"It's a very interesting fight because sometimes you don't know what kind of conditioning and what kind of fight Stiverne gonna bring to the table. But I think that he's very motivated for this fight. He knows that everybody will be watching this fight. So if I was Stiverne, my intentions would be to take it straight to Deontay and make him brawl. You're gonna have to close the gap and close the distance. I expect a decent fight, man. I expect a real good fight between both of these guys...I'ma flip a coin because I really don't care which guys wins because I don't have a like or dislike for either one of them. I'm not a fan of either one of them either. It's a coin toss really. It's gonna boil down to which one of these guys want it the most," stated heavyweight contender Amir Mansour, who shared his thoughts on Saturday's anticipated clash between WBC heavyweight champion Bermane Stiverne and undefeated challenger Deontay Wilder. Check it out!
PC: We have a significant heavyweight fight this weekend between Bermane Stiverne and Deontay Wilder. What do you think of this matchup?
AM: It's a very interesting fight because sometimes you don't know what kind of conditioning and what kind of fight Stiverne gonna bring to the table. But I think that he's very motivated for this fight. He knows that everybody will be watching this fight. So if I was Stiverne, my intentions would be to take it straight to Deontay and make him brawl. You're gonna have to close the gap and close the distance. I expect a decent fight, man. I expect a real good fight between both of these guys.
PC: For Wilder, do you feel it's just about using his size and range and keeping Bermane on the outside?
AM: I'll tell you this much, when you have the dynamics and physical attributes that a fighter like Wilder has, you're blessed. To be that long, that tall, and that big, you're blessed. You have to use those gifts to your advantage. If I was Wilder, I would keep Stiverne on the outside. Stiverne has a good overhand right and it's a very hard punch and you don't want to get touched with that, so I would definitely use my reach and my height to my advantage if I was Wilder. He use those long arms, he could make it an easy night. Stiverne is going to have to be very motivated to close that gap.
PC: You will be ringside. Are you going just as a spectator or are you trying to get in there with the winner or the loser?
AM: Of course I would like to be in there with one of 'em. Me and you done talked plenty of times and I'm just hoping that one of these top 10 heavyweight guys would agree to fight another top 10 heavyweight. Let's bring the excitement back to this heavyweight division. Kudos to both of these guys for bringing some excitement and anticipation back into the heavyweight division where you do have two top 10 fighters fighting each other. We shouldn't have to wait until a world title fight before we see two top 10 fighters fighting each other. All of these top 10, top 15, and top 20 guys should be fighting each other in the heavyweight division as often as there are shows. Anytime we see a heavyweight fight and there is a top 10 guy in there, there should be another top 10 guy in there with him. And that's what kept the excitement in the heavyweight division prior to this era we're in now. But we all got away from that. So that's why you got a world heavyweight title fight that's not gonna be pay-per-view, and I'm sure these guys not making the big dollars that other heavyweights used to generate; not even 10% of that. We're taking a lot of the economics away from our division because we're not putting on the shows that people came to love and respect about the division and that's top 10 guys fighting each fighter. So I'll be there to show my face and if anybody put a mic in my face, I'm gonna tell them, "Of course I would love to fight the winner. I would love to fight the loser." I would love to fight anybody in the top 10, man. That's my motivation. That's what I've always been saying. I've never turned down a fight. Every time I got called for a fight, I said yes. I'm one of the few heavyweights who agrees that these top 10 guys need to start fighting each other. This is the beginning and hopefully this fight catapults other top heavyweights to fight each other.
PC: I gotta put you on the spot now and ask you for a prediction.
AM: I like Stiverne, but Stiverne gonna have to show me that he could box better than he did against Chris Arreola. Although he knocked Chris Arreola out in the 8th round I believe, he was losing the fight in my opinion. If you allow Chris Arreola to outbox you, I'm questioning your boxing ability and boxing skills. Maybe he wasn't up for that fight, maybe he wasn't motivated, or maybe he knew that the knockout was gonna come. It could have been overconfidence because he had been in there with him before. I don't know, but I would like to see Stiverne box this guy and get on the inside and rough him up. I'ma flip a coin because I really don't care which guys wins because I don't have a like or dislike for either one of them. I'm not a fan of either one of them either. It's a coin toss really. It's gonna boil down to which one of these guys want it the most.
PC: Another intriguing heavyweight fight is on the horizon. Steve Cunningham and Vyacheslav Glazkov are clashing also. What are you lookin for from that fight?
AM: I think Steve could outbox him. Steve is a former world champion, man, and he has tremendous boxing skills and boxing ability. He has the heart of a lion and now that his daughter had a successful heart transplant, that's obviously a load of stress off of this man's back. That's gonna intensify his training and his mental is going to be freed up a lot more to focus on boxing. I think we are going to see a different Steve Cunningham or a Steve Cunningham that we may not have seen in a long time. We may see that same Steve that fought me, but a better version.
PC: What are your goals for the year?
AM: Only thing I can do, man, is to keep knocking these guys on they ass that they put in the ring with me. Anybody in the top 10, I'm saying let's fight. My people can make it happen, your people can make it happen, so let's fight. Other than that, the only thing I can do is keep moving forward and hope to God soon this year I get that call saying, "Yo, it's your time to fight for a world title!" Whichever world title it is, winner from Stiverne/Wilder or Klitschko, who is actually looking for an opponent, it doesn't even matter, man. I would love to fight for a world title because I know me, as a person, I'm gonna leave the ring with that belt around my waist.
PC: I look forward to your next move and definitely some good heavyweight action this weekend. Give me something in closing my man.
AM: Again, I wanna congratulate both of these guys for making this fight happen. I definitely think it brings some integrity back to the division because we're seeing two top 10 guys fight each other. So congrats to these two guys and their promoters and their camps for making this fight happen. I hope that the fight is exciting because I'm flying out there and I will be ringside and I'm not rooting for either corner. I wish them both the best. I did see All Access and I wish Deontay and his family many blessings. My heart goes out to him and his daughter. He has a daughter that has an ailment. That made me gain a lot more respect for that young kid to be able to endure. Anything you're going through with your child, it's hard. I just wish both of these guys the best and prayers out to both of their families and friends. I'm excited to be able to be there and I hope that I get my monies worth. And I also want to thank everybody that nominated me for "Knockout of the Year" and everybody that nominated my fight with Steve Cunningham for "Fight of the Year!" We win some, we lose some, but I wanted to thank everyone for that as well!
[ Follow Percy Crawford on Twitter @MrLouis1ana ]