"I've been through so much. I've seen my people fall, I've seen my people in the gutter, and it's time for change. I could help people out on telling them how to accomplish their dream because I'm living my dream right now, being signed to Al Haymon at 21 years old and having a little money that I could put here and invest here. I'm truly living my dream and living a lifestyle that I want to live...Why be second when you could work hard and be first? That's always been my mentality since I was a child. I have accomplished a lot as an amateur. Unfortunately, I didn't make the Olympic Team, but I definitely will achieve my goal of becoming a world champion," stated up-and-coming welterweight prospect Semajay Thomas, who talked about his latest victory, his future plans, and much more. Check it out!
PC: You said you didn't want to waste time in your last fight and it didn't last very long at all. Tell us about the win.
ST: Most definitely. I had to work the numbers and put the combinations together and get dude up out of there.
PC: You said it would be no added pressure on you to fight at home in Chicago, and although it appeared you had a huge crowd there, it didn't look like that bothered you at all.
ST: I really didn't feel no pressure fighting in Chicago. I felt the love and support and it motivated me to put on a show and give the fans what they want to see.
PC: You definitely didn't suffer any damage. How soon would you like to get back in there?
ST: Al's supposed to be reaching out to us this week, but I do know it will be my first 6-round fight. Hopefully it will be on FOX Sports or ESPN.
PC: You post a lot about your company, LGE. Tell us a little bit about that movement.
ST: I got my own entertainment business. We have rappers and I sponsor a few amateur boxers from a boxing gym that I grew up in and it's all positive. It's not anything negative. I just wanna see everybody make it and not just myself. I have a lot of connections and I got a lot of people that's helping support the movement.
PC: Looking at your social media pages, you seem to be doing a lot of reflecting lately on your past and where you are today. You weren't supposed to be here. What has all of this been like for you?
ST: You know in 2009, I was falsely accused of first degree murder and I spent 15 months in jail. I was #1 in the Juniors at that time and I spent 15 months in there, and when I was finally blessed to be released and everything got on the table and the jury found me not guilty and I was released, I won the Illinois State Championship, the regional championship, US National Championship, and I won my second national championship, which placed me #1 and the #1 seed in the Olympic Trials. Unfortunately, I didn't make it to the Olympic Team, but we are right here today as pros and signed to Al Haymon and on our way to a world championship.
PC: You always say you're not just here to be a good fighter, you want world titles. What kind of work do you put in to achieve that goal?
ST: I run every day and when I'm in Plex, they have me train 2 times a day, so I do 3 times a day. I just grind hard. You know the hard work for me is real; the grind is real when it comes to they not beating me. I put that on all my statuses and hashtag it, #theynotbeatingme. I really mean that and believe in my heart that I will retire an undefeated world champion.
PC: Two things stick out about you to me and that's you always wanna see other people become successful alongside you and you don't feed into any negativity. I like those qualities and I think it will allow you to go far.
ST: I've been through so much. I've seen my people fall, I've seen my people in the gutter, and it's time for change. I could help people out on telling them how to accomplish their dream because I'm living my dream right now, being signed to Al Haymon at 21 years old and having a little money that I could put here and invest here. I'm truly living my dream and living a lifestyle that I want to live, so I want to see other people become that too, whether it's basketball, football, music, becoming a doctor; it doesn't matter. I just tell them to be all you could be and always go hard. I never knock nobody hustle. I never knock what nobody do for a living. I always just tell them just go hard at it. Why be second when you could work hard and be first? That's always been my mentality since I was a child. I have accomplished a lot as an amateur. Unfortunately, I didn't make the Olympic Team, but I definitely will achieve my goal of becoming a world champion.
PC: I'm following the journey, so best of luck to you and I hope to see you televised very soon. Is there anything else you want to add before I let you go?
ST: I wanna shout out to everybody that supports the LGE movement, Legendary Greatness Entertainment. Shout out to all my family; I love y'all and all of my fans and supporters, we going to the top. We will be headed to a world championship real soon; sooner than a lot of people think. And definitely shout out to FightHype too!
[ Follow Percy Crawford on Twitter @MrLouis1ana ]