"I'm hearing at the end of the month. I think February 28th, I'll be back in the ring at the end of the month...I would like to fight about 6 or 7 times this year, depending on what type of fights I have. If I step it up quick in the next one or two fights, then obviously that number will drop, but I'd like to have 5 or 6 fights this year...I'm going hard now. I just stepped on that gas now. I just started back sparring and going hard because I'm almost sure it's gonna be at the end of this month. That's what I'm hearing, so I'm making sure I'm ready, so I'm going pretty hard right now...Let 'em know the Bey Brothers is coming," stated up-and-coming jr. welterweight Cortez Bey, who talked about his anticipated return to the ring at the end of this month. Check it out!
PC: I understand you have a return date in front of you. Tell us about it!
CB: I'm hearing at the end of the month. I think February 28th, I'll be back in the ring at the end of the month.
PC: I was hearing possibly a Money Team card in your hometown of Cleveland, Ohio. Any truth to that?
CB: We would love to go back and fight at home, but I haven't heard anything about it. I haven't heard anything about fighting in Cleveland, but it would be nice if we bought a card back home. We got a good fan base in Cleveland.
PC: My partner Ben spent some time with you guys out in Cleveland. Coming from where you and Mickey come from, what was it like to go back home with a guy like Floyd Mayweather?
CB: Ah man, it was beautiful because I've been in Vegas for so long, I haven't really had a chance to visit Cleveland much, so to come back and visit with Floyd was like as good as it gets. It was just a great experience, man, just going back and seeing my family and seeing all of my friends and being there with Floyd and learning from Floyd and talking to him one-on-one and picking up on everything. I was just picking up all of the knowledge from Floyd.
PC: You had a very extensive layoff before your last fight. I know fighters like to gauge themselves after a lengthy layoff. What was some of the things that surprised you getting back in there?
CB: I didn't expect to go down. I got caught with a shot and went down at the end of the 1st round. I didn't expect that, but the rest of the fight, I felt good. I didn't feel like I had a long layoff and that's because I trained so consistently. I had been real consistent training, day in and day out, so even though I had that crazy layoff, I was so consistent with training that it wasn't like an average fighter's layoff. Most guys that come back off of the layoff I had, you would have been able to tell they had a long layoff.
PC: You and your brother's story is so similar, but now that you have a solid team behind you, is the goal and key for you activity at this point?
CB: Yeah, it's to be active, and everything opens up once I'm active and looking real good. I'm gonna know when it's time to step on the gas. It can be my next fight, it can be 3 or 4 fights from now; just getting active and looking sharp in the ring and everything will open up from there.
PC: A lot of guys coming off of a two-year layoff would be in a fight where they get some 20-second knockout and we don't really learn much from it. Being that you were in tough and touched the canvas, no one wants to get put down, but is that kind of what you needed to see where you were at?
CB: Right, right; I needed that. I been in this game too long and I got too much experience, so they put me in tough. He was a strong guy and pretty much a puncher. But it wasn't nothing to me because I got a lot of experience and I wanted that type of fight. I wanted to test myself because I had some ups and downs previously before the layoff, so I needed that test for myself. It just showed how mentally strong I am for that to happen early and for me to get up and win every round of the fight after that.
PC: Floyd don't match you guys easy. Given that you have had several layoffs, do you look forward to these tough fights because you feel you don't have time to waste?
CB: Yeah, definitely. Floyd is the king of boxing, so he can unlock all of the doors. If you looking to get a big fight and make a lot of money, you looking to challenge yourself. If I look great in my next fight, the more I step it up, the better reward I will get. This is prizefighting, so the better you look and the better test you can pass, the more you can step up and really get the bigger fights. Floyd don't like nobody in there soft. He wants you to go through some adversity before you get to that level.
PC: What's a good number for you to be in the ring in 2014?
CB: I would like to fight about 6 or 7 times this year, depending on what type of fights I have. If I step it up quick in the next one or two fights, then obviously that number will drop, but I'd like to have 5 or 6 fights this year.
PC: You have a tentative date scheduled, but I don't think it's confirmed, so what's it like for you in the gym right now?
CB: I'm going hard now. I just stepped on that gas now. I just started back sparring and going hard because I'm almost sure it's gonna be at the end of this month. That's what I'm hearing, so I'm making sure I'm ready, so I'm going pretty hard right now.
PC: I appreciate the time my man and I look forward to seeing you in there. Best of luck. Is there anything else you want to add?
CB: I appreciate you. I just want to thank Floyd. Floyd been a big brother, man, from the beginning to me and my brother. He always gave us advice from the beginning. Sometimes we was hard-headed and didn't listen, but he stuck by us like family. He is really like a big brother to us and always has been. He's always tried to give us the best advice, so I definitely wanna thank him and Mayweather Promotions, Leonard Ellerbe, and thank my team. I got a good team. I got one of the best trainers coming up in the game right now, Rafael Ramos. We got real good chemistry together and, day in and day out, we working on our craft. He teaching me new things every day. It's also fun training now. A lot of times, boxing wasn't fun to me, but it's been fun lately because I have such a good team around me now. I just want to thank everybody and thank the fans for the support, and shoutout to everybody in Cleveland, Ohio. Let 'em know the Bey Brothers is coming!
[ Follow Percy Crawford on Twitter @MrLouis1ana ]