"Based on his resume, he should have knocked everybody out that they put him in with. He hasn't really been tested too much. Getting in the ring with me, he will definitely see some things he's probably never saw before...KO King will reign again," stated hard-hitting former welterweight champion Randall Bailey, who talked about his upcoming June 7th clash with Fredrick Lawson. Check out what else he had to say!
PC: How have you been my man?
RB: I'm doing great, man. I'm just getting back into the swing of things.
PC: You coming back in June against undefeated Fredrick Lawson.
RB: Yeah, me and Fredrick Lawson fighting on June 7th in Minnesota for the USBA.
PC: He has a very high knockout ratio. He has 22 wins and 20 of them by way of.
RB: Based on his resume, he should have knocked everybody out that they put him in with. He hasn't really been tested too much. Getting in the ring with me, he will definitely see some things he's probably never saw before.
PC: You are getting close to 40. so of course everyone points at your age, but how are you feeling physically?
RB: I feel great physically. It's just the inactivity. Once I get in the ring and move around a little bit, everything will come back to form.
PC: The talks is after the Lawson fight, you really want to get Andre Berto in the ring. That would be a good "Battle of Floridian's" type of fight.
RB: That fight most definitely interests me. I feel like I have unfinished business with Berto because he is not a man of his word. If I do something for you, at least be a man of your word, you know what I'm saying. You said we were gonna do something and he took another way out. And where I'm from, that just don't sit right, you know what I'm saying?
PC: For sure. Were you guys cool and it went bad or was it just kind of a business of boxing type of relationship with him?
RB: Nah, nah, nah. I don't kick it with too many fighters. I can see the fakeness from a mile away. If I deal with you, trust me, you a real dude. I don't deal with these fake picture takers. Everybody wanna be a picture taker. You see them walking down the street and it's like, "You know who I am. Come on, let's take a picture." Nah, I ain't on that.
PC: I think he's trying to come back this summer off of the injury. Would you want that slot or a little later in the year because your fighting next month?
RB: I would like to come back in the fall; probably about September some time.
PC: The power is the last to go, so I'm sure that's still there. What else have you been working on in the gym for this fight?
RB: Just getting my jab back working. I got to get my jab back working. Everything comes off of my jab. Get my jab back working, getting my hook back working, and just getting back to the basic fundamentals. You got all of these trainers out here trying to invent magic tricks. Ain't no magic tricks to this shit. It's one-two-three. All that shit behind your back and all that other shit, that's nonsense. All this spin around your back and hold your hook and then throw the uppercut and all that nonsense; nah! That right there...me, I'm a basic fundamental fighter. I use my jab, my movement, my right hand and my hook. If I get all of that working, one-two-three, I'm good to go.
PC: You have told me for awhile that you have to get back to your jab and set up your right hand instead of just firing it because people started looking for it and that's all they had to look for. Would you agree with that?
RB: It's like when you start working with a trainer where the basics is producing knockouts... I guess they try and come up with a way to make it easier than it really is. It's already easy, but to have them constantly tweak it, I guess it gets boring for them and they gotta try and invent shit.
PC: What are you looking to show on June 7th?
RB: I'm just trying to get back to doing me; movement, using my jab, and bringing that right hand that I have with a signature left hook. Just doing the stuff that I'm used to doing. All of that stuff was kind of taken away from me. I need to get back to doing the basics and showing that I am capable of knocking out top guys.
PC: You still campaigning at welterweight, right?
RB: Yes, 147. Let me tell you, before the Toledo fight, which was my last fight, the day before the weigh-in, we went out to eat and I had steak, chicken, ravioli, salad, large glass of iced tea, spaghetti and chicken and steak skewers. I ate all of this and still weighed in the next day at 146. The right hand ain't going nowhere. Like I said before, I been practicing this right hand since I was 14 or 15 years old. Tommy Brooks came down to Miami and trained Freddie Pendleton for the Tracy Spann fight and he told me one little technique. He had me going around the ring doing it for at least 3 rounds; stepping in, turning my back foot with my right hand and that was all she wrote right there.
PC: Would you eventually like to fight Keith Thurman still because I know at one point you wanted that fight?
RB: I just want to say I was calling Thurman out and I was ignored, but you know what? It wasn't time yet because he was an up-and-coming fighter and it would have been like I was picking on a guy that was trying to make his way up to getting where he wanted to be and I'm trying to jump on him. I would prefer to fight Berto first and let Thurman build himself up and do what he gotta do and maybe we can do it further on down the line before I call it quits. I see where they are trying to get Thurman to box a lot more. I was in a different era where punchers were punchers. It was just that. They didn't try to transform you or help you with the boxing part. If you were a puncher, that was all you were. They were not trying to show you how to box or do nothing else, but they trying to get Thurman to do a little more than what he got. They making him move a lot more and use a little more boxing with his punching power, which is a good thing. I'm not gonna rush the Thurman fight, but if it happens, I would be appreciative for it.
PC: I appreciate the time as always. Best of luck against Lawson and you know you can hit me up anytime, man. Is there anything else you want to add?
RB: Fasho, fasho. I got the number. Thanks for having me and KO King will reign again, believe me!
[ Follow Percy Crawford on Twitter @MrLouis1ana ]