"I have already begun my training for this fight. I'm training for this guy like it's a world championship fight. I'm not taking no shortcuts, I'm not pulling no punches, and I'm definitely not showing no compassion. I'm going at him like he stole something from me...I'll be ringside at his fight March 6th. I'll also look at the guy he's fighting because if he doesn't win that fight, then maybe I'll fight the guy that beat him. That's always a consideration, but hopefully he gets past his next opponent. But as I said, I'm taking this serious," stated heavyweight contender Amir Mansour, who talked about his return to the ring when he headlines ESPN's Friday Night Fights on May 8. Check out what else he had to say!
PC: Great news for you. You have your next fight date. Tell us about it!
AM: Yeah man, so we got an ESPN date for May 8th. I'll be the main event in a 10-rounder and we searched high and low for an opponent, and as I always say, I always go after a top 10, top 15 guy in both American and world rankings. I'm not gonna keep saying everybody's name over and over and over because sometimes, the money just ain't right. It may not just be you don't want to fight the fighter; it may be you don't feel like you're being paid enough. I ain't gonna hit 'em with my "Chickens Run" list today, man, but I will say that we approached a lot of so-called big names and nobody wanna take that chance to see me. But I'm gonna continue as one of the few heavyweights that accepts any challenge and will fight anybody who is right there with me or ranked higher than me. Having said that, if Joey Dawejko gets past his next opponent on March 6th in Philadelphia, it looks like me and him are gonna mix it up. His management and him have been saying since my last fight that they wanted to fight me. They think that they saw something during that Kassi fight that they can overcome and overwhelm me, so this guy is getting what he asked for. And one of the things I can say as well, don't call me out because I'll try to make it happen. So it looks like Joey Dawejko is going to get what he asked for.
PC: You just thought they were just trying to create a buzz at first with the social media post and then it continued on until it got your attention, correct?
AM: Yeah, I mean, when I look around, it's like all of these guys are turning me down and this guy is saying he wants to fight me...and for a few days, I was like, "Nah, it's not worth my time," but at the end of the day, we all gotta pay bills. I gotta stay busy. If Deontay Wilder could fight a guy that I knocked out in one round [Jason Gavern] and then his next fight is for the heavyweight championship of the world, then Amir Mansour can fight Joey Dewejko on ESPN.
PC: I tell you what, the timing is perfect because all eyes will be on boxing because the week prior, you have Mayweather and Canelo fighting, so ESPN boxing will have eyes on it for sure.
AM: Hopefully ESPN showcases this boxing night and continues to showcase boxing. ESPN is one of the only channels who stuck with boxing throughout the years, so you gotta respect them for just keeping boxing on their network. It's great that they now have other stations coming up with ideas of how to showcase boxing and get the fans back interested in it the way American fans used to be. But you know, ESPN is old school and they have a huge fan base and hopefully once again I get to showcase my skills to the American people. Every time I get on that TV, you already know I give it everything that I got and I always try to put on great performances and I always try to give the people what they pay their money for or what they took time out of their day to sit down and watch. I have already begun my training for this fight. I'm training for this guy like it's a world championship fight. I'm not taking no shortcuts, I'm not pulling no punches, and I'm definitely not showing no compassion. I'm going at him like he stole something from me.
PC: May is over a quarter into the year. Did you want to get in earlier or is this about the time you wanted to fight?
AM: I would love to fight before May 8th, but at this level where I'm at with 22 fights, I can't go fighting in no backroom bar. It has to be a showcase, it has to be television, and it has to be a decent size arena or it wouldn't be worth my time or anybody else's time. You really have to take that into consideration that once you get to a certain level, you're not gonna be fighting as often as you were when you were trying to build your name and your record up. But I would love to fight before May 8th.
PC: What is the gym work like right now, because there is a little bit of time before your fight?
AM: I've been in the gym since my last fight. One thing about me, I look at fighters and on fight night, they weigh 160 pounds and then you see them walking around 180-190. I see some heavyweights walking around with big fat stomachs and looking like fat guys. I don't do that to my body, man. I try to stay healthy; even in my downtime I stay in shape. So whether I got a fight coming up or not, I'm always in the gym anyway. The first important thing, dealing with me not blowing up just because I can because I'm a heavyweight, is your health. I got four kids and I wanna be around a long time to raise them and nurture them and be there for them, God willing. That's the foundation of me frequenting the gym, working out, and staying in shape. I try to live as healthy as I possibly can. And then, when it's time for training camp, you're not coming in sloppy where the focus has to be losing weight. You're already ready to go.
PC: Crazy things happen in boxing and obviously Dawejko has to get past his opponent next month, but are you starting to look at him on tape just to see what he brings to the table?
AM: Oh yeah, I've been watching film of him for the last several days. I'll be ringside at his fight March 6th. I'll also look at the guy he's fighting because if he doesn't win that fight, then maybe I'll fight the guy that beat him. That's always a consideration, but hopefully he gets past his next opponent. But as I said, I'm taking this serious. He is a hard puncher, he's been knocking guys out cold, and he has some spectacular knockouts and his shape and physique is very deceptive. That kid is fast on his feet. He's not slow at all. Anybody that climbs in the ring, I don't care what they record is, I consider them a man and I'm not underestimating nobody. So yeah, I've been looking at tapes on him and already working on some things that will make my night easy.
PC: Given your life journey with the prison stint, and now even your career journey in not getting the fights you want, how much is patience a virtue for you?
AM: Man...patience has become more of a virtue; patience has become everything. Every single thing revolves around patience when it comes to this boxing thing. Me and you spoke a week before the Stiverne/Wilder fight and I said if Stiverne fought Wilder the way that he fought Arreola, he was going to make it an easy night for Wilder. I was so impatient watching that fight and so frustrated watching that fight that I literally got up and went to my room around the 6th round. And it really wasn't any slight towards either man. I'm sure Stiverne gave it all he had and he just didn't have what it takes, and Wilder did what he said he was gonna do. He did his thing. I'm happy for both guys and I'm glad that everybody is okay. So there is no hate or dislike for either one of those guys, but it was really just looking at two guys and you know you are just as good and really better than them in your heart. And you know that you deserve to be right there and you gotta watch it. And then you watch a guy defend his title and it doesn't really look like he's defending his title and he's not defending it the way that you would defend it. And you know, that really boils down to patience, man. I'm telling myself I gotta be patient, I gotta be patient. And I ain't gonna lie, man, since watching that fight, I've gotten back to praying more. And just praying more and just asking Allah to continue to guide me and strengthen me because it's really frustrating when you see people doing stuff that you're good at too and you don't feel like you're getting the opportunities that they are getting. So patience is more than a virtue, it's everything.
PC: We will definitely be in touch throughout camp. I wish you the best at everything you have going on. Anything else you wanna add?
AM: I just wanna thank all the fans out there who continue to stick behind me. All the people out there who...I might not respond to all the messages, but I see the comments on Instagram, Facebook, Twitter and YouTube. You guys are calling out Deontay Wilder telling him to fight a real fighter like me. You guys are calling out the top ranked guys telling them they should be fighting each other, so I really appreciate the fans who love boxing enough to take the time out to address the serious issues in this heavyweight division. So I thank them from the bottom of my heart for being genuine fans. FightHype always!
[ Follow Percy Crawford on Twitter @MrLouis1ana ]