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ROD SALKA ON DANNY GARCIA CLASH: "HE'S IN A LOSE-LOSE SITUATION...SEND THE APOLOGIES ON TWITTER THE NEXT MORNING"

By Ben Thompson | July 25, 2014
ROD SALKA ON DANNY GARCIA CLASH:

"Nobody is expecting me to win the fight anyway. So it kind of puts me in a win-win situation. But I wouldn't have felt that way anyway. I'm coming in here to win the fight...Just because of all the negative stuff that he's getting on the fight, I think he's going to try and get me out of there as fast as possible. He's in a lose-lose situation. He can't win, let's put it that way, but the only way he doesn't lose is if he stops me early. People still aren't going to be happy and they're going to be like, 'I told you so,' but if he does anything other than that, they're going to hammer him as far as how good he actually is, you know what I mean, because he didn't do what he was supposed to do...Just tune in. My Twitter account is @lightningrod00. You can just send the apologies on Twitter the next morning on August 10th," stated jr. welterweight contender Rod Salka, who talked about his upcoming August 9 clash with unified jr. welterweight champion Danny Garcia. Check out what else he had to say!

BT: Rod, what was it like when you found out that you were getting the opportunity to fight Danny Garcia?

RS: They sent me the contract, I signed it, and I sent it right back. I was excited to get the chance.

BT: I assume you're already familiar with what Danny brings to the table when he's inside the ring.

RS: Yeah, I fought him in the amateurs. I'm sure he's a totally different fighter now. I mean, I've watched his fights obviously on TV as a pro, but I don't really try to put too much stock into what other people do though. All I can focus on is what I can do and fix anything that I think I'm doing wrong working on my game.

BT: Some people are saying that this fight is a mismatch and that you shouldn't be in the ring with him. Do comments like that bother you?

RS: I mean, nah, not really. I really don't pay attention to that stuff. I mean, I get it. It's whatever. It's kind of like in high school when people just go around and talk nonsense for no reason and they don't even know why they're saying what they're saying. You can't get mad at every single person or every little kid that says the wrong thing. I look at that as childish. It's childish stuff. I mean, the facts are the facts; we can sit here and argue about stuff all day, but the fact is that I'm fighting the fight and that's it, so let's talk about something different. That's what I want to say to those people. I mean, I guess it's good they're talking. I just want to fight the fight. It doesn't really affect me one way or the other what anybody is saying. I guess if you would look at it from an outside point of view, you would think that it would actually be better for me because it kind of takes all the pressure off me, if you think of it like that, because nobody is expecting me to win the fight anyway. So it kind of puts me in a win-win situation. But I wouldn't have felt that way anyway. I'm coming in here to win the fight.

BT: Did you feel any pressure at all when the fight was first brought to you?

RS: No. I mean, I'm in this sport to fight the best fighters I can fight, so if I get a call to fight the best guy out there, I'm going to be excited and jump all over it no matter who it is or what I think people are going to say. I thought people would complain, but I didn't think it would get out of hand like it did. In my opinion, it's kind of actually...in my opinion, it's kind of calming down now because I feel like people just reacted because they never heard of me. I feel like now, people are actually watching the fight and looking into it a little bit. I mean, it's still not like I'm gonna be the favorite by any stretch of imagination, but I think people are starting to be like, "Well, maybe this kid could give him a fight." People just blow up before they really take everything into consideration. Showtime and Golden Boy aren't in the business of putting fights on that are going to be blowouts to get people wins on main events. That's not what they do.

BT: Do you feel like you're being overlooked at all, not just by the fans, but maybe by Danny as well?

RS: It was the same thing when Herrera fought him last time. Nobody knew who Herrera was and now everybody's bitching because Herrera didn't get the rematch. Like I said, leave that stuff to the professionals. The fans are going to do what the fans are going to do, and they're allowed because that's their opinion, but these guys know what they're doing when they make fights. They've been doing it for a long time, so I'm going in there to beat Danny Garcia.

BT: Was it disappointing to find out that his titles wouldn't be on the line because you weren't ranked yet with sanctioning organizations?

RS: Before I got offered this fight, I was tentatively scheduled to fight the main event on a Fox Sports show the day before in Pittsburgh. We had been talking to the WBC and the WBA about ranking me in July when the rankings came out because I had fought in April for a WBC regional belt and I had a WBA regional belt that I still have that I defended. So I was supposed to get back in the rankings, but you know how it takes a couple of months after these fights for them to get you in there. So they were going to get me in July and then I got offered the Garcia fight and then they came out and announced it before I got in the rankings, so then everybody was like, "This kid's not even ranked. Boxrec has him at this," but Boxrec is what it is too. I lost to Ricardo Alvarez, but I didn't really lose to him. Once you get that loss, Boxrec doesn't know that you really didn't lose the fight, so they rank you based off of that scoring system that they have. All that stuff is, you know, you gotta take that stuff with a grain of salt. What comes down to it is that they look at the men that are getting in the ring and how styles make fights and that's how they make fights. They don't go off of that other stuff. You get people in here that bash the rankings like, "These guys that get in the rankings, they don't even deserve to be in there," but then as soon as someone's not in the rankings, they're like, "Well he's not even in the rankings." Yeah, but last month, you were just talking shit on the rankings. I mean, if we wanted to debate it, I can go find you 5 guys in each of the top 15 rankings that probably really don't deserve to be there or that you have never even heard of before. It is what it is. I mean, what are you going to do? The only reason why I'm a little mad about it is because we actually went and...I did it on my own before I even got signed with Golden Boy with the WBA to get those regional titles to get myself ranked. I had been in the rankings the previous year before and they were going to put me back in, but then you have people going online blowing up like, "I can't believe he's going to get the fight." Actually, all that talk made the sanctioning bodies scared to rank me because it was going to look like they just stuck me in there for the title fight or something, when in reality, I was already supposed to be in there. So they use it for whatever, but hopefully I'll win the fight. It's not like I'm not going to get ranked if I beat Danny Garcia. So if I win this fight, my next fight will probably be for a world title anyway. It's the politics of the game; you gotta do what you gotta do, but at the end of the day, I'm fighting August 9th on Showtime against Danny Garcia. The bottom line is still the bottom line, so all that other stuff is just secondary. I'm just worried about being in camp every day, doing the right thing, training, being the best me I can be for the fight, going in there and taking care of business.

BT: What kind of a fight are you expecting from Danny? Do you think you'll see the "seek and destroy" Danny Garcia or do you think he'll try to box more?

RS: Just because of all the negative stuff that he's getting on the fight, I think he's going to try and get me out of there as fast as possible. He's in a lose-lose situation. He can't win, let's put it that way, but the only way he doesn't lose is if he stops me early. People still aren't going to be happy and they're going to be like, "I told you so," but if he does anything other than that, they're going to hammer him as far as how good he actually is, you know what I mean, because he didn't do what he was supposed to do. So I'm expecting him to come out firing. I hope he does. If he wants to box, he can box and that would be fine, but if he wants to come at me, that would be better yet. Either way.

BT: You guys are both from Pennsylvania, but he's got more exposure than you, particularly when it comes to fighting at the Barclays Center. Do you have any concerns about him being the "hometown favorite" so to speeak? Do you think you'll get a fair shake from the judges on the scorecards?

RS: It's one of those things that I just have no time to even consider. I mean, I'm fighting him so it doesn't matter what anybody is chanting in the crowd; they can't throw the punches for him. I mean, as far as judges being influenced, I guess, but I'm not worried about that either. Things I can't control, I don't even acknowledge. The judges, whatever their agendas are or their reasons are, it is what it is; there's nothing I can do about it. I'm going to come out and be better than my best and come out with the victory.

BT: For all those naysayer out there who are saying you don't have any kind of shot against Danny Garcia, what message would you like to send to them?

RS: Just tune in. My Twitter account is @lightningrod00. You can just send the apologies on Twitter the next morning on August 10th.



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