"The body shots was killing him. I have this little bruising and swelling on my face, but I had no problem waking up this morning or going to the bathroom. Trust me, he probably needed help getting out of the bed this morning and he probably pissed a little bit of blood. I tore his body apartÂ… If they could make the rematch, I would love it, but at the same time, I know I beat this dude, everybody know I beat this dude, so really, it would be a rerun for me," stated heavyweight contender Amir Mansour, who talked about his recent draw with fellow heavyweight Gerald Washington. Check it out!
PC: We'll get a lot more with you about your fight with Gerald Washington, but I know you are on a plane and pressed for time, so we'll keep this one short. First and foremost, how do you feel about your performance?
AM: I felt my performance was genuine. Always in retrospect, you feel you could have done a lot more when you look back at it, but at the end of the day, when you're pressing a guy and engaging a guy and he's not trying to fight back and he's strictly in survival mode and running, it's only so much that you can do.
PC: You definitely picked it up in the second half of the fight. What changed that allowed you to turn the tides of the fight?
AM: In the first part of the fight, I felt as though I was fighting the fight that he would be successful at me fighting, so I had to make adjustments; go back, listen to my corner and make the proper adjustments and then just outthink this guy. I had to go downstairs on him, apply that pressure, and you know, just walk him down.
PC: Before the fight, he felt you would gas out at some point during the fight. Do you feel you actually gassed him out with your pressure and body work?
AM: Oh, for sure, man. The body shots was killing him. I have this little bruising and swelling on my face, but I had no problem waking up this morning or going to the bathroom. Trust me, he probably needed help getting out of the bed this morning and he probably pissed a little bit of blood. I tore his body apart. I would rather have the little swelling to deal with than to not be able to get out of bed the next morning.
PC: Washington felt a rematch was not necessary because he felt he was robbed. Would you entertain a rematch, or did you feel slighted and would like to just move on?
AM: You know, at the end of the day, he said what he was supposed to say. You gotta run your game 24/7 in this boxing game, so I respect what he said. Listen, you already know me, the boxing people know me, I'm going to fight anybody that they put in front of me. If they could make the rematch, I would love it, but at the same time, I know I beat this dude, everybody know I beat this dude, so really, it would be a rerun for me, but a redemption match for him. But at the end of the day, if the money is right and the timing is right, then let's get it on again, man.
PC: You said you were shocked they gave you a draw. You felt you were going to take a loss. When they read the first scorecard for him, 97-93, I saw dejection on your face. Did you think the other scores would sound like the first one?
AM: Yeah! We pretty much knew that we would have to... first, let me say this, every fighter on the planet loves Al Haymon. I love Al Haymon. Not only because he's doing a great thing for boxing, but because he's a brother that young brothers like me can look up to. Any young black man in the world can look up to this man and be inspired and look up to him as a true genuine role model. This man is doing amazing things for boxing. So let me be clear when I spoke about not getting the decision because it was an Al Haymon fighter. I didn't try to put blame on Mr. Haymon. At the end of the day, the commission chooses the judges. Al Haymon don't choose his own judges for a fight. The commission does that and this is the main reason why commissions never go back and change certain decisions that these judges make because they are the ones that chose these judges because it would be like correcting their own doing. They don't want to find fault in themselves. And they have no overseer. If you call back a touchdown in the Super Bowl on some bullshit call, you might end up in jail if they find you to be a fraudulent referee. But because boxing isn't regulated or monitored, the commission do what they want to do. Al Haymon don't have nothing to do with the judges. I'm grateful that Al Haymon is doing what he's doing, I'm grateful that Fox Sports put me on, and it's just a blessing to be able to go out there and do my best. But at the end of the day, I know I won the fight, the people that watched the fight know I won, and I'm content with that. I'm just glad that the rest of the judging wasn't so lopsided to where at least I got a draw instead of getting outright robbed.
PC: I hear you are about to take off. Let's catch up tomorrow and finish this convo for sure.
AM: I land late, so yeah, just give me a call tomorrow, fam!
[ Follow Percy Crawford on Twitter @MrLouis1ana ]