JONES AND LACY INTERVIEW TRANSCRIPT
ROY JONES JR: I do really feel the fight will not go the distance. He’s a strong puncher and he only chance he has to win the fight is to knock me out. So when you come to knock a guy out, chances are you are going to get knocked out. I can’t see it going 12 rounds if he does what I think he will. I have prepared to go fifteen, so if he can survive 12 rounds OK, and he’s a better man than I thought he was. I don’t know how he’s going to take it for 12 rounds myself.
You both fought Calzaghe, can you take anything from that fight?
ROY JONES JR: No, Calzaghe kind of murdered him. He kind of got me with a cut and that was a different situation. I look at the fact that how bad Calzaghe beat him, I really can’t take anything from that fight. I came up better all-round, but Calzaghe was a better fighter than me that night but he got me with a good cut and was the better fighter that night. Overall, I am one of the best that ever did it and I feel like I’m getting back to my potential right now.
Over the years you have been able to cover a distance of about ten feet in a blink of an eye…
ROY JONES JR: I still can.
Has your style changed at all?
ROY JONES JR: Yes, when I had gone to heavyweight, I was a speed-combination puncher who has power and when I went to the heavyweight division I focused on getting more power and less combination and speed. Now I am focused more on my combination and speed. Now I am back to the fighter I was when you say me fight Julio Gonzalez. As a matter of fact, I might be better now than I was on that night. Now I am back to that Roy Jones and that Roy Jones was a technician.
Have you changed your defensive style?
ROY JONES JR: I did change it a little bit again, but when I changed it I realized that when I was keeping my hands up by my face like an ordinary fighter is not Roy Jones. Roy Jones is not an ordinary fighter and that was hard for me so I had to leave that alone. The old Roy is now me.
How do like fighting in Biloxi?
ROY JONES JR: It is great. All my fans get to drive to the fight. I was raised up boxing as a kid on the Gulf Coast…Louisiana, Gulf Port, MS, Biloxi, Mobile, AL, – I was raised up fighting kids from all those areas. So it’s great to be able to go to a place and perform where they can come. One guy over there by the name of Luis Callahan calls me every Thursday. There are so many guys over there that supported me back in the day that I love to come over there and give them the opportunity to come over there an perform again.
What type of training have you done to go back to being the old Roy Jones?
ROY JONES JR: What I really did to go back to being the old Roy Jones is the bull shit. Old Roy used to bull shit in the boxing ring. It was always about bull shittin and I had a great time bull shittin. What I did when I bull shit was to play around and when I bull shit I beat you. That’s what I had to do in my training, I had to put bull shit back into my regimen. I quit bull shittin and became a serious fighter and I’m not that kind of fighter. I am not an ordinary fighter, I’m a bull shitter. I do all the shit that is wrong, that’s what I did and now I’m back to that and that’s what I did in the gym. Look at the fight against Kelly that will e on ESPN Classic next week and you will see. I put my hands behind my back. I was bull shittin and I knocked him out. No one else can do that! That’s what I am blessed with and if I can’t do that I have to get out. I’m having fun again.
Do you look at that Calzaghe fight?
ROY JONES JR: I have been asked if there was one thing that I wish I had that would have helped me win that fight. The problem with that fight was that I didn’t have enough “rooted” knowledge in my corner to help me win the fight that night. Not saying that Coach Merk wasn’t enough, but Coach Merk doesn’t really understand the way I was taught. I was taught totally different than everybody else. He was doing all he could but I need somebody else that knew how I could beat Calzaghe and that person would have been with me from day 1. My dad was with me from day 1 and a guy that knew what I needed to do to beat Calzaghe. I didn’t have the knowledge of my skills in my corner that I needed to get through that fight. Then I got the cut and I didn’t know I was going to have to go through something like that. I needed him to get me through that.
What is your next step after this fight?
ROY JONES JR: I can’t go on to the next step because I have to take the first step. You never know what the next step might be. I may feel so good that I may go back to heavyweight. I want to win the heavyweight championship again. Right now, Danny “Green Machine” Green wants me to go to Australia and fight him and that would be a wonderful thing and that would be the biggest fight to ever come to Australia. I look forward to that but you never know what the best situation would be for me. Somebody called me the other day and said that “Bad Chad” wants a shot at me so who knows?
JEFF LACY: Well, with Roy Jones you have an eight-time world champion and one that really understands the professional side of what we call boxing. He’s a professional at what he does and that means I have to bring my AA game and that’s what we’ve been working on at the gym, to bring our AAA game. And Roy Jones always shows up and if he brings his AAA game it’s going to be a great fight.
How do you feel going into this fight?
JEFF LACY: Mentally I am feeling very, very confident. I am very confident and like I said, it is very hard to get up for a fighter that doesn’t want to fight and doesn’t pose a challenge. Roy Jones poses the challenge. He’s got me up every morning knowing that this is going to be a real fight. He’s going down as a legend and I want to be the one that beat the legend.
JEFF LACY: Certainly. Otis Griffin, I had no idea who this guy was. I knew that he was on the Contender but I didn’t know that he won the Contender series. I didn’t overlook him but I didn’t bring my AAA game. You don’t prepare the same way as you do for a Roy Jones. This Griffin, he didn’t pose a real challenge. I knew that I could go in there, by just watching him, the little tape that I did see of him, that I could beat him. He didn’t pose a real challenge that Roy Jones is posing to me.
What do you think about Roy’s nickname?
JEFF LACY: He is now, as you said, he is now “Captain Hook” Roy Jones has been in this game a lot longer than I have and all the sudden he is now “Captain Hook.” I started of f and I had one nickname the rest of my career. Everybody knows me as “Left Hook” from what I do in the ring. That poses a challenge and if he feels that he has a better left hook…hey, we are going to find out on Saturday night and I’m not here t argue about it.
JEFF LACY: Compared to other fights that I have had after the Calzaghe fight, it was hard to get the fans behind me like I had when I was getting ready to fight Joe Calzaghe. Being that Roy Jones is a name and a threat to a lot of fighters and he’s still a dangerous fighter. Still now. It means a lot and it means so much more than me going out and taking tune-up fights. This is not a tune-up fight. This is a fight that will take me to another level. That’s why I am so focused for this fight because Roy Jones is not a pushover. I respect Roy Jones but we have to take care of business on Saturday night.
How will you feel fighting at 175?
JEFF LACY: At the beginning of this promotion, Roy Jones said he could also make the fight at 168. There is no question that I can’t make 168. But this is a fight for the NABO, Roy Jones’ title and what best way to do it than to fight at light heavyweight. Being that I have no problem making 175 and Roy Jones can make 175 then let’s do it. I always have to come down in weight anyway because I walk around at about 190. But don’t get me wrong and don’t let Roy Jones think that because I’m only going down to 175 that I’m not working hard. I love to work out. Number one, I love for my body to look ripped. I’m going to look like I weight 190 but in a smaller frame. Ripped up. Lean.
Do you worry about fighting Roy in his home area?
JEFF LACY: No, because when you ring the bell, you fight. Roy Jones has to deal with the pressure of his fans. I’m going to pose a new thing to him on Saturday night. I’m aggressive. He came to see me in Tampa and saw that I’m an aggressive fighter and I punch hard. That’s one thing that he cannot get by. Even if I am taking a step back, I am still aggressive and punch hard. So that’s the thing he’s got to deal with all his fans in his backyard.
What do you think about the Jones-Calzaghe fight?
JEFF LACY: The thing about boxers, greatness comes and goes. You are not going to be great every time out. Being that you can still his=t those key points and Roy Jones can still hit those key points. He is great in spots. You are not going to always go out there and look fantastic each and every fight out. There are going to be times that you look great in those 10 or twelve rounds that you are going. You’re not going to go out there and look perfect. He still fought a competitive fight against Joe Calzaghe and Calzaghe is still considered one of the best pound-for-pound.
Can Jones be aggressive and punch hard against you?
JEFF LACY: Of Course. That’s what is going this make this an exciting fight for the fans. Roy is going to come and basically…Roy knows he is going to have to come. He is going to have to do something to get me to back up. My aggressiveness is coming and he knows that. In his preparation for me, he knows he is going to have to stand his ground and punch with me and not try to run and run and run because the fans and being in his back yard, they are going to boo him.
Watch the “Hook City” pre-show on YouTube
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xnMiCUmNqPY
Watch Roy Jones workout, Jones camp interview and “Big Roy” unplugged
http://www.youtube.com/user/TheEMCvideo