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Here's Chris Mannix all right joining me this week the one and only Gareth A. Davies Telegraph Talk Sport looking more and more like a retired Beatle every day, just live in the dream. We're here in London where CLARESSA Shields and Savannah Marshall will square off on Saturday. Recording this in the lobby of the Fight Hotel where the press conference. Just to play Garett. Always good to see again my friend. Can I say cheers and a little clink? Yes, I was instructed we have to drink tequila while we record a double shot of tequila in a glass while at least I should say we got the less expensive version of it. Initially we're gonna go about two forty for the tequila. It was a little bit too much. Um, I won't mention that. I don't know if you'm now to mention the brands on your show, but sure it was a patron platinum um. But some we've gone for gone for a bit of Don Julio still does the jab yeah, and we are just just to put a picture on it. We are in the lobby of the Riverside Canary Wharf. We are in Canary Wolf which is in the docklands of east of London. It's a beautiful area that was remodeled during the Olympics twelve for ten years ago, but also it's a big business area. UM Canary Wharf itself is fantastic. It's the old docklands this is and the O two Arena of is a stone's throw from here. You can walk to it across the little bridge over there, pedestrian bridge. We've had a lot of press conferences here for Anthony Joshua in the past. People like that. Eddie Earne uses it regularly. But we're here to stay with boxer and Top Rank and Sky Sports. It's great to be It's great to see you in the UK. I don't know about when people start saying retired, the one and only retired, be tired, beetle, but yeah, but get a bit too old for it. But it's lovely to be here and see you in person last time. A few times we've done this. I've been in a hotel, tell room, you've been wherever you are in America and we've done it virtually. So great to be here with you. UM in what is a historic week for for the sports in terms of twenty women fight is on one code incredible. I want to get into that, but before we do, we talk about the card happening this week. What the hell is going on with Tyson Fury and Anthony Joshua. To recap for the audience. Last week, Tyson Fury uh called out, you know, said let's get a fight done. Alexander Usk, the unified heavyweight champion just beat Anthony Joshua on August twenty, USA came back and said, I'm not ready to go until two thousand and twenty three. So Fury turned his attention to Anthony Joshua, is long time domestic rival, said let's do a fight a J in December. A J at least on social media accepted. There have been at the very least preliminary discussions between Frank Warren and Eddie Hearn about a fight. Uh, Gareth, this feels awfully tight to be putting together a fight of this magnitude. How much credence do you give these talks for a Fury AJ fight before the end of the year. The pers split might have been agreed sixty forty. But the chance of the fight happening for the end of the year I think is about to um I two percent chance of happening, and I think after today, and we're recording on Thursday ahead of the fight, and it was obviously Monday that he called out Joshua, that Fury called out Joshua. I think it will be probably one per cent or zero. The thing is looking at it from the outside. Yes, it is an opportunity for Anthony Joshua to get in through the back door and try and win, become a threeweight world a three time a heavyweight world champion. But the way boxing works and the negotiations that need to take place for a fight that's probably worth a hundred million U S. Dollars, you can't get it done in a couple of days. You can get the agreements there, but I think there's just been a lot of posturing around this and that's what it is. And people can sit out there and say, yeah, we should just take it, and no, it's not. I hate to say this because I sound like an old fart. Sometimes this is not how boxing works, and it's not how big business works. Big companies don't merge in a week. There's preliminary agreements, they start to go through things. They've agreed to sixty forty split and they were talking about a second fight. But they're all playing a game. Tyson Furious not a ruse he means it. I think he'd love to get Joshua out of the way this year and fight you sick next year. And he's cleaned out the ERA, and I do think he needs to do that to prove himself as the supreme heavy weight of the era. I don't think there's anyone else really knocking around that he needs to do it against. But as you saw, they all agreed because they didn't they weren't ever going to agree on the dates. November December three from Anthony Joshua From Tyson Fury to Anthony Joshua. Eddie Herne knew that the warrens Queensbury Promotions had booked the seventeenth of December as well Cardiff, but that was in the event of Fury fight in you sick. Fury could come forward and say, yeah, all right, some of the seventeen then, but I think they'll find some way of getting out out of it one side or the other. Fury would take Joshua now, there's no doubt about it. Joshua shouldn't take Fury right now, not on the back of back to back losses to Alexander Usik. You talked to any boxing sage anyone that's been in the sport for a long time, go and knock out a couple of bums, rebuild yourself. There are six fights left for friends in Joshua where he could now I mean, I'm talking real terms here, there's six fights left for him, a couple of bums, Dillian White, Jonte Wilder, Tyson, Fury, You Sick Again if he wants to later down the line, and probably Joe Joyce. All those fights, and there are a couple more as well if he wants them. It's worth a hundred and fifty million dollars those fights as well. He's got an amazing deal with his own if he loses against Fury in December and he is rebuilding from the mental and physical catastrophes that he had. Catastrophes is a strong word. Um short falls that he had against you sick Um. He loses in that fight in December or Fury stops him, it's a huge climb back if he ever does climb back after that. In my view, so I don't think it will get made, but it does excite us, and if they do get it done, I'm all in. I came out of nowhere with all that like I was stunned that a J was even considering I think he would have looked bad if he didn't consider it. Um, But I'm with you, like, yeah, total posturing. And I think Eddie Hearn's trying to be been trying to call some bluffs here and say like, all right, we'll agree to this, we'll go to that. I'll just do it on December seventeen. I'm with you. I think a J's next fight if it's in December or January, Like, is Dave Allen still fighting like somebody along that level? Uh to get some confidence back? If you want to do one more like that, fine, But I wouldn't mind Jillian White fight in the first quarter. And if he wins those two fights, he's kind of back at least on the big stage. And then you can start looking at Deonta Wilder, who might be coming off a win over Randy Ruiz. He might have two wins in a row. That fight is massive in the US or in the UK. And then Fury. We both know you know Fury better than I do. But he's not going to retire. He's never going to retire. He's gonna keep going and going and fake retiring every six months and come back because what else is he going to do. He he loves his family. I'll give him that. But he can't sit still. He can't just be go over family, go over it. Think a bit like this, Mr Mennix. He gave me an exclusive. The other day. He was fighting the Mountain, the world's strongest man. He flew to up Where was it? Where did he fight? But he was in Milan. But but but it's amazing. But at least Jon was in Milan. Wasn't even there? Um? I love the Mountain, I exactly, I mean, And it was a fun exhibition fight. And I was actually with him on tour types of Fury on on his speaking tour, hosting him one night where he was actually talking to him live, and so I know that it was genuine that they were trying to set it. Then he was fighting derris Or and he offered him out. Then he retired again. Then he wanted to fight Anthony Joshua for nothing. Then he wanted to fight Anthony Joshua and I did this story within myself for half a billy, half a billion pounds or dollars. Then he then he was retiring again. Then he wanted to fight Yusick, then he retired again. There he wanted to fight um Anthony Joshua. So you know that's Tyson. You know, he's he's he's erratic in that way. And the trouble is when you're when you've got that kind of appeal that he now has that kind of mainstream appeal, you know, the Twitter spear goes mad, social media goes mad. The newspapers then follow and so I'm following the story at the moment um. I shall be writing about it later because it's kind of dominated the boxing news agenda interest this week. Um, you know, in a week when there's a lot of other things going on, you know, yeah, well we'll see. I mean, look, if you're Fury, like I would mind revisiting the stuff, like if you really want to fight somebody in December, like just so we're probably up for it. Like you pay him a little bit of money you get him in the ring, only two million nothing actually, I think is reasonable, like for a fight, Like I would tell you this. The problem with Fury though, is he wants these fights, but he wants to get paid commensurate with these fights, and that money isn't always there, like it's not there on pay per view to give him the dollar figures he's looking. That's why whenever I talk to Top Rank in the US, which is a partner obviously with Fury, they're like, no, this is remember like two years ago when he was going to fight a Jeet what's his name? Uh yeah, Like they're like, it's not gonna happen because Fury wants X and that money simply isn't available, so it's not sellable. So well, we'll see if he wants to fine, but let's kick Joshua to Alright. The reason we're here, uh, at this hotel is because we have a terrific women's card headlined by Claressa Shields and Savannah Marshall. As you mentioned, what twenty women on this card. The comain is excellent MICHAELA Mayor against Alicia bomb Gander. MICHAELA is joining me later in the show. How big is this fight domestically? Like Savannah Marshall versus Claressa Shields. Give me a taste of kind of how significant this fight is in the UK. Well, look it's on the sky. They've decided to sky Sports is the equivalent of ESPN in America. Yeah. Um, you know they're putting everywhere. Every time I turned the TV on in the hotel, there's some kind of special on one of those two fights. Yeah, it's look, it's a big it's a big event. Um. I had several discussions with Ben Shalom. You know, as we do, we get more involved with with the promoters as we get involved in the industry for a long time. And he was going to put it on a Newcastle and I got got that and they'd sell out ten thousand. But they've taken the gamble of doing it at the O two Arena, which is a fantastic arena. Fox. Have you been in there in the big tent you've been there before. Yeah, Um, it's gonna be an amazing atmosphere. And that they were in thirty five cent and the tickets have been bought by women, so that's going to create a new atmosphere inself. I was there for k s I and Swarms the other day. That was a zone misfits card. This amazing atmosphere. Um, different and it will be different again on Saturday night. Um, women fights are different. How big is the residence here in the UK They've really pushed hard to make it very resonant. They've worked really hard on um. I think I agree with the top line, it's the biggest female card of all time. I do agree with that. Listen, you can go back through me and Saint John, Layla Arlie, Christie Martin. I covered all the bits of these people's career. I don't know if you were there years ago, but I covered Layla, Arlie and Jackie Frasi allied in the circus tent and Syracuse, New York State, and that was fantastic, and that felt quite big. The old men were still alive and there then Trieto Trinidad was I think BERNARDA. Hopkins. There was a really big tent, six thousand people in there. That felt like a big occasion for women's boxing. This is a big occasion. My fear is that this fight, the styles in this fight, we may not get a tear up like we got in Medicine Square Garden between Amanda Serrano and Katie Taylor. That was and you were there working on it. I was there working on it. It was extraordinary. I took my new girlfriend, she'd never been to boxing. She could not believe it. She wanted to take up boxing. All friends and family watched it and we're amazing. I've got to watch women's boxing. More eyes will be on this than ever before. But I think the show will be stolen by the Michaela My Alicia Baumgardner fight for three of the world title belts at super featherweight rather than this all the belts in the Ring magazine at middleweight, because I think this is going to be a cage affair between two women. In Shields and Marshall, I have a ten year rivalry that both of them believe they have the rights to walk away as the winner from. It's a very very difficult one. It's why I asked at the press conference today, Chris, is there a rematch because we're gonna need one? I think, yeah, I really do. My understanding I think it was explained uh at the press conference is that Ben Shalome and Sky effectively have the rematch clause. Like it's not Claressa has one, um, you know, Savannah has one. It's it's if this is an incredibly marketable they can exercise the riversion. Although Claress can just turn around say I'm gonna do m A and screw you like I'm just gonna do it. So we'll see, we'll see. I mean, look, both these women, if this is a great fight on the level of Taylor Serrano, the money is gonna be even more. They're gonna want to get back in the ring with each other, you know once again. So I don't think, yeah, rematch clause. Well, we'll see what happens there. But do you not see in the two styles that Clarens is gonna push forward and Marshal's gonna don't control Let me This is what I was gonna ask you about. Like, I don't think a lot of a lot of people in the US are familiar with Claressa's want two gold medals. Um, she's fought most of her career in the United States. The uh she's known. Um, I don't know. She hasn't really headlined in a big venue at this point. Her best venues have been into right Michigan, you know, near where she grew up. Um, she's certainly well known, but as far as being a headliner, probably not. Because that's why we're here. Quite frankly, like we're in the UK, where Savannah Marshall is equally or more known as Let me ask you that, like Savannah Marshall to a lot of US fans, is still relatively unknown. They know the storyline why this matchup is spicy. They know that Savannah Marshall beat Claressa Shields in the amateur ranks ten years ago, and that's not at Claressa Shields ever since. In your opinion, how good is Savannah Marshall, Well, she's good enough to have beaten Claressa Shields in the Amateurs of the World's Amateurs Championships and become the number one and going to the Olympics here twelve years ago, eleven years ago, ten years ago, sorry, ten years ago pretty much to the day. Um, doesn't that you were over for that. I was at Rio as well, I think London. Yeah, ten years we've aged incredible, not a day, not a day we've at that time. We're very different and they've both grown enormously. Carresso Shields is fighting here and one of the reasons is because she won the Olympic goals here. Um, in my view, if we're going back to this original question, how good is Savannah Marshall, she's got a lot better. Under Peter Fury she's found this style of dancing on the outside and using her height and reach advantages and then coming in with power when she's in close. Has she been really tested? I don't think so. I think these two are both levels above everyone else. That's why I'd like to see them have a trilogy of fights, because they are in a different level. Yes, maybe both of them can go up and fight HH Diva, who's a different kind of brawler. Obviously, Carrasso's fought HHDV. I watched it was Hagla hearns. It was on the dark Yeah, yeah, exactly on the undercard of What a Ward and Co. Left, wasn't it. I think I mustn't eat while we're doing. Some foods arrived and I was about to talk to I think some Marshall is going to be hit more than she's ever been hit in this fight. Um, because because Shields does close the distance and let her hands go. I think she's probably got a great chin as well. And I don't think she may go down and get up Shields. I think she might well do. She was down once in her career, has put her down the first round of that fight. Yeah, But the thing is we're going to be seven eight rounds into this fight before we know. These two minute rounds go so quickly, and it's going to be a tight affair. One will win it, one will win another. I don't see knockouts, so don't see them going toe to toe very much. I see it being a cag technical fight between two very clever, very elite fighters protecting unbeaten records and going after all the belts. There's so much at stake here. I think the big question is is Savannah as heavy handed as she seems like? Her early fights have shown a tremendous right hand, great pop, great power with that straight right hand. To your point, I think Peter Fury has done an excellent job in cultivating that and making her a cleaner puncher. But Clarss is really active and she throws from angles, and she's highly skilled. My only cut on the outside in a very close fight. I even think it might be a little bit wider. I feel like it has a seven three potential to it. I could be wrong, but I think Claress's skill level is just a little bit higher. And she's also not like as much she talks about power, doesn't really have it like Claress is not a power puncher. She likes to think she is, but she's not a power puncher. Maybe she would have more knockouts if she fought lesser competition earlier. It's a little now I want to say it's amate. But plus, when you're a decorated amateur, you you don't fight the pro style as well, like it takes you with some time to adapt in come, sit down to your punches. She's got the right trainer, John David Jackson is an excellent trainer who comes to that work with Sergey Kovalev during Covlev's prime years of his career. So I just I get the feeling it has. Uh you know, there's some moments for Savannah Marshall, but claressa shields skill level will rise above. But what if Savannah Mars catches her. That's the game chand later in the fight closes it and it's a controversial split points decision. Right back here in three months with them, and they'll be interest in it too, like just like there was more interest in Taylor Serrano to they'll be interested in a fight between those two women as well. Um, you mentioned the undercar which I think has a chance to steal the show Mikaela Mayor Alicia baumb Gardner another event where there's no love lost between these women. Mikayla Mayer has been the more celebrated of the two US Olympian and first female fighters signed by Top Rank. You know, has been given ESPN televised slots where Alicia bamb Gardner kind of fighting in the shadows a little bit, fighting in the the lower tier of boxing. How competitive do you think this fight is? While I finished my Homers and petibreg Um, I think it's a really competitive fight. I think it's Mikhaela Myer's fight to lose, probably stylistically, because she's the longer, tall arranger athlete with a very good job, very good amateur pedigree. And there's Michaela said to me in a very interesting interview recently, this is the last generation in which women are going to become able to come in straight into the pros and be a pro. They're not gonna be able to anymore off this. They're all going to have, They're all going to have long amateur pedigrees. They're going to have to be schooled because the sports changing and women's sports really changing um baumb Gardener is the explosive super athlete for me, look at her. She's incredible physically. I I mean that in any male way. Looking at a woman her physiology and her musculature is it's just staggering, staggeringly beautiful as well. It's a beautiful human being. Like Fantony Joshua is an Adonis. She's a female, you know, and a nice sees maybe, but she is. She she's extraordinarily powerful. You see her sprint work in some of the videos. You see her physical workouts her power. But she's three inches shorter. She's not as experienced as Michaela. She's got less tools at her disposal. So I expect a clever boxing match with a couple of troubled moments from Michaela Myron. I expect her to win it, you know, six four or maybe even seven three. But again, she mustn't be drawn into a toadist her battle with bound Gardener because may have hammer douche find but not Bound Gardener. That's what bomb Garder wants to drag her into. Like that's what a lot of this trash tark has been about. Like get in there, fight with me, throw punches. Bomb Gardner of course doesn't have the amateur background that MICHAELA Mayre has, but that may look I think for women especially that may work for them. Like look at some of the bigger punchers in women's boxing, Sinisa Strada in the lower ranks, Amanda Serrano in the mid ranks. Uh, now here with Alicia bumb Garner. The common thread there is not a deep amateur background. They grew up as pros, like sit down your punches since you're eight years old, And that might work for her in a fight like this. She's not going to outskill Michaela. You and I think it agree on that, but if she lands the shot that put Terry Harper out on her feet, she might be able to hurt her as well. Yeah, I think Terry Harp is a different physical animal to MICHAELA. May I mean, like you say, who She's always been a very great physical athlete. Um, you know, her dad was a soccer coach when she as she said, she grew up um tripping over football's basically with two left feet, as we say, and wasn't talented at soccer. But I think I've done a good job with MICHAELA. Mayer top rank recently. And and you know, I say Melissa Meltpr has done a great job with her as well, and just getting Michaela Michaela to be out there a bit more. You know, she's just there's something trendy about her now for me. She says a lot of the right things, and she's very I think all these women are extraordinary. You know, we have to bow down as men to their extraordinariness as women. Um we you know, we admire a lot of male fighters, but I have a lot of admiration for for these women. As Michaela said to me, if I get a good victory here and call out Joy if Choi doesn't want it, that's the last belt holder in the super featherweight division. I want that fight signed. If she doesn't want to do it, I'm moving up to lightweight and I want to fight Katie Taylor. And I think if Michaela Meyer wins this really convincingly, she's quite a good prospect for Taylor as his Natasha Jonas by the way one at the weekend and rematch with those Taylor and Jonas as good as well. If Katie wants to go back to the US and fight Michael is the fight exactly. That's a New Yorker l a Vegas type of fight exactly. But as we say all the time, one of the things that I find as I get old and I've been involved in boxing thirty years now and journalism thirty two is it's so weird. How just been in Saudi Arabia for a big and very different fight in which we're finishing at six in the morning. It felt like an Olympics buses two different venues all the time, and I do it differently if I went another time then back for k sign Swarms a YouTuber celebrity influence A week now, this completely different, like a like a side street. We're going down with a really great explosion at the end of the week with twenty women fighting on the cards. Look at boxing's ability to do different things and be creative. I know you love your basketball and NFL is huge in America and Premier League Football and Champions League is huge yere. It's formatted, it's the action just there. But I've got to applaud boxing for its creativity. We've come out of lockdown in in a really good way. Um, it's a very interesting place, very interesting kind of landscape to inhabit, you know, because it's so creative. It really stimulates the mind. And I don't know if you feel the same because you've been in this for so long. I do. I do feel the same. I feel like boxing when it's at its best is unrivaled, and we can sit here and quibble over when it's not its best, we debate, you know, Crawford Spence and fights that don't happen and things like that. But when they do, when we get a card like Taylor versus Serrano, when we get a card like this, twenty women fighting on it, uh too explosive main main and coal main events that have the potential to be riveting, you know in the case of Mayor bomb gone or Fight of the Year type of of fights. Um, you know, grudge match with you know, Shields and Marshall. I think it's great. I think it's um, I think it's terrific. So I'm looking forward to both. I don't know if I'm quite as excited Gareth as I was for Taylor Sorano, but it's close, like it's it's I'm ready for Saturday, man. What they did? Very sorry to interrupt you. What they did very cleverly in New York, which I could have done a bit more here. They should have got some messages from Serena Williams this week about these women fighting about how Claressa Shields is great. I think they could have gone. I think they could have gone broader and wider. In New York. They got Bellygian King, they got um I don't know their names, but they got African American senators, they got Mexican American senators and everybody, everybody. And I think that really resonated. And it was Madison Square Garden and they I mean they were on Good Morning America exactly. They got that Morning American touches an audience that boxing never touches, exactly, and and and and they were very loved. I heard that morning when they went on there as well. It really resonated with the audience. You know, a million people over it was a million five world wide watched it. Something like that. It's great. A million, one point five million people will have had their views and perception shifted one way or the other on women's boxing. It's always about perception shift. It's always about eyes on people. It's always about narrative, the background storytelling. That's why we're in this because there are extraordinary people that we talk about. I don't think this is as big as that. Um, it captured the imagination, but I have noticed it growing, and today it's grown a lot bigger. I mean there are things going on in the background in our country today that may affect it again. Um, And that would probably be clearer when the podcast emerges, when you're great show emerges. But um, yeah, it's it's growing. It's big. Fifteen thousand people at the O two Arena is a big event and all all the media that needs to be here is here. By I agree, I agree, should be a great show. Gareth. Always going to catch up with you man, looking forward to seeing you again on Saturday night. Thank you when we come back. My conversation with Michael la Mayre. Well. The NFL season is upon us, and you want to kick off Week one with fan Duel, America's number one sports book joint today to get started with one fifty dollars and free bets guaranteed when you place your first five dollar bet. Just sign up with promo Code Boxing to get into the action. Then you can turn game day into payday all season long. You can do win totals, Division winners, super Bowl winners, player props, everything, Week one spreads and totals, you name it, player way and bet on more than just the final score waves. You're on everything from touchdown with the total yard that catches. You can even combine your bets for a chance at a bigger payout with the same game parlay. Don't bumple your chance to get one fifty dollars in free bets, win or lose with promo code boxing. Fan Duel is now live in Kansas. That's right, Fan Duel is in the great state of Kansas. Make every moment more with FanDuel, official sports book partner of the NFL. All Right, MICHAELA. Mayor is here unified hundred and thirty pound champion. On Saturday, she will look to add a third piece of that title to her resume, which takes on Alicia bomb Gardner. That is a fight that takes place in London where we are recording this in a hallway outside the press conference. Uh, first time in London for you as a fighter. Right, You've been broadcasting for Sky for a little while, but first time as a fighter. Yeah, I've been here about four times in the last year and a half, but yeah, first time fighting. Yeah, they do. It's one thing I've noticed being here, like they really push boxing stuff. Like I turned the TV on, there's stuff of you, there's stuff of Claressa, There's there's a lot going on here when it comes to this fight. That's one of the reasons why me and my team wanted to get me out here, because honestly, it's a little bit tougher in America as we have seen. Know. I was just telling everyone this that I was top ranks only fighter for five years and they finally added Sinisa, and I'm so grateful for that, and people think like, wow, it took so long, but I'm like, honestly, that's a big step. It's the market is tough in America, and boxing is not our top sport like it is here. You've got boxing and you've got soccer or football they call it correct um, but it's we got the NBA, the NFL, everything going on in America, and there's just so much competition. Does it feel bigger here in like the days and weeks that you've been here, does it feel like this is a big event. Oh yeah, this is definitely like by far the most media, the biggest build up to a fight. Um, I think, like naturally, I've it's I'm ready for this. It's time, which which is where my career has been going. It's constantly been elevating, and this is a big fight and I feel like I'm ready for all this spotlight. But I also think it's part of being here in the UK. I want to ask you about this fight, but you are a former US Olympian two thousand and sixteen Olympics. It was recently announced that or at least the events were listed for the l A Olympics right now, boxing is not listed on it now. We both know that can change, but like, what's your reaction to the least the potential that boxing could be eliminated from the Olympics. That's just insane. I mean boxing was one of the first Olympic sports ever, right, It's kind of like when they tried to take wrestling out. It's just you can't, you can't. You can't be adding these these newer sports, like I think recently surfing, right, which is cool and everything, but take out the o G of the Olympics, like which is boxing, So I think it's just a little bit of a scare tactic. There's some things that the organization needs to get together, you know, and um, it's probably for the best, honestly, and hopefully they take care of it and they let these athletes back in. What does the Olympics mean for your career? Like what kind of bounce did that give you as you start to look to the pros, not even just me unless I'm talking out about this spot as a whole, especially for women. It allowing us to compete in the Olympics gave us the opportunity to compete at the highest level and that was so important because that's the opportunity that the men had for years and decades and decades, and that's why they're at the level that they are. And people can say there's a huge talent gap between men and women, but we're now able to compete at the highest level, compete in the Olympics, and that's what's going to continue to elevate the sport this. Uh I saw you last at the Taylor Serrano show. Um, well, I haven't talked to you about that since then, but like being there and being part of the biggest women's fight in history. Seeing the reaction from the crowd, seeing the size of the crowd, Like, did that give you any kind of extra kind of push as you kind of looked at what you want to do in your career? Oh yeah, that that pumped me up big time. Um, and I'm feeling like like this is you know, maybe it's not not to that extent just yet, but I am feeling like me versus Bomb Grunners has become a mega fight. And obviously Shields and Marshall too. And to have all three of these fights happen in one year time, one year's time, Um God, we don't even have to say anything. It's just proved. It's just facts, like it is what it is. Women's boxing is here to stay. Did that I mean what you anticipated Taylor Serano looking like and what it was like? Did that meet your expectation to exceed your expectations. I knew it would be a huge fight, I really did. I genuinely believed it would be a massive fight. I've saying massive now, it's how long I've been in the UK. Um I really believed it. So I wasn't shocked, but definitely being there and just seeing that Madison Square guard in the big room like sold out was you know, it's one thing to believe in it and then to be their witness it and see it. It was definitely awesome. But I knew it. I knew it was gonna be great. So you've been a headliner on ESPN cards in the US a few times now. Uh, this is the co main event to Claressa Shields Savannah Marshall. This easily could have been a main event in the US or anywhere else for that matter. UM, take me talk to me about, like why you were okay with this being a co Maine, Why you wanted to be part of this card? What was that thinking? Like, Um, first of all, yes, we these two fights could have definitely stood on their own. Um. But I'm trying not to get too caught up in the word cole Maine, Like I feel like this is a huge fight. I feel like the fancy this is a huge fight, and so I'm not gonna let my ego get involve than that. But there's two things that I care about when I when I worry about these type of things and putting together a fight like my money Number one, like am I getting paid what I feel like I deserve and our people gonna see it. Is it gonna be a big turnout? Is it going to be a great entertainment, entertaining fight and show? And I got both of those because my persons negotiated before we decided to to join forces with Shield Marshal, so that wasn't a concern of mine, And it just made it even more possible for more people to see it. It It made it even even on a bigger scale and a grander scale, and it was awesome to me. I think it sounded like a great I want to cuss right now, but I'm probably not going to. Oyeah, don't um. It's an awesome idea. It's badass. So and I still believe that, Like, I'm glad I stepped to my guns on it because it's turning out to be really, really, really awesome. You're allowed to curse. I am, Yes, Sergio more curses all the time. When I talked to Um, the biggest fight of your career is this? Oh yeah, of course, I mean you'd be stupid, I'd be I don't know what bond ground you're saying, but this is a huge fight. This is a huge, huge fight. Um, we've created this rivalry that is I think important for women's boxing, but of course with the entertainment factor, but there's some serious hardware on the line. Like we both have these goals of going undisputed, and so this is either going to make or break that goal for one of us, her not me. But I'm saying that it's a massive fight in the biggest fight post that we've ever each one of us have ever been in. I don't know where the bad blood came from between you two, because like you never you were calling out title holders, not necessarily who was holding those titles right there? Like when did you kind of it kind of strike you that, like, all right, maybe this girl really doesn't like me, and maybe this is going to become like a thing. She I realized that when she started doing interviews after she won, like she has not liked me for a long time. Like I just found out about this girl in the pros. She's apparently I've been on her radar for years And it makes sense because I was I was on the national team number one in the amateurs coming up in the division that she was trying to make it at and I never heard of her. So she's had it out for me for years. I guess. Uh, I don't know, but Um, to me, it's it's it wasn't personal to become a little personal obviously, but to me, it really was just about going after the champions and making the biggest possible fights for her, it was personal off the bat. What made it personal for you? Was it something that was said or something that evolved? Um, just the back and forth? You know, I think that. Uh. I feel like when I have spoken about her, it's me saying like let's fight. That's initially just how it started, Like let's fight. Let's get this fight on for the fans. You're the champ now, like I'm coming for it, like I'm gonna be undisputed, I'm the best in this division. Just you know, champ stuff. Um, but she hurts. She talk was a little bit like low blows, like just basically trying to put me down and everything that I've accomplished, not giving me any respect. Um, talking about dumb things like the way I look and things that are so irrelevant, and to me, I can't respect that kind of trash talk, like just speak facts. So I don't know, it feels like this is as I look at it from a far, it feels like it's been framed like Rocky three in a way if you remember, you know, Mr. T like the person coming up the ranks that nobody appreciated, and you get framed as like Rocky that with the silver spoon at this point, like, do you feel like getting treated like that? I wish I could relate to what you're saying, except I've never seen Rocky Quick a minute, how I swear any of them? None of them? None of them, none of them. You know, I'm in the new one coming coming up and we're calling it we are the pod. How you how you use a boxer Rocky movie it? I don't know, Like I remember vaguely seeing it is now the headline of the show. By the way that you never know what the reporters. I remember vaguely seeing parts of him, like Chasing the Chicken when I was a kid on the TV as I was walking past the living room, Like I never sat down and watched these. So I don't know what you're talking about, but I'm sure you're right, all right, So I guess the way it is like she's the unheralded fighter that never got the opportunities and you're the you know, the pretty girl so to speak. Things She had all the opportunities that I had, if not more. She started boxing when she was eighteen. Chris, Okay, I didn't walk into Boxington, but I was seventeen years old, first fight, eight Sorry, when she was she was eight. I walked in the gym at seventeen to my first boxing fight at eighteen. Like there were no opportunities for any of us. But we hustled and we made sure we showed up to those national tournaments and that we won, because that was was going to get you to where you wanted to be, which was on an Olympics team, on a national team. So that's what I did. I hustled and I grinded, and I put everything into it. We there was no opportunity. I don't know what her excuses. She wants to make an excuse like I got to where I got out of like some luck or some privilege, But I didn't. I grinded my ass to where I am right now. And she fell short and she got her opportunity now. But everyone in women's boxing had to grind, especially when you came I mean it wasn't what it was when you came out of the the Olympics. There was no support for pros at that point. Nothing. When I first started boxing, there was no one is allowing us to compete in the Olympics, and pros weren't signing us. I don't even know what the hell I was thinking, Like, I was like just crazy, just in love with the sport and figuring out. I'd figured it out along the way, and that's what I did the last couple of things. Um, you've studied her, obviously, do you look at this a difficult fight for you? Every fight for me coming up to this point is difficult in a big fight, like I'm not I'm not looking past anybody. I've told everybody that I have trained for a very very tough, strong version of Bomb Gardener. But ultimately my confidence level, I do believe I'm the greater, more complete fighter, and I do feel like I'm going to overwhelm her. If she does have the power that everyone's talking about, then I got to be careful that I don't get countered and caught with that right hand. And I'm and I'm realistic about that, and I've come up with a strategy to try to avoid that. But UM, you know, we'll see when I get in there with her. You've said, first few rounds is when she's dangerous. Like, how do you have to fight in those first few rounds? Is this going on before the fighter? After the fight was how careful do you have to be? I guess this will be before the fights. I want to give away too much, but I'll say this. I you guys know my style. I end up at some point in the fight, I take it to my fighter and I backed them up. And that's that's my style. And that's what has always instilled in me. Because he wants me to be excited and he wants me to shut shut it out. Um So it's gonna get to that point eventually. Um. But into a dog fight, like she wants to lure you into like a street fight, I don't think so that's what she keeps talking like, you guys, But she doesn't. She's not a dog like fighter. She does not lure people into street fights. This girl wants to stay at her perfect space, encounter and catch you even like this is the perfect example. If you watch her last fight with Matisse, Matisse was levels below her right, like she should have gotten her out of there. But her plan is to catch you, encounter you, and land that perfect shot. And when she doesn't do that, she doesn't have that third fourth year. She doesn't put you on your back foot and back you up and get you up against the rope. She doesn't have that dog in her that. I don't know where people are getting this. Where did you get it her? She doesn't. I mean I look at everybody, and I think I was part of the broadcast of the Terry Harper fight. Um every looks at that, and the knockout was spectacular, the knockout of the year or one of any way, And I think that's where a lot of it. If it does not, that's not where it comes from. It's why a lot of people believe it. Because that punch put Terry Harper out on her feet. Yeah, I mean, she's gotta land it. She's gotta land it. She's gotta be set to land it. She's had the type like a Hammadush type who's gonna push me back and overwhelm me with shots. That's more me. That was a tough fight. Yeah, that's what she really has to get ready for for me, because if she can't land that right hand, she does have to go into a tough ten round fight, which she's only been in one full ten rounder by the way. Um, then she's in foreign territory. Well, good luck, Michael, and uh it's like a six or seven hour flight to get back. Would you please watch a couple of rocky movies there? I mean, just like kind the best ones, like one at least, and then like, don't watch five fives terrible? Oh my god, there's five. There's like ten now and this well, Michael B. Jordan's and all that stuff. Now you're graduation, so like one or two of them. All right, right, I got you. When we come back. This week's picks brought to you by fan Duel. Alright, time now for this week's picks, brought to you by our friends over at fan Duel. I really hope you have been betting with me consistently. Last week. I gave you two more winners. I said, Andy Ruise to win. That was not a difficult pick, Andy Ruise to win by decision That one was. Those were good odds. Hope you got rich betting on a Ruise. Had some shaky moments there, Ruise where it looks like it's gonna pick up a knockout. I guess not really shaky, but he was about to put Louis Ortiz down early in that fight. But that one ended in a decision and for Andy Ruise and Ruise uh picks up the win and hopefully you picked up a win as well. This week, the focus is on women's boxing. Claressa Shields Savannah Marshall undisputed Middleweight Championship, a grudge match between Shields and the only women boxer who has ever beaten her, Savanna Marshall top Shields in the amateur ranks about ten years to go. Now, this fight is very close. Odds makers have gone back and forth right now. Shields is a slight favorite over at fan duel, but I think she's going to win. I like her a lot in this fight. Sapanta Marshall is a big puncher, but I think Claressa Shields is the better boxer here and should win a decision. That is my pick for method of victory as well, and that's where you can make a little bit of money. Claressa Shields by points or decision is plus one ten, so it's not the greatest of odds. The best odds right now are Shields by knockout. But don't think the Ressa Shields has great power. At one six, he's certainly not enough to stop someone the caliber of Savannah Marshall. I do think she wins something like a seven three eight to type of decision because I think she is the better boxer. So this week, take Claressa Shields to win, take her to win by decision. Those are my picks, brought to you by a Duel. That's it for this week's episode. My thanks to Gareth A. Davies and MICHAELA. Mayer for joining the show. As always, subscribe, rate, review this podcast on Apple, podcast, Spotify, wherever you download podcast, and I'll see you next week.