.

And we are back Boxing with Chris Mannix, part of the Volume Sports podcast Never We Welcome in. Everyone that is listening on the podcast Speed. If you are not a subscriber, get over to the box with Chris Mattics Speed. Hit that subscribe button. Make sure you get this pod in your feed every single week. So I am in Riod, Saudi Arabia. The scene the sight of the Alexander Ustik Tyson Fury heavyweight unification fight that goes down on Saturday night live on to Zone. I guess it's Sunday, no Saturday afternoon in the US. I mean, I may be stumbling over my words here because full disclosure, I don't remember the last time that I slept. I left New York City at eleven am on Thursday morning. I arrived in Riod at eleven on Friday morning. I have not slept yet, and as I record this, it is about one thirty am technically Saturday morning. So delirium may be starting to set in a little bit with me. But I am glad to be here because I think this is going to be a huge event, great undercard, and we will have a brand new undisputed heavyweight champion crowned. Hopefully could be a draw. I guess hopefully we get a winner on Saturday night. So we're gonna talk a lot about this fight coming up. Barry Jones is the former super featherweight champion. He's going to be on the call on the Dezonne broadcast on Saturday. I talked to Barry about all things Fury and Usick, from the lackluster performance from Tyson Fury in his last fight against France and Ganu to Usik and the kind of stops and starts he's had over the last few years, basically been a once a year fighter since he made the move to heavyweight. Is that going to affect him in this fight? What kind of styles can we expect from both guys, what kind of strategies. I unpack all that with Barry Jones a little bit later on Todd Grisham, who is my broadcast partner with The Zone. He is also the vice president of global Acquisitions with the Undisputed video game. That game is coming out on PS five, Xbox, all the major consoles come October. I talked to Todd about the long, long build up to the release of the first boxing video game in over a decade. What can you expect, what kind of characters, what kind of techniques are they going to apply? I'd get into all that and more with Todd Grisham. So great episode coming up for you today. As always, subscribe, rate review this podcast on Apple, podcast, Spotify, wherever you download podcasts. I'm going to go to bed now, but when we come back, you can hear my conversation with Barry Jones. You know what the show has been missing, Barry. More Welsh, more Welsh. It needs more Welsh on the show.

You'll need more subtitles. I would feel if the more Welsh people.

You get, well, we have enough Mexicans, well one Mexican particularly, that enough of he's not here, he's not with us this week, but there's enough of the Mexican. Uh So, I think we need more Welsh here on the show. And that's why we have you, Barry Jones, former super featherweight champion, and we are in Riod where we'll be working Saturday's undisputed heavyweight championship fight between Tyson Fury and Alexander Usig. You have been here, Barry for a few days. You're acclimated. I just got in here a couple of hours ago and I am on my second Red Bull and I've also had a triple espresso.

You look surprisingly good for some who hasn't sept and it's been traveling.

I'm battling right now that that flight from New York, it was New York to cut her and then cut her to ri odd but that New York to cut her flight is like fourteen hours and you just can't decide on the plane, like when am I going to sleep? What am I gonna do? Because I'm getting in here at eleven am. I'm leaving New York at eleven am. I try to manage. It is the.

Chance and the worst thing is over here. Everything in the night. This is in New York, because I mean you would have done the press comes on you coming on the bed.

Yes, yeah, we're recording this before the way, which happens at eight o'clock, nine o'clock at night local time. So I'm just bout I'm just trying everything humanly possible short of hard drugs, to get through.

What if you if I have to say one thing, if you fall asleep, I'm definitely shaving.

Your eyebrows no to see these caterpillars.

If I can reach. I'm sure you're quite told. Can you remember we did a little piece of the own. I had to stand a little bucks.

That's true. Yes, you got so you don't remember Sue for that.

I don't know.

Now, we we've had, we've had people that have worked with us in the past that have used the Apple Box that have have hopped on there. Because you know, I'm frequently tall for someone on TV, about six ft three. Uh, so that's what you o the first persons. Let's just let's just say that, all right. So I want to talk about everything to do with u Usik and theory, but I got to get your take on what's been going on in the US over the last week involving Mike Tyson, because during your fighting days, you were fighting right around the same time Mike was going in the nineteen nineties, you know, kind of when he was at the peak of his popularity or close to it. Uh, what have you made of Iron Mike coming back for a real fight at fifty eight years old?

Yeah, it's stupid. A living legend, maybe the most recognizable person in sports. But and he might be fit, and he might still be built, throw like a killer left hook and a fantastic upper cut. And he knows that the box and and and the other guy doesn't really that he doesn't look too bad, but there's there's levels to this game, of course, but you're old and it's a dangerous sport and a big guy, whether you can fight or not, can still throw a power shot and you can get hit. And I always say with people about them when people get the end of their career something quite often and they look great in the gym, but then when they get to a fight, they get knocked out. And I think it's your vision. It goes when you're older and you just don't see it. So if when you when you're younger and you're fit in your shower, but you see a punch coming from the shoulder, and if you can't go out the way you can brace yourself in this you know you have a good chain because you're bracing yourself, you're collecting the shot. But when you only see it when it's when it's four inches from your face, you can't brace for it. And that's what the punches you don't see, the ones that knock you out. And that's what I worry for a fifty eight year old man who hasn't lived the greatest of lives outside of the ring. Let's let's not forget that didn't look great in his last fight. Whenever that was. I can't even remember it.

So four years ago, well, no real fight. Oh god, the end of Mike's career was bad. That was Danny Williams. It was Kevin McBride, yeah, well McNeely was even earlier.

Yeah, but even then he was gone by then. I thought he won, that he won the same force. I think it was a clear like decline in him. And then so you know, it's how we're expecting nineteen eighty seven Tyson all of a sudden because he's on because he's on Instagram. It seems. That's what it seems. So it doesn't. It doesn't bode well. And and I hope it goes fine, but what if it doesn't, then it's a bad look for everyone. And also you know the health implications, that's the biggest factor. But also no, I'm not a not a fan of it. I won't even doing money, Chris, I won't even doing fortunes more me first and then but in reality, what's money when you can't spend it? When you know when you must put them all this money, when you're use paying hospital bills and cares to look after you and that's the people say, oh, that's the top, but that's the potential what could happen because we know we've been in this but we've seen this spot long enough to see people. We know people who are having to have K twenty four hours care because because they've taken too many punches. So I'll rat a on a bit more. I keep going over the same point, but I'm not a huge fan.

I talked about this last episode, but the nightmare is kind of what happened to Vander Holyfield. If you remember that from a few years ago where Evander fought Vitor Belford, and Vitor Belford is a former UFC fighter. He came out to take Evander Holyfield's head off and he put a pretty decent beating on a Vander before that fight was ultimately stopping. I don't think that's going to happen with Tyson, Jake Paul. Look, if you watched any of the press tour this week, which wrapped up in Texas on Thursday, like these two guys just like old pals in a way, like they're kind of chumming around. You know, there's the two minute rounds, which is going to be helpful to Mike, there's the fourteen ounce gloves, which you're going to be helpful to.

Mike.

I think this is going to be kind of a goofy little exhibition if we're being if I'm predicted.

Yeah, But like j Paul's an intelligent man. He's charismatic and he said he could probably act well if he was Disney Kids. Who knows, But it's he's not good enough to coast to fight. He's not good enough to hold his punches back. He doesn't know. He hasn't got that experience, Mike, Tyson can or no, when you get to form a legends, they can make it look to the non the non boxing eye. If you will make it look really competitive, not really hurting each other. We all know that. But it's but he hasn't got the experience to do that. So if he throws a punch, he's gonna throw a punch, even if he doesn't put a lot on it. If he twists his body into it, it's a shot. And that can be the wordy for anyone. But I mean Tyson can hold his punches back, because you know.

I think he did in that Roy Jones fight. Thought I thought he could have gotten Roy out of there if you really wanted to.

So so that made it look competitive because there are two guys know what they're doing, even though they're way passed the cell by date. Jake doesn't. And also will he want to. He might build it up like this might be take a nice and Eezy might be oken the problem and then all of a sudden he sees a shot and just thinks. Because he doesn't care about I knocked up the fifty old my Tyson, He's just gonna say I knocked up Mike Tyson and then by next year, that's all that will matter. That's that would be the story. I mean, he's made a living. I'm not cared what people think. I'm looking at a guy who's building the same way. But having had thick skins a gift, isn't it And most people haven't got it, so but he has that, so he would just he would just be selfishly do what he wants to do, what's best for his career, and if he thinks knocking my Tyson on that, and if he has the opportunity to do it, he will do it. If he's able. You know, he shouldn't be able, but he's still like I'm fifty though I know I don't. I know I only look fifty two.

But no, no older than forty nine.

I'll take that to tell you. But you know, like I'm slower now and I'm a little fidgety, like tiny hyperactive guy. And I've noticed that. I've noticed the slowness. And I don't drink. I'm drinking over seventy so I know I don't drink. I don't take drugs. I haven't abused my body and that much. I eat a lot of chocolate and ice cream and stuff. But from that, you know, but like he has hall the history of doing what he wanted to do, so I can't see how it can be if they if they play with each other, it'll be a horrible watch. And if they don't, someone could get hurt. I mean, that's boxing, gentlemen. But I mean I just don't. I'm not a fan of it.

Yeah, I get that. I think that's an opinion shared by many people.

Then I'm working it and if any one's offer me a job, then it's a fantastic.

Shout out to Netflix if you're looking for a broadcaster. Barry Jones ready to fly over to Arlington, Texas the weekend last week of July. All Right, so let's talk about Usik in theory here, which is a fight roughly three years in the making. When you go back to when Usik first knocked off Anthony Joshua to win the Unified championship, it's felt that times Barry that this fight was snake bitten. Most recently, you had the cut that prevented this fIF from happening, and I worried that cut happened just weeks before the scheduled date. Did any part of you think that maybe we were just never going to get this fight?

All of me thought that you've go back to the same point. You've been in the sport as long as long as I have, knowing that we're cynics. Now we don't unless we see them, unless we see them touch gloves. I mean, we've seen people get in the ring and walk out, so you know, so unless they touch gloves, you know, and the bell goes, the fight's not happening. So you tend to think it was never going to happen. It's always a reason, and make that main reason is always financial or ego, where somebody wants to be on the left hand side of the poster wants the biggest dressing room, wants the ring walk first and all that rubbish, which I think is rubbish. But they say that it's a bigger deal. But ultimately it's the many who's going to get the biggert share. The fact you I'll offer you fifty million, Hang on, you're giving him fifty one million. It's just be getting fifty million when I won fifty two. It's that they're getting that ego thing. I'm right good to them. But I thought that would be the stumbling block. They're not scared to fight each other. No fighters scared the fighter anyone, I don't think. But the many was the was the stumbling block. But no, no, that's no longer the case because we've got people in Saudi where we are now. They just have a no massive giant pockets.

To spend on boxing.

Oh well, lucky, we look a look at the roster that they're bringing a potentially and you're not potentially in reality and potentially further on, No, after August August the third, that's I gotta go there. But it's just it's amazing. It's like I'm a proper box all. I probably a proper boxing fan. I love boxing, and that's why it was slagged off. My wall tiled because I boxing probly should be I wouldn't be a world champion. I say it all the time because I love boxing. I was a good fight there, but to be a world champion it should be special. And you know, and so I've monist about because I'm a fan before I'm a fighter. So all these fights we're seeing now, it's just like, oh, dream and true and whatever they are. People have moaning it's in Saudi Arabia. There's no atmosphere or so it's in Saudi Arabia for other reasons whatever, you know, And I understand those people have to we have to travel. But the modern boxing in the UK have been spoiled because of Anthony Joshua. But when I was a kid, and when I was boxing, any brit who was good had to go to America. Was the seventies was New York and the eighties ninety two thousand was the last vegation you had to go. That was that's where the fighters were and that's where the many was. So you had to go. So ultimately, unless you were selling stadiums back in the UK, which only a few fighters could do that. Or you had to arrival like bet and you bank and you stayed away from all the Yanks and you just box each other in four That's what's fine. That can happen. They were good fighters, world class fighters. But unless you want to did you want to fight the best and get the biggest money in the biggest occasion, you had to fight to the States? No, you're only flying six hours and it's only a two hour time different. So for fans boxing fans and not together. But in the UK, not the US. Bless them, but they don't have to get upbout three o'clock and the four o'clock in the morning. They just have to know they can go bed at midnight.

Do you think that off topic? Do you think Anthony Joshua has to fight in the US again? Is would it be a stain if he retires zero and one with one knockout in US fights?

I think that's a perspective on where you live. I think the US fan, I mean they would think that because you know that big arrival into New York was his you know, announcement that I am no, I'm not only the world champion, but I'm just going to take over the everything. And he's the perfect marketing dream, isn't he for everything? If he if he would have won that fight, they know everyone in the US loves him, and then he that might.

Be maybe doesn't get up from that. Firstly, we're talking about an entirely different path again.

He's getting big money in the medic in the u K. But his money with the doubles, if he's if he's headline in the US, because your TV broadcasters and and and and and the pot the pots that you have of gold. I think for himself you want to I would feel, but it's so it's how he looks at it. To me, it wouldn't matter. I think the fact that he's coming back and winning fights again that's important, and you know, and to regain the championship the world is very important. But he has to fight. He's not going to be Douzic again. He's not gonna boxing twice and if boxing teach time, they won't he won't win. I don't think. I think that's styles all wrong for him, and I think I don't think he beats Fury, but that's the fight we want to see him and Fury, So I think that's if he doesn't get that one, then if you got if you've got to beat Fury, then he's in the conversation about who who is the best of their era and there's only a few in it. And it has been a great era of quality being exciting fight, but I think the quality hasn't been fantastic. That's why we've had standouts, I feel. But yeah, I think that's more of a US point of view, which is understandable by the way, because you've been the home of boxing almost since boxing pretty I.

Mean for a while. But I think the boxing happened outside the US.

Does Yeah, No, I have that I have. I have a similar sort of view that I'm a British boxer, but I all this loyalty for fighters like boxing individual sports. I was a Sugar Eleand fan if I can get his name of Sugar Elenards fan. I love Sugar and who didn't and as a young kid growing up I wanted to beat him. I've done more wrongs to shadow boxing him that I have actual wrongs of my own fights. But when he box day boy agree it was a British fighter and a good fighter. I didn't want day Booking to win. I wanted End regardless of where he's from. So you know, it's not you shouldn't have to You shouldn't have to be forced to support someone from who's from your country, and if it's from your city or your street, sure the understandards a little bit more. And you might want, like I want Jo because he's Welsh, but no, ultimately, if he if he's if he's boxing the different weights, Roman Gonzales, who's my favorite fighter in the last fifteen years, then I don't want him beat Roman Gonzales. That's just because because I'm like the cheap persided by him, so you know, and that's the difference. So I don't yeah, yeah.

So when it comes to Fury, if this fight had been made a year ago, Fury probably would have gone into it as a three to one favorite, maybe a four to one favorite, you know, coming off the year that he had knocking out Dillion White, just blasting out Derek Chesora. I think a lot of people would have made him a big favorite. Fast forward to today and if you look at the odds Bury, they're really close. Maybe Fury's a slight favorite somewhere. I've seen some sports books where Usik is a slight favorite. It's effectively a fifty to fifty type of fight. I think a lot of that is, you know, from the Fury in Ghanu fight and what people saw in Fury and wondering what that means. Is it, you know, a sign of decline? Is is he just not what he used to be? How do you feel about that? Like do you look at the Fury in Ghanu fight as being an aberration, something that he didn't prepare for and is easily easy to move past from, or is it something more significant? Does it represent something different with Tyson Fury?

I think potentially it's a bit of both. I certainly thought he was just a money grab for him futioning, he's big bouquets, not standing him on his head, collect them, not to others. And I don't think he prepared well for Cesora or Dillian White, and he had He made easy work at those. He just waited for him to make a mistake, That's all he had to do. And then so with Fury Usic as well, maybe especially Fury, when you judge his decline, it's difficult because he boxes once every eighty months or whatever.

It is.

It's ridiculous. He doesn't box often enough to really to show an obvious decline. But if you really think about it, he hasn't had he hasn't had a stellar performance since February twenty twenty. That was the second World to fight, where he boxed fantastically well out of character for him, not now, but back then all the character. He went forward and he boxed fantastic and he got the stoppage and it was a privileged to be ringside. But since the third World fight was a better fight to watch, but not a better performance from him because he got caught way too many times and almost got knocked out. Didn't he great for us? Not good for him? And then the White Fighter didn't box great against the passes sell by Dylian White, I felt and already we've seen that twice before, so we knew. And then the God it was awful. He script all around against the Novice. So there looks there to be a decline, and that's a problem for him because this is the Harli fighters of his career. Stylistically, mentally, they're not physically, but mentally and stylistically because you've got a guy who's clever so I feel the things that you can do well might not work, And I think that's for bugs of them. If they're all both on point, things you do well might not work, and then you have to adapt. And when you've had a few years now last four years, when you have to really think about what you're doing, can you still click in the gear mentally? I'm not quite sure. Usually they'll lose it is these people say. But I think it's quite an apt saying. Especially for sports, you have to keep like you have to keep fit. He does muscles working all the time. You have to keep your brain in check. You have to keep thinking learning about this. You know, he's dying out and he's been always are He studies boxing, but he hasn't for a long time, I don't think. But when he's brilliant, he's all. That's the truth. You know, he's the most adaptable heavy we've had for such a long long time. The fact that I don't think he knows what he's going to do wrong by round. So when first of all, I think, how'd you train him, how'd you corner him? That's right, right, tyson, what you're gonna do it is And he's thinking, yeah, yeah, and he gets them into something totally different. You're like, what and it might be better by the way, and I would you fight? Would you train for him? That's the worst because you're not sure what version you're going to get. But if you look at his last fore fights, you see the version you're going to get, and it's not that impressive. It's it's beatable. So that's why it makes him much much makes it a much closer fight than it would have been, as you said a few years back.

And there's a lot you can attribute that to. It's it's look, he's thirty five years old. He's been a heavyweight in a boxer for a long time. We talked about Mike Tyson not exactly living the healthiest life out of the ring. Tyson Fury well documented his issues outside the ring, the weight fluctuation, all the things he's had to deal with over the last ten years or so. And look, the Wilder fights were great, but they probably took something out of them. Yeah, yes, you go thirty whatever it is, thirty some rounds with Deontay Wilder. Uh, you get knocked down what three times? Over three fights? Not to mention the shots you took that didn't knock you down. I mean, that's a trilogy that defines you, but it also I think takes a lot out of you.

I think, so yeah, you know that. I thought, I thought you won the first fight, and I thought he boxed superbly well. But on I was ringside for that fight as well, and when he went down, he wasn't getting there.

I one of the great moments in recent box officers.

I always see the people want my job being a co commentator. I say, that's the best work I've ever done. I never said the word, I never spoke who wasn't my place? It was it was the main commented He's got that. He was so exciting and he did like the rest of the round. I could. I had to. I had to do that. I do, That's the best job I've ever done. I thought, I can't mention about Oh, if he just puts his left fot over to the it's an exciting moment. It was just unbelievable. It was it was great for me. I could just watch the fight then, but it was yeah, that but that that's a draining experience, I think. And and the second fight, we got caught a few times, but that one's so bad. But the third fight was a war, a real war and great, great to watch. But you're right, it takes miles at the clock. And also things catch up with you over the years. How you live your life. You see people who give up smoking twenty five years ago and then and they still get and they're getting lung cancer. Bless them. And it's because you've done the damage. You say repairable. You've helped yourself. You might have got it ten years before if you didn't stop smoking. But it's still going to catch up you. And not for everyone, by the way, don't panic people, but you know, but you see it. Sometimes you do damage your body you can't recover, even if on the outside then for a while it looks like you have and that might be the case. But I think in activity, as we always say it is a killer in this sport. And they don't fight often enough. I don't know why could they get paid fortunes and they're all greedy. Why wouldn't you want to fight? I mean, I'm not that greedy. Might be fighting three times a week if I could the many they get.

I been a minimum two times a year, and I thought the Canelo Alvarez. You know, approach to boxing is the right one. You fight at least two times on those big days and sometimes you see Canelo fight in December of that year, get a third fight in before the end of the year.

Let's Joe packetive shown what do you have? Three fights in the rent.

And that was a huge reason he beat Deontay Wilder.

Could he shop?

Huge reason they had been out of the ring. It fought one round and two and a half years or something like that, and Joe was fresher sharp, rats of big reason.

He won Anthony Joshua four fights in a twelve month period anyone. And but but oh, you look better at every fight, different, different than better shop. And because he's getting his eye and he's getting comfortable, he feels more confident. All those things can help because you had active.

Working with you know, we saw Joe Parker, you know, and Joe talked about this. You know, his relationship with Andy Lee in the early fights wasn't what it became in the later fights, Like they developed trust, the chemistry with the corner. Same thing with with aj working with Ben Davison, you know, working that that kind of stuff out. So yeah, I'm with you. Activity is huge for boxing. I will say this about Tyson like we're recording before the wig in. But he looks great. You know, the Tyson we saw against and Ghana weigh two seventy seven. That was a career high. He told me this week he thinks he's gonna come in around to sixty five to sixty seven. I bet he's less than that. Yeah, I could be proven wrong, but he looks closer to the guy that fought Vladimir klitsch got two forty seven than anything we saw in the last fight against Anghano.

Yeah, well, he said to us. We had him on the stream for the zone. Then he said that he still thinks he's gonna come in not too much lighter than he than he has been. I can't I know, he said. He I don't know, said my body's changed. I think I'm just as heavy. And you know hes he never takes scale in every room in these but but and when we spoke to him, so the trainer and then and he put said, I don't care about his weight. I'm not interested in his weight. I'm interested how he performs the weight he's at. Do you believe that I think that's stupid like Sugar Hills. I know he's a fantastic trainer. I argue that I've never changed that in my life, but I just think no. I think you find an optimum weight that you're good at, and you try and replicate that. I mean to anyone, listen any budd in sportsman listening. Journal your life for the American, put a diary, if your life for the Brits. But journal your life if you want to be a sportsman, I think you have to do that. You have to know how you felt, what time you got up, how you felt and when you woke up. I've never did it, by the way. It takes a discipline, but now you have to be No. Everyone knows about nutrition, everything at the edge, but to know if you can, if you can go back when you were the best performance of your career and try and mirror that. You're not going to get one hundred percent because things in life change, but try and mirror that. Or you felt that the training and the build up or your weight you were what the optimum weight when you felt the best in training, what weight were you training at? But that's what you got to get too, quicker to train to fight better, how you lose the weight? What are you felt? What do you do? Too many wrongs? And you'll you'll over the time, over the years. Then when you when you're from a kid to an adult, you'll know roughly how you're going to be putting nothing. It's not a complete science, but I think that's the that's the way forward. That it's not the way forwards. Because my father saw a documentary in the eighties about some American football player and I think he his dad sort of did that for him from as a kid. I don't know who it is, and I hope him and he does know. And he ended up being he ended playing for one of your big teams you might forever. But also he was a big stab and and but it was that. I mean, that's a horrible childhood. But I mean, but for someone that's a good amateur, he might want to be a pro. That's not a bad way to start. And I think that's what they probably don't do that they should know where he's training at, what when he looks good at not to or you look good stay that weight? Well, what would do whatever? Whatever? Whatever would you ask stay there? He's got to be mobile, but he also has to have that physical advantage where he can lean and push and pull, and also the bigger you are these years to absorb the punch, the power of the punch was most certainly you.

Know, probably does journal their life, like he looks like a guy that has that kind of discipline. And look, he's been plague by inactivity as well. He since he became a heavyweight, he has been a once a year fighter. He fought Chas Willispoon back in twenty nineteen. He has only fought one time per year over the last five years. But he seems to be getting better as he goes along. Like you know, you look at the two White wins over aj they were terrific outside of that one moment against Daniel Duboah, he won every minute of that single fight with Usik. Do you see any signs of regression because Usik is two years older Tyson Fury.

But I think the different. Again, if he was more active, he would be better again, I feel, if that's possible, but I mean, Chappa, if that's possible, actually what we're talking about. But I would say he probably lives a better life the outside of the fighting, outside of the fight camps, he surely enjoys himself, but I can't see him doing some of the things that Tyson Food has done in the past. I might still do, No, I don't know, but I just can't see that. And I can't see his life being as hectic as the Tyson Food As a Netflix series, well, that takes away your concentration. And also you don't know your even your desire to want to be a sports.

Says, I'm going to live.

My quiet life.

Bro, You've written three books, have a Netflix series, like, there's nothing quiet about your.

Life, and good I don't blame me, good looking, cash cashing or whatever you're going to don't cash out, please to keep going. But I mean cashing because like, fame is fickle and it won't lasts forever, and even though he's a giant and a heavy chap in the world, it still won't be people will go knocking your door all the time for you, so you know it's you take the money while it's there, and I'm good luck to him, but again, it can affect your boxing career. And I think and USIC lives a quieter seems a quieter life and are more disciplined. So I wouldn't be shocked if he does have a have a journal or people do it for him and they structured his life. I think they're very still Soviet like in their approach to you know, every man has a job and he does that job well, and you don't they don't know, like we have over heat in the UK and part of the US. Your trainers as too many things because you're on the other trainer I box. You have all these nutritionists and then strength and conditioning coaches. I think I forgot what they were called. We never had them. You trained, did all just all your work. No, he just there's the pads and and the technical side and actually don't do pats on the training. They get someone else does the pads. So you know, they just they just do what do they do? Actually no wonder percent, but you know it's but no, it's and so I think that like that this guy does there's nutrition and does this, he checks checks the way this one does that one and you know and and and and you know, make sure you have you know, they probably take his blood and make sure you like they tested but not not on about drugs. People start make sure you know that he's that he's all healthy inside, and I would imagine it's all so yeah. I think, well, yeah, if anyone would have a journal, would be him, and so he lives a better life. So in fact, the only boxes once a year choice of course, like, yeah, that's.

Bad luck os. The pandemic screwed everyone over there. And this fight he was supposed to fuyhim in December. Yeah, it's just been one setback after another for brus He is like over the last five fights, and we called his first fight against Jazz Witherspoon where he looked kind of okay. There was a Jaisaura fight where he got pushed around a little bit early on. Really, ever since that fight, we have seen Usik just look like an elite heavy on. I mean going to the AJ fight into AJ's backyard and he beats the pillar post rematch over in Saudi Arabia. In the last fight against against like forget regression, I feel like I'm seeing.

Growth in I think. So people criticized to do bad poms and I thought, and I'm glad you mentioned it because I thought that was just a typical of foms, Like he never wins rons, especially early. He never wins wrongs wrongs big. He makes you work had and he just keeps it close so wins the wrong, but he makes you work Had And then but then they every round he did he did. I thought he was If anything, I thought the low blow, which and it was, it.

Was a low blow. I don't know that needs to be taken out of the conversation, like, well it was controversial.

No, it was by the way I was sat ring sides right on, right on the apron. But and you could hear the song that hit the protector, and the referee didn't state that that was a good shot, that was a legal shot. And because we're supposed supposedly high, I didn't think it was high either his guard. So he just got hit. And people say we didn't hit him in the crown jewels, and then you'll know what the crown jewels that Yeah, I don't want, yeah familiar with Yeah. Yeah, But it's an abdominable protector. It's not just for that, it's for all the other organs you have there that that you don't have must have protected from. So that that's that, that's where they have it. You've got your appendix or whatever else you got there. You know, it's it's like the tubes and all sorts of I'm not a doctor obviously, so it's it's there the protector and all this borderline what can be bought if it's a llegal, it's illegal, not on purpose. And sometimes you get hit there it doesn't bother you. And he milked it music, but this is right to milk it if it hurt him. It hurt him and he took it. But but that did Dubad a favor because I thought the tire and Dubad did really well. I thought he was never win it. He was competing really well, and I thought he showed and that gave him the confidence to be Jamel Baby Miller, I thought his next contest because he thought that actually did well against there, and also Evan told him because he really should have won the fight, which was no nonsense. But and Ausual just does that. I think he's been growing heavy, which was all a fight which was not close. I didn't think the early rounds he struggled with the size. But he's going to isn't. He's adapting to the strength because Uzik as a cruiser eight, wasn't a lot of angle there that we all sort of think he was. He would just pressurize you the front foots and cleverly at all, of course, but he the have his hand tied. He blocked a lot and he just put He just bullied you. He was a big cruise and he bullied you with with with finesse and just keep the wrongs close. And once you tied off six wrongs like it is a heavier but differently more physical, and he blocked and count it with the same hand and he just he just break your heart and knock you out. Tony Beall as a prime example, Tony looked like he was doing well, but he was doing so hard just to stay stay in there with him, stayed to keep the fight close. And then once he got tired, he has no resistance and he hits him in the shot that he hit with fifteen times before, and they knocked him down and out. So though not out, I don't twenty twenty denies he was knocked out officially.

He was knocked out officially.

I'm not saying that he's bigger than me, but actually everybody's bigger than me. But so no, but as a heavy, he's done it differently. He still does the same thing. Some makes you work hard. But and I always say, I've been saying, this is my new saying, rather than pivot, I say pivot all the time. And I'm saying, this is a semi circle around the target, and that's the space you have to dominate. And that like some of like Bam Rodriguez, you know, I love I love Bamon and we all do. He does that so well. He the pivot. He goes right around that semi circle on the body. So he throws half a step back and moves the left or right.

Still does it do that against quite.

And but you know, and what that does is it keeps you it because you're in a safe place. People like me use the boxing straight line. So I would I throw a punch. You put myself in a safe place. But my safe place it goes too far back. You can hit again. Those the uzik As a heavy Loamachenko, they do it close to the target. They throw and then they use that semi circle. They go to the left of the right. They're in a safe place to throw again. If you turn, it's only it's only a short time. But for them, the quick thinking fighters, you square up. They have a shot down the middle. So they get they get to go again first, and then they can move away or they get involved in a battle or whatever it is. But that so you have to tune with him. I would say that with music he might be coming again. It might be coming up against a fighter who can turn with him, because purally, if he is a bit lighter, and I think that's that, that might be a tack for him to come up a little bit lighter, to be able to keep being more mobile as the rongs get on. When he does start attire being a big headwa it's great, but not in a really hard fight or when the fight we have to think all the time, which drains you physically. That mental thought. You don't I could be carrying access weight around wrong nine, ten, eleven and twelve, cause all that kinds is a burden. Of course, it's early in the fighter. It's a thing Modernnix Lewis said about the jab being the best weapon for anyone, certainly a heavyweight. You want the job to be solid only if you're aggressive. If it's not, it's going to be fast and flicking, and you've got to be looking to move and lean and spin.

That's Lenux channeling Emanual Stewart.

Still, but being aggressive invites problems because you know, you all aggressive. We are saying that aggressive fighters can't take come forwarifighters can't take a punch, and it's not true. But they're just in the in the danger zone. So they're gonna get hit with the with the brind of power more than you are if you're backing away. So they tended to get punches to get knocked out because they're trying to knock you out. With people like me don't get knocked out until my last fight, but you don't get knocked out until because you're never you're never in the you're never in the range ved local you're not doing the work to win a fight, they'll be impressive or whatever it is so or to get the stop, certainly for me, and so that's that's what happens. So you if you're gonna be aggresive, there's there's always a risk that attached to that. But I don't think furty consult. I don't think there's any The power issue is going to be the word for feurity with Uzik that he can hit. Uza, by the way, is a heavyweight. We gotta stop saying, well, you you thought or loused to that earlier at that he's no longer the cruiser after after those, after those Furity fights, he grew into the wage very quickly. We didn't say it. We didn't talk about Evander Hollerfield still be in a cruise of eight very quickly. In just created that was done. We mentioned his accolades as a cruiserweight king, but we didn't say, oh, you know, he's still a small.

He stilled into that frame very nicely.

But if she did, you see you can see mesty.

But I saw him on like I've seen him the last couple of fights, and you know, the first two fights Witherspoon Chisora, he looked like he was still putting that weight on, still getting comfortable with that size. Now I forget what he weighed the last time, to twenty something to probably right around there again, to twenty five to thirty something in that range. He is thick and thick it a good way. Yeah, he's strong, that's the thing.

I think I think he was putting on. He was trying to put on weight, but it wasn't comfortable weight for him. And now, yeah, and actually only boxing once year's probably helped him, I think because he lives the life I feel. Put on weight and trial it out and train it, get the right way. But he can still be more well, he needs to be mobile. So it's all like going and he can come in Stone Stone if you wanted to. Whatever that is impounds sorry, but and and and then well you can't move. What's not good? It's good. That's not good for him, he said, I'm heavy. Now, it's like a lean against you have a wrestling match or brilliance. But that's not what you want to do. That's not your strength. Your strength is mobility using your brain. But obviously if you you can tell your body, tell me. But if you're too heavy to move, it's that the fractions of a second too slow, and you're getting caught by it by Thunder's right hand. So I think he needs to be is optimately light enough to move, but heavy enough to absorb the when when Tyson leans and it, you gonna be able to not lean with him. You can't wrestle with Tyson. You either just be able to brace yourself to it. You can just you can carry that weight for a few seconds, or smart enough to just have enough strength of weight just to grab the album, push into the size and spin off.

What are you expecting this fight to look like? Because, look, this is the biggest fight we've seen the heavyweight division in a number of years. I mean the were big, but in terms of just overall, what it means. The magnitude of this type of fighter's huge, bacause we've seen it since the nineteen ninets probably, But it's not gonna be Haler hearts. It's not gonna it's gonna be a chess match Berry between two very cerebral fighters who are going to have specific game plans. What what kind of fight are you expecting?

Yeah, that's I don't want to say it. Don't tell the broadcast of Chris, but it could be a stinker. It could be could be like a tap tap move and a hug fest, and and that would be types and Fury doing that, I would feel. But I think we might get a bit more of an intelligent fight. And I do think it's not gonna it's not gonna be a war. No, I don't know. I don't think any of that sort of fight. But I do think it'd be an enjoy It could be an enjoyable fight where you see people think but let their hands go, and that's the difference. It might not be blood and guts and million knockouts, but it might be like a high paced fight where you see people struggling. You'll have guys who are intelligent and clever. But if one guy starts to panic and throw or you know, or the other one feels like he's tired and putting the pressure on the other fires back, you could end up having a little bit of a of a firefight that he didn't expect just out of desperation. And then that's great for us. But I do think what you said, it's going to be a bit more of a thinking fight. I just hope it's not a real negative. Like Fury against Clitico is arguably his best win. He won the Clitical it was like five six years earlier, whatever, but he was still the guy who was had, who was very very good at home, and he won the fights convincingly but not enjoyably for us for the viewer. And but it could be that he has that. But can he still do that. I'm not sure if he can still box that way, but if he can, he could do that sort of thing. Though Usik's not the not the big lump and slowers as has to be a Clitico was of course, but or we could have. I think because Husaks as the ability not to go right through Feurdy, but to just punish him a mistake he makes. The bigger guys can't punish feudity from the mistakes, so then I'll fast enough. They might see it, but they can't react quick in it.

And let's be clear, this is a very different type of opponent that Fury has faced. Like no disrespect to Klitch Goo or Wilder or the guys he's faced, but Usak's skill wise is on a level we've never seen Tyson Fury go up against. Is a former gold medalist, undisputed champ. Look cruseweight's not a sexy division, but he was beating some real guys in that World Boxing super series. Mars Britus was on the undercard, you know, still a great fighter at thirty nine years old. Usik beat him years ago. So like this, the skill level is what I'm gonna be watching for early on, Like you.

Know, what is going to be what.

Game plan is he coming in with and how easy is it for.

Axing you'll do what he always does. I don't think he'll change, He'll adopt. He's an adoptle fighter, very adaptable fighter. But I don't think he will he will he won't rush his book, his strength, his ten I think he doesn't rush anything.

Temperament inside and outside the ring, how bad, how hard has Fury tried to get under the skin of it is impossible to do.

He stopped now, he stopped it.

Just we've ever seen that before, ever seeing Fury wave the white flag on mental warfare.

And that's the strength of Fury to to get get into your skin and fight. I don't think I was a fighter. I was thought no one would get into my skin. I mean, but I never boxing massive occasions where it's a pressure cooker all the time, isn't he Anything can trigger an angry, angry response or whatever it is. But he's mastered that. He's in the psychological games. He's great there. But so it was music in a different way. Nothing bothered him. He smiles and everything. Whatever you say, you could say anything to him, anything to him, you can threaten him, and he just go, okay, I feel or whatever he says that feels. He just doesn't care and I think that's his that's his strength. He went to Russia before the conflicts, of course, but still Ukraine and Russia wasn't it wasn't a great relationship ever really, but he went the Russia the box of Russians except know the way he went through that cruiseweight division road Warrior. He never boxes home and he boxing their backyards by the way. No, no, it's just an Even Michael Hunter was in America, you know, that was the defensive his time, but even that was in America. He's like, you're the guy who never boxed the home. He's just like going and he's going to your home most of the time. And I'm beating you up.

Believe Latvia to beat one of those guys.

The last time Hook was in Germany was based in Germany.

I mean he at home was the d fight, you know.

And that's not home madly but but yeah, but you know it's loads of Ukraine's. Yeah, that's the courses he's been though. That's the cluse you've been. But it's a cruiserweight. He just did all that and he enjoyed every second of it. So his mental strength is a one. There's no no word, he's there. No, nothing's going to panic him.

You've been around Fury all week long. When I look at pictures of him, and if I zoom in on my camera, I still see a little bit of scar tissue above that right eyes. I still see the remnants of that cut that he suffered the car the cancelation of the February date. Now, I've talked to a lot of cut men about this, and every single one of him says, it's tough to properly heal a cut in three months, like a cut like that, it's real tough to properly heal it. That's me is a big variable in this Wye Bart because a South Paul like Usik who head hunts like a big body headhunter. So he's going to be looking right at that right eye of Tyson Fury, and it's not going to surprise me if that cut opens up early and Tys can say what he wants about how he look. I'm a warrior, I battle through stuff. It's not a big deal. It's it's all funny games until you can't see out of your right eye.

And that's why I think it's important with the jab and the with the feet for Fuity because he needs the jab and step back step right because he needs to because us can uz he takes that step with the front with the front foot is right foot because he southball, takes a step with the front foot, comes in low and throws over the top of that right hook and he'll spin to the rights as well. You'll go to his right, so he's right. So he's literally squared on that that left for that where that cuts is on the left side, so you can throw again. And that's that's the problem. Then I think it's a worry. It's a real worry, doubt that for Fury. But I don't think Fury will panic about cuts. That's his strength as well. But because he boxed all his life, getting he doesn't get a batterle'll get knocked down or worry we'll get knocked on because it can happen.

Who've been knocked down seven times, were more than me. It's incredible. I've seen a lot of I was there in New York when Steve Cunningham put.

Him on there. Yeah, I mean, but I was there, but I remember it was a shock runner, you know what I mean, like kind of was a good fighter, but like the size difference was stupid, wasn't it? And just thought and then you think like I remember a get knocked down in an early fight against the camera with the guy's name now and then he won the fight easy, but just thought he was never gonna be a world champion. I never thought it was him. And date remember David Price the Liverpool, the Olympic Bronze medice from the UK Liverpool, and they were sort of like lying like side by side, and you would bet your house on Price again into no, and also I got I digression of it here. Yeah, probably is out left elb. But he had a really good jabb and the problem is left out, but he didn't really make it like public knowledge. But he couldn't throw the job anymore properly. And once that happened, then he was just a big tag of the hit. And because he couldn't take a great shot, that just made him vulnerable because that jab of his was a real like a real heavy shot. And and I helped him win loads of fights. But still Fury proved everyone wrong. To Fury, he does so many things wrong and he makes it right, and he makes so many mistakes, but within those mistakes is where the beauty lies. Does that makes sense? You get the magic with him, he does think he's gonna be knocked out, and then he comes up with some like massive combination or just a great shot or you know what he makes you missed by him by a whisper, you know, and those little moments of me. I haven't seen him for a long time, the little moments of beauty.

You go.

You can see why he's so good because he's six foot nine probably seven really, and yeah.

Every days a tall apponies. Basically Fred Zagata was like, yeah, right there. But he's a big guy and he uses that his his greatest strength I think is using that size.

He leans on the long arms. I mean, I mean longer arms. Obviously long arms. He's a giant, but your long longer arms than his height would would really suggest yeah when yeah, and I think he had the same wings bangers as as Wilder, a bit more bigger than wild I think it was one there think if I'm right. And so that helps him because he uses that well. So his judgment the distance is fantastic. When he's on form. I gotta go back to that. When he's on form, When is he being on formed? February twenty twenty. Again, I gotta go back to that. And for music, he has never been on form. Yeah, and he never looks sens music. As a heavyweight, it's never looked sensational. I don't think he's looked really good and brilliant and he's beating everybody, and the winds are sensational. But I mean, he got he paints by numbers with his boxing career, with his with his fights, his fight management. This is why I do it, and it works. And he said just a little bit. He's not a bully like he was a cruise aweight anymore, but he's more mobile now. He's a darting in and out with his feet in and out, in and out, and he's in a semi circle around the body, always picking shots, picking shots. He don't low often enough, You're right, but he'll dip, blow and go high. So he takes He changes as fetes really well by the way he changes his heights levels, and that's and he widens his feet when he's bouncing. He widens his feet and that gives him like a So he's going up and down as he and it sounds like I'll just catch him on the way up. But these are slower guys. They can't see his quick they can't react as quick. So he's allowed to do that and ask a lot. Does is stops you from throwing. So all it does throw. It makes you overthink everything. And when you overthink, we.

Saw that in the AJ fights exactly. He AJ was reluctant that time. And look, the other part of it is, I think usk even though he's not heavy handed, he can crack a little bit like he's sharp heavy guy.

He punches correct, he turns the hands over. He punched with the front two knockers like you should do if I knew that when I was fighting, you know, And he does that. Then he lifts the album but a little bit when he punches a proper Soviet punch, and then so he everything's correct, but you always sh It makes you panic and he makes any and it makes you overthink. When you overthink you when you panic and overthink, you tense up because you think, you think, I gotta be sharp. I gotta be sharp. I can't make a mistake if I if I don't miss, I'm gonna get counted. And punches do it?

You really?

Mostly but that and but then you do that because you're trying to be sharp. You tense up and your neck gets tense and your back is tense, so all those muscles and strict So in reality, you overthinking what you want to do. It makes you the opposite. You punch though, you pour it your punches, you pun rolling your punches out, you push them, and you're slower your muscle constrictly, your punches are shorter only by an inchest that have an inch less than that, but it's enough for your your ary to be short. And you know you do is just give them a tiger to hit, and that's where that's the part of his magic. And then also pushing your punches, it tires you because throwing punches his body mechanics. It's fine, you push from your hips in your shoulders and you move that body with the punch. You push off the back leg. That's the only real push, real weight you should get and your bottom body should be smooth and and then you can punch for harder and for longer without think we'reout wasting too much energy. But then when someone's making you miss and just in their height and fainting here and there, you're not quite sure where the ad you think, I gotta get it right. I gotta get it right. And with that tense up and everything just goes to the other way, and then then by wrong six you're absolutely exhausted. And then he starts going, no, I'm just gonna throw in threes and fours and not ones and twos. And then before you know it, then you're you're you're looking to hold onto him and asking him for a rest or getting stopped, and and that's and that's the fight management. That's the intelligence that he has.

You know, I don't really want to get into the whole greatest of all time debate the Tyson kind of throughout there like he believes Number one, I don't want to do that.

I more, I gotta say it can't be because you haven't had he hasn't had the He's the best of his if he wins it, he's the best of his generation. He has to be mentioned that one of the best heavyweights that that we've seen, But he hasn't had the quality of opposition to say I feel, in my opinion to say that he would be the greatest of all time. You just can't because Ali, you know, the fee of the box and at their prime and the seventies was a golden ear of a heavyweights that never be rivaled. I don't think so. It's I struggle with say in these events.

And I'm more inclined to think that a win would do more legacy. I mean, a undisputed champion at cruse weight in the four belt, there, an undisputed champion at heavyweight in the four belt. There someone that has beaten the top top guys. You know Aj twice Fury once, will see if they do a rematch in the fall. I mean that that's obviously Hall of fame stuff, but maybe not talking about Usik as one of the great heavyweights of all time. But you're talking about him as one of the great fighters of all time because of what he's accomplished at two different levels.

Yeah, and also mention people is the greatest of all time in their weight is impossible now because people move through wait so quickly, don't they Maybe one of the greatest of all time, But would you put You wouldn't put a number one in any weight, would you know? It's difficult today people say super featherly, but he was there for two seconds. Corrals was a fantastic win. But that was it one that he avoided me like the plague.

But yeah, you know, let's take that Jones.

He said. He said, yeah, but you know it's so it's unbelieved, so it's hard for him. But I think for Uzik, so I've found the hallow field. I thought no one would ever be a better cruise of it than a van in the hollow field. I not saying the years, but maybe he is. His wins and the way he did it was phenomenal.

And the way he did he point out like that one thing the World Boxing super Series did is it collected the talent and it made the best fight the best, and Usik throw it. It fought the very best. So he he cleaned out the cruiseweight division. You look at heavyweight. If he wins this fight, I guess you could say he didn't fight Deontay Wilder. Maybe he could not, but not yet. I mean, we'll see what Wilder does this year. But you know, there's nothing forum like I would have went over Jared Anderson mean anything to Alexander Usik, Like there's nothing left for him.

No, all he's doing now is picking up fighters who might then being great before they're great, which obviously when you go back in the history books, people just remember you beat in that gug fight there, but you got him at the right time. Maybe the versus Canos find him sample, hasn't it really? And so yeah, it's it's but you know it's the Joshua is still one of the best in the division when he beat him, you know, and and and and Puy is the best. So who else is he supposed to beat? Wild is no longer in that top three conversation, longer in the top five conversations, maybe more now he looks looks a shadow with himself, So you know, it's who does he? Park may be on someone else. Maybe the next one is Herkovic. I'm not quite sure about that. Maybe if Jang Joe probably the most informant heavyweight today, is Joe Parker informed the best, but most informed? Maybe it's team yeah, you know and and yeah, I mean Yang. There's a job on on on wall that maybe he fights Shang and beats up with you fight because you've got a massive brooke here. He only shows two punches around when he does that, doesn't have to win any.

Do that fight over in China, I'd love to see that if if.

I don't think Jian can sell because you think I don't, do you think they would? And but why haven't he already?

It's a slow build over there, John, I know that his popularity has grown a lot. I mean they they put his choice fights on Chinese pay per view when they did big numbers, not monetarily, but a lot of people watched.

Ye.

So look, everyone in boxing is trying to do a big fight in Beijing at the Bird's nest. Everyone is trying to be the first one to to land that big show. And look, if you beat Deontay Wilder, that's as big as you're gonna get a heavyweight beating a Deontay Wilder, you're probably not getting any bigger or at least in terms of putting a fight over there.

Yeah. Yeah, I was like, if he's that big, even a been over there. But now because the popularity and the many the have to spend.

But it's just tough, Like I mean, when when not to get too off track, but when top rank had Zushi Ming, right, you know all these years ago, like they didn't they fought with Macau basically like it was it was most of them in the UK. Yeah, it was that casino money that they took in Macau. He never fought, to my knowledge, in a big fight on mainland China. And you know, there's a few others like that Mengfang Long and others that that have not gained the kind of traction. I think that that Jong has the potential. I think if he wins this fight, you can make an argument that you could do a big fight over in China, and I think there'd be some money there. I've talked to. I mean, I've had a lot of talks with with John's managers about this over the years. That's high on the priority list, but that might be it. Maybe look Usik Jong in China. It's a pretty big event. But either way, like he it would be a rap like he would have accomplished it. Two wins over age eight, maybe two wins over fury.

Like what I forgot about I forgot about.

The the rematch right back here in Saudi.

I want to see the fights and I do, but like I hate remass closes, Yeah, with a passion, I mean I really hate them. I think they.

Hern will get along.

Then.

Eddie loves a good rematch of course, I mean a promoters that always if I get through.

The rematch, I love him as well, now you know, but I mean no, but they're not im moral. But I think it holds up careers.

I mean they should know and belts oftentimes you don't.

That's what I meant with the belts with the crews, because it's not just the next challenger, so all the people in the wings. But what so what if it's a dominant display, I would I did have that argument with with the what with the Tyson Fury WILDI fights and then after the second I said, weyre we having another one? Now, the second one was warranted because the first one was a draw obviously, but also it was controversy, so that should have gone again, that's fair enough, everyone understands that. But a loser shouldn't be allowed to fight for the World tiles. Straight to me, that huld be they should be ruled in you.

Know theok sanctuary bodies. Yeah, okay, but but yes, there's yes, it should be should.

Win in fighters fighting for the World Tiles.

But then but then came up by the way, Subashian Fandora, who before fought Tim Zoo was knocked out cold by Brian Mendoza, and all of a sudden he's in a two belt unification fight with yeah, and no champion by the great performance.

Yeah yeah, But then so in the wildfire, I said, he wants to see that again. The third fighter he totally dominated him, but the third fight was the best of the loss. He's sort of like to shot my agment right out of the water. But I still think holding the careers up because they because that if they have three fighters, which I've heard it might be the case, then depending on all the second fight goes with the thought that could be two years. I think the belts were fragment, but still it's still two years like and which they have to. But then we're in the same situation that we always moan about, which will keep us happy. We've got something to talk about. We'll moan all day long. But I mean it does holds everyone's up, the whole whole thing up, and then boxing over. They're the two best, but none of them is a champion. They got WBC will keep them. They've got WC champion, and then all the other belts that everyone's a pretender saying they world champion.

I have the only the only thing that prevent it from being too much of a hindrance would be the fact that Turkey Ali Chik seems to be keeping this train moving right, like they're a date scheduled. Like you know, Wilder Fury took how many years to complete? Like three years basically to get done. You could see a Fury Oosic trilogy completed.

In a year like Turkey out of shake. He's made a mockery of fight camps. And I need, I need, I need fifteen weeks to get ready. Okay, yeah, well I'll give you fifteen million. I'll be there's a model, because in reality, no one all these massive on camps they say they need, they don't.

They don't know.

No one needs.

He needs eight weeks maybe, yeah, that's enough to get ready.

Three and a half weeks. I haven't been enough. I remember I had four weeks once I thought what we're gonna do for a week. I mean, if you live a life, you always fit in new and you just got to get ready for the fight. So yeah, so that's gonna be a good thing. I think you're right there. I think you will accelerate that. The thing because he wants to put the fight because he wants to see him. It's all selfish reasons, but we'd all benefit from an amy fights happening. It's great for us.

It's great for us, it's great.

For This is the fight we need. Boxing needs this fight because boxing is still boxing is a niche sport. I think, I think I'm right, and they're saying I know. I mean when big fights happen, of course they go. But boxing as a whole, like in the UK in the sixties and way back now, but I wasn't born then. For each start, but like everyone could, everyone could name a British amateur champion, the champion of our country. As an amateur, you get you know, you have like eight weights and back then or they've been maybe they are twelve back then, but they name every single weight, and now they could name all our world champions. Yeah, we haven't got many at the minute, so you know, it's that that means we're in a niche sports. So the heavy division is our flagship of division, of course, and this is the biggest fight. So like the fact that it's happening is huge because it doesn't transcend boxing, it transcends sports and that's what we need. And but they need to deliver the fights because if this fight is always selling it and all that, and if it's a dud, what does that say about our sport? Then again again with then the criticism that you get. All the UFC guys come over and and bash it, like I understand why. I don't see it. I don't see the coloration between you spoke and the two different sports. But people seem to want to tie him up together like I just did, like an idiot and I but you know you'll get all that and and some of this you can't defend against it. But so if it's a good fight, that's all like it. I don't care who wins, actually I mean I don't. I don't know to get it, I don't care who wins. I want the best guy to win, and I want a good fight. I'm a boxing fan selfishly, I want to watch a good fight. I want to I wanted to be a great fights. The spectacle all wrong. It's fantastic. This week's been great with all the building, it's all been amazing, But all that means nothing if it's a rubbish fight. So if the fight delivers with all what's going on, then our Sport flourishes and all our money, we don't it trickles down, all the money, the tension all trickles down to other weights. Then people want to see other boxes on tonight. Well remember that fight that Saturday that was brilliant. We'll watch it and then you and that's that's what that's what makes U Sport group.

Well, Barry, you got me excited for it, that's for sure. And don't sorry. We are going to put a disclaimer at the top of the show that if you press a button it will translate this all into Welsh. We're we're good to go on.

You put Americans. We have a clue what I've said, Barry.

I appreciate back. We're going to fight with you. Uh. And thanks for your time man, my pleasure. And when we come back. My conversation with Todd Grisham. All right, many of you listening know Todd Grisham as the guy I've been propping up for the last four years ago I mean to give you both both on his own.

Uh.

He is also the voice of the new video game boxing video game Undisputed, which is already out on Steam but will be released on multiple other platforms come this October PlayStation five. Todd can tell us more about it. Todd is the vice president of acquisitions. A gaudy title if I've ever heard one. I made it up for the game Undisputed, which again will be released wide this October. Tob This is a long time coming, man. I remember talking to you like December January of twenty twenty three, twenty twenty two, and I think you thought at the time it was going to be out, you know, PS five all that stuff in twenty twenty three. We're in twenty twenty four, and now we finally get it. Like, this is big for this game, right, this is a big moment.

This is the moment.

Really.

October eleventh is a precise date. We're out on Xbox and PlayStation in Venezuela. On PC right now, you can get basically an abbreviated version of the game on Steam. It's not really complete. You know, you've seen some highlights.

On I have seen some guys have been knocked out of the ring.

Don't worry when it comes out on the consoles all that I'll be done. But basically this was a way for fans to kind of help build the game. Give feedback, tell us what they liked, what they didn't like, and that's kind of what the process was for the last year. So is my mic closer and Mike's closer now we can hear you. Well I'm very loud, so I don't know. But yeah, So that's kind of where we're at. And the reason it took so long is we were kind of a victim of our own success. I kind of equate it to when they first started creating this game in twenty twenty or twenty twenty one. It was almost going to be like a local English game they mostly English boxers, sort of like a play at the local theater. And now all of a sudden, you sign Leonardo DiCaprio. Well, damn, this is going to be a major motion picture. You got to spend more money, bigger marketing budget, delay it, get more big actors in there. So now we've got almost every big name fighter you could get, and we had to give this game the gravitas that it deserved. We've got major investments from all over the world, and that's what it took so long, because now it was like a lot of pressure to give the fans a real game, the best boxing game ever created.

Yeah, I think everyone has seen some of the videos on social media, and the detail with which you know, these characters look very much like their real life counterparts. Like the level of detail I think is pretty impressive, and that must have been a big investment.

Yeah. Well, they go to a scanning studio that there's one hundred and eighty seven camera, like a big doc that the guys and females would go into. So it's state of the art stuff, you know, the same stuff that EA Sports everyone else uses. Maybe even a little better than that, if I could say so myself. But the main I would say problem. But the one of the main things that forced the game to take a little longer is because it is so realistic. I mean, you can't you know, like you think you're creating a character to throw a jab, Well, guess what if he's too close to his opponent, the jab will like almost hit into his chest and look all weird. So when you throw a jab in close, it would it makes your fighter take a step back and then throw the jab. So there's so many intricate details that I know nothing about. You know, I'm worse than Sergio is at math at making video games. I'm just the guy that got the fighter. So, but the people working on the game are incredible and it's you know, the finished version is just outrageous.

You know, it's been more than a decade since EA Sports put out a game like this. Why has it taken so long for somebody to get into the boxing game business? Again, I think you know the end that I do. But I'm supposed to ask them.

Okay, you asked the question. It's getting the fighters.

You know.

You imagine going up to Ryan Garcia right now and saying, hey, do you want to be in a video game?

Oh?

Yeah, sure, Well okay, we can't pay you to the game comes out. Well, I want a million dollars now, and you know this person. So it was almost like a leap of faith for a lot of fighters, and you know, they get bombarded with stuff all the time their managers, and you have to kind of weed your way through. So it was it started for me to basically I needed to sign smaller fighters and then you kind of build my way up. And then once we signed Terrence Crawford, that was kind of the hook. Once I signed Terrence Crawford of the game, then all of sudden Lomachenko said, Oh, Terrence Crawford's in, Okay, then I'll get in, and Oosik goes oah Lomas and well I'm going to be in, and it just kind of started stacking up that way.

So what are people what's the experience going to be like for people that played the old EA sports games? How different is it? What are you going to be able to do in a game like this?

I should know this, But the exact number of punches, I want to say, there's eighty something different punches that you can throw, you know, up jab, left, hook, right hook, a step back, jab, southpology. I mean, there's so many different just like anything. Imagine you know, buying a BMW from you know, the last Xbox EA Sports game was I believe in twenty twelve. So imagine buying a bm beat decade. Yeah, buying BMW from twenty twelve and comparing it to a BMW that's twenty twenty four. Imagine how much better it's going to be. So just technology alone is incredible.

What kind of modes sort of are they? You do?

Like a career mode, Yeah, the career mode, I mean, the career mode is so it's almost too much for me to comprehend. You know, the old like Mike Tyson game. You fought this guy, you fought that guy, you beat Tyson boom this I mean, you can sign with a manager, you pick which manager you want, You sign your own cut guy, you sign your own trainer, you have to you pick your gym you want to work out, And it's just there's so many different avenues. And you know, you've got to win the IBF belt and then you got to go for the WBC belt and then the WBA belt and then you go for undisputed. So to win career mode would take months and months and months.

All the work that you've had to put an I've seen you do a lot of this legwork. I mean signing all these guys kind of basically one by one. You're right, Like you can do an NBA game because there's a collective bargaining grand because everything in the NBA is unionized, similarly with UFC, like they effectively own all.

The rights to each guy's one big fat check.

You yeah, one big check, Like this must have been just a painstaking process to get everyone on board one by one.

It was, it was, it was very rewarding though, and it was just like there were so many little victories along the way. I mean, you were with me sometimes. I remember being on a golf course where the manager from from someone would call me, you know, like Deontay Wilder's manager, you know what, I think we're gonna do this. What's just signed Deontay Wilder?

Oh my gosh.

And you know, just so many cool moments. Signing Canelo Alvarez that was like the coup de gras. He's on the cover obviously, but getting Canelo on board was just you know, when he signed me on, I mean I was happy to get you know, I don't want to call anybody out, but like some smaller named fighters, you know, like when I got Chuck Latito, that was super were cool. You know, just look just fighters that were you know, and even the older fighters that that have been retired. I mean Ricardo my Orgo was in tears on the phone with me because we were able to pay him some money. I mean, guys that have fallen from grace to and live in small towns in Central America and Mexico that don't really have much income. You give those guys a little chunk of change and say, look, you know, people aren't gonna forget you ever, because you're in this game and you're you know, you're gonna live on and oh my kids can play and they'll see me, and you know it really uh, you know, warms your heart a little bit to help those guys out.

Is this the kind of game?

Like?

Is it?

Is it an organic game? Is it something that can evolve over time? And I mean by that is like, you know, the powerful polo list changes frequently, the best fighters of the world change frequently. Does the game change with it? Like or is you have to wait for another version of the game to get you know, let's just you know, whoever the best prospect is today, Like, let's throw the name like Mark Castro out there, like whatever Marc Castro is right now, shout up Marc Castro like it. If he gets better, does it get better in the game? Is my kind of my question?

Yeah, like a Miliano Vargas we have there better? Well, you know, every time he wins. Within you know, I don't want to put an exact timestamp on it, but within a couple of weeks his if he wins, his stats will change in the game. Let's say he's Okay, you know his record is twelve and oh he'll be thirteen and oh his he'll go from seventy nine punching power to eighty one punching power.

You know that's big because that's different like in basketball or in football, like you bring on a new game every single year. Yeah, so you can make the changes when necessary.

With boxing, you know, the shelf life is expected to be about four to five years before Undisputed two comes out. So that's what's also cool. Like even when you buy the game and you're like, wow, I wish they could add this, or you know, add a new arena. You know, we have Madison Square Garden that's going to be in the game. But who's to say we don't sign the Rose Bowl and all of a sudden one day the Rose Bull pops in and we'll be adding DLC characters, which are called downloadable characters. I don't know if you're a gamer, but essentially there'll be a small fee for him, someone like for instance, Virgil Ortiz Junior, who will come in the game after launch. You know, you pay a couple bucks, you can get him. You can get shorts for me, you know that sort of thing. So about every six weeks, there'll be six new fighters coming into the game for the next two or three years.

How granular do you get with kind of their attributes?

Right?

Like you didn't mention Ryan Garcia, Like, is Ryan Garcia's left hook his best weapon?

Yes, in a game like this, okay, veried the Ashabibe the man who created this game. And this is gonna sound dumb, but it's so true. He literally one day said, there hasn't been a video game in a long time. I wonder how hard it would be a create a video game. And he downloaded some YouTube videos. You think I'm kidding, No, I believe downloaded YouTube videos to see how to create a video game character. He bought some program, figured out how to animate it. His brother kind of helped him. Before you know it, he said he was obsessed for like three months, ignored his children, didn't eat, he would stay up all night long, he couldn't sleep. And after a couple months he kind of created something cool and it got bigger and bigger, and then Ryan Rhodes, boy, yes, he was the first signe because he lived in Sheffield. He sounded you're laughing, but like I wouldn't Ryan Road's got to be out of the game, right, he's in the game.

No, I mean like out of the game of boxing. Of course, yes, but wouldn't strike me as the first guy.

You might imagine if you're sitting on your couch and a month later Ryan Rhoades goes, hey put me in your game, and then Johnny Nelson got put in it. So it's a bunch of it just kind of started growing organically. But he didn't think. Ashabib did not think I'm going to create this game and be a millionaire. He was like, I want to create a super realistic boxing game and help the sport and help these old fighters. And of course, now, hey let's make as much money as possible. It's kind of evolved to that, but he wanted this to be I mean, this game could have come out a year ago and they could have made it more arcadish, you know, so the punches don't have to land exactly because it's a big explosion when you hit him, or overreactions things like that. But this is as realistic of a boxing game I think that you could produce.

How big do you think it's going to be? Because I think there was an appetite for something like this, there's always been people wondering when is the next EA game going to come out? Never did over the last ten years, like how big do you think it's going to be come October when it gets released?

You know?

Wide well, I mean there's your hopes and dreams and then there's reality. You never really know. It's just like a movie. Man, the movie's great. It's gonna be a huge blockbuster. We've got all the Marvel characters in it. It's gonna be it's a dud. I don't think there's any way it could be a dud, just based on the pent up demand. And you know, there's been the UFC game, which a lot of people have ended up going to in lieu of a boxing game. And there's a switch on that game that it's called I don't know the exact name, but like stand Up and Bang where you can't go to the ground. It's basically a stand up fight, and I think more people play that than play the real MMA where they go to the ground, just because it's so hard to do an unattractive and difficult I think it's gonna be a massive success, and I mean there's no competition, so the old Fight Night games were huge, and some stat out there there's like six times more video game players now than there were back in twenty ten.

Well, I love the realistic aspect to it with you know, their attributes, right, Like one of the reasons I like playing WWE games is because I want to drop a stone cold stunner on somebody. I want to drop a rock bottom on somebody. Like if I'm playing as Ryan Garcia, I want to knock somebody out with the left hook if I'm to play left hook, if I'm playing as Deontay Wilder, I want to knock someone out with a big right hand. You know, all the the the one punch, you know skills that so many of these top guys have, Like that that thing is going to be the coolest part of it, like just having that finishing, for lack of a better word, finishing move with each of these guys.

Well, we have a couple of guys on our team, including a guy that goes by the name of boxing Fanatico Edward, who is our like our gamer guy test. And the characters are set up where if you fight like how they fight in real life, Like, you know, don't switch Ryan Garcia South Paul and try and jab someone to If you fight the way he fights, you'll be much more successful in the game. So you know, if, for instance, Usik Lomachenko do the side step and then throw a punch that lands a lot more than you would do it if you were Butterbeam.

How tough is that to do?

The like?

I mean, look, there are gamers are incredible how they they opt rate, But like, you know, for a novice like me, like, I'm not sure I'd be able to do the Usik sides. That might take me some time.

You're the Glass Joe of video game more or less. But that's the kind of how I mean, you can have fun Like me, I'm kind of a button masher, you know. Hey, Like if I was Ryan Garcia, I'd go jab LEFTO jab left to jab, That's what I would do. But there's so many different skills. I mean, it's there's tutorials that Undisputed have posted online that you can watch and get into the nitty gritty, you know. It's almost like I keep going back to a car, you know, you jump into some Tesla and you're driving and you're like, I'm just gonna drive it fast. Well, there's about seventy five different things you can go to and change the led lights in the car and change this and change that. So the game is there's endless possibilities with this game.

All right, two last questions for you. One, since it is a high level video game and we are sitting here in Riad, Saudi Arabia getting ready for Usik Fury, has there been a simulation done for Usik Fury?

Hmm? There. Well, that's the strange thing about like if I say simulation, if we have the computer play at one time, is that the simulation or do we have it play at one hundred times?

You know, let me tell you one thing. I went back like it had to have been ten fifteen years ago, at least fifteen years ago now when Twitter was just the beginning thing. I did a simulation on fight night of Vladimir versus Vitali Klitschko, and I live tweeted it in real time like what was happening there, And I was shocked at how many people are following along with really, like I think there's like like genuine interest in the fake simulation.

Well, I think I sent this to you where it's not necessarily simulation, but you did. Sergio Moore broke down the USIK versus Fury matchup, and they whatever Surgio was cool. They they made the characters do it. So as far as official prediction, there's no You start posting stuff like that and you're wrong, and then all of sudden people think your game sucks. You know, if you go, hey, look, Fury's gonna win by points and he gets knocked down in the first round. Well, this is a shit game. I ain't by this.

Well all right, then that brings me my last question, which is you mentioned you doing his part of the game. Why did you decide to fuck me out of.

I have not and this putt putting me on the number one boxing podcast in the United States.

There's one hundred thousand people or more listening to this right now. You know this audience is legion and I just the other day I was crossing the street in New York City and true story, some guys stop me in the crosswalk, goes, hey, man, love the pod. Who you got this weekend?

Why don't we see loyal? Why don't we Okay, let's see how loyal there. Why don't we start a ground swell where you have to get five thousand signatures, the signatures to be in the Undisputed game.

Oh so I have to sing for my supper.

I mean, you know you're you're telling me how popular you are. You're telling me how popular.

Joe's not popular. You got him in there. You know he won the contender for you don't have to name names, but we both know there are some media members that have been discussed as being in there. I feel like I accomplished enough in this boxing game Sports Illustrating. You're his owned the podcast, and I feel like you are excluding me for deeply personal reasons.

Is that why you invited me to your wedding? Because you want to be in the video game? Yes?

Can you bring your scanning equipment there?

Like?

I don't even think Chris likes me? Why am I?

Like?

Do you bring the guest of honor?

Can you bring your your your scanner?

Yeah? Can we do that. I'll tell you what I'm making you avow right now that you will be in the game.

Excellent, see this audience, they will remember.

But unfortunately, I know you've been on this diet lately. Do you want to trim down before you get scanned?

Yeah?

Let me get let me get down. A few pop let me get down, Let me get.

Down, no problem. I'm glad, we'd be glad, we'd be we'd be fortunate to have you an undisputed and I think sales will go through the roof of the roof, through the roof.

Well it gets released October eleventh, gonna be a big day. I know a lot of people can be lined up to get that game. It's I know people been waiting more than a decade for a new boxing game. I'm glad this one's coming out. I think it's going to be excellent. Todd, good stuff, man, Thanks for joining me.

Hey, thanks for having me on.

That's it for this week's episode. My thanks to Barry Jones and Todd Grisham for joining the show. As always, subscribe, rate review this podcast on Apple, podcast, Spotify, wherever you download podcasts, and I will see you after the fight on Saturday night.

Thank you so much.

I go sleep

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