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JAMES DE LA ROSA: "I'M DOWN TO FIGHT ANYBODY...I AM COMING BACK DOWN TO 54"

By Percy Crawford | September 18, 2014
JAMES DE LA ROSA:

"I have to sit down with the team and see what we looking at next. It's an effort from all of us and whatever my team thinks, I'm down to fight anybodyÂ…I'm gonna go back down. This was just an opportunity I couldn't pass up and I took it at that weight class. I am coming back down to 54, which will be a lot easier," stated jr. middleweight contender James De La Rosa, who talked about his recent victory over Alfredo Angulo, his future plans, and much more. Check it out!

PC: Congratulations on the big win over Alfredo Angulo. How does it feel?

JDLR: Thank you, thank you. I feel real good, man. I'm not too sore or anything; just a little bit, but that's about it. It's what you would expect.

PC: You seemed to handle the hectic schedule of fight week well. Were you able to remain focused through it all or did all the media obligations wear on you?

JDLR: Oh yeah, I handled it real well, man. I couldn't let anything get to me. Like I was telling my manager, Adrian, I felt real good, my confidence was up, and everything was on point. I couldn't complain. I felt myself that night.

PC: Did you see anything in Alfredo leading up to the fight that you would call a weakness?

JDLR: I really thought he looked kind of drained during the face off. He was pale, but otherwise, I didn't really see anything else. But that caught my eye when we faced off, he looked a little out of there. From my view, he looked a little drained.

PC: You had a little situation going on, and at one point, it appeared the fight may have been in  jeopardy. You said you couldn't let anything get to you. How did you stay poised through that?

JDLR: I wasn't worried about it, man. I just told Adrian, "I'm here to fight and if I fight, I fight, and if I don't, what can I do?" I knew everything was right on my side, so I was ready to go. I wasn't worried about anything but fighting. If it goes through, it goes through, and if it doesn't, what could I do? There ain't nothing I could have done on my side, but I came ready to fight.

PC: Boxing is all about seizing opportunities and you definitely did that. What would you like to do next to capitalize on this moment?

JDLR: I just have to sit down with my team and see what's next. I don't make those kinds of decisions by myself, so I have to sit down with the team and see what we looking at next. It's an effort from all of us and whatever my team thinks, I'm down to fight anybody.

PC: That fight was contested at 162. Are you going back to 154 or are you gonna stay at middleweight?

JDLR: I'm gonna go back down. This was just an opportunity I couldn't pass up and I took it at that weight class. I am coming back down to 54, which will be a lot easier. This weight was too easy for me to make. Nothing went wrong in this camp and I was eating everything. I was eating every day in the media room. I ate 3 meals a day, wake up in the morning and go for a run and weigh myself. I was on weight every single day I was in Vegas.

PC: Talk us through the fight a little bit.

JDLR: I put him down in the 2nd round. I knew switching from southpaw and back and forth would catch him off guard. I knew they weren't expecting that. Because of my last name, I am black and Mexican, so they were expecting me to come and stand there toe to toe. That's his game right there, so I wasn't gonna sit there and sucker myself into something that wasn't for me. So I turned southpaw a few times, I moved and gave him angles side to side, and I believe that's when I dropped him when I was southpaw and I switched back to orthodox and I was on the side of him and caught him with a good left hook and that's what sent him down. The whole time I was switching back and forth, I can tell he wasn't prepared for that and I knew that was frustrating him. It's crazy because I came home and watched the video myself and I heard Virgil tell him, "You letting him get to the side of you to where you can't see him. You have to keep him in front of you." That's what I worked on all training camp was getting to the side and punching and it helped out a lot.

PC: How soon would you like to come back?

JDLR: As soon as possible. Whenever my team says it's time, then it's time. I have to get my hand checked out and if everything comes back good with this, then whenever I can get back in, I'm ready.

PC: Obviously it had no bearings on your fight, but a rumor did surface about you being stopped in sparring by Errol Spence. Any truth to that?

JDLR: Yeah, it happens. I'm not saying it happens to everybody, but it's one of those things where people get dropped in sparring. I got caught and there is really nothing I can do or say. It is what it is and it's in the past now. Shit, he hit me with a good shot and I can't take nothing away from him. He's an excellent fighter. That day that happened to me, it made me turn everything around and see everything differently and showed me what I needed to work on a lot more and it turned out for the best because it brought out the best in me.

PC: That was a great opportunity for you and you took full advantage of that. Congrats again to you. Is there anything else you want to say before I let you go?

JDLR: I just want to thank everybody for tuning in and I will be back as soon as I can and I'll be making some more noise.



[ Follow Percy Crawford on Twitter @MrLouis1ana ]

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