"I'm ready to go. I know I'm sharp. I got a lot of rounds in with Amir and he makes you fight. He makes you work, so I know that I'm ready...I would say I'm smooth and really technical. I got some good technical skills...I'm tough, I'm technical, and my body is built for boxing," stated up-and-coming heavyweight Cassius Chaney, who talked about his upcoming fight on the undercard of Sergey Kovalev vs. Jean Pascal 2. Check it out!
PC: How is everything going? How has training been?
CC: It's good. I kind of made it like a joint camp. I came down to help Amir [Mansour] with Dominic Breazeale and I also got a chance to prepare for my fight as well.
PC: Have you been to Canada before and what is it like to prepare to go out of the country to fight?
CC: I never been to Canada yet, but I was in England for 2 months helping Fury with Klitschko. I got that experience, so I know me going to Canada for a night isn't like going to England for 2 months. I'm ready to go. I know I'm sharp. I got a lot of rounds in with Amir and he makes you fight. He makes you work, so I know that I'm ready.
PC: Amir gave you the stamp of approval on FightHype, labeling you the future of the division. What is it like to be endorsed by someone who not only can fight, but been through so much just to be where he is today?
CC: It's really just an honor because what makes it all crazy is when I first started boxing, FightHype was the first website that I looked at things on and Amir was the first interview I saw on there. He was just talking about the heavyweight division at the time. He had just won a regional title and he was about to fight Calvin Price. So I just hit him up on Facebook and was like, "Hey, I'm an amateur, but I think I can help you for your fight." He was like, "Yeah, come on down. I'll pay you." And I told him, "My family already live out there. You ain't gotta pay me." So I came on down. This was like 3 years ago. That's mainly how I get into camps because I read up and I find out that somebody is fighting somebody tall and I go just for the experience. And since then, he was always like, "Listen, if I fight somebody tall, I need you down here." That's just how it worked out. My father is from Philly, so I just fly out there and anytime Amir need that help, I'm always willing to come down. He ain't even really gotta trip on paying me or anything.
PC: You've been in with some great heavyweights already, like Mansour and Fury, and you're only 5 fights into your career. What have those experiences been like for you?
CC: Ah man, the only heavyweights that I think I haven't been in the ring with yet is Bryant Jennings, Luis Ortiz, Anthony Joshua, and Joseph Parker. I sparred with Breazeale, Gerald Washington, and all those guys already. The beautiful part about it is I've sparred with them on some, "Yo, can I come to your camp?"
PC: You hustling your way into these camps. I can't be mad at that.
CC: Yeah, I know. They be like, "This lil' dude crazy!" But every time I go, I'm learning, but I also believe that I'm not going to get hurt. I helped Malik Scott; he ain't pay me, so when I go out there to these camps, my mindset is to really learn. Tyson and his camp paid me because I had to be there for so long and I was out of work. But usually, if it's close and I can get some learning or experience out of it, I'm not really tripping on it. Getting in there with Fury was just a great experience because he won and I went out there with 4 fights and as I'm out there, the fight gets postponed and they were like, "Listen, we need you to stay here. You cannot leave. We really need you. Your style is perfect and we need you to stay." I sucked it up and stayed for that extra month and it was just a great experience for me.
PC: For people that aren't familiar with you, what kind of style are you bringing to the table? What can fans expect when they watch you fight?
CC: I think my style is smooth, but I also feel like I got a lot of dog in me too. Like for instance, it's hard, maybe because I'm inexperienced too, but it's hard to box Amir for 8 rounds because eventually he gonna make you fight. His mentality kind of rubs off on me, so when you get in there, you just wanna start fighting. Now is it always good? No, because in a fight, you gotta keep your cool, but he's going to make you fight. If you try to move around him for a long period of time, one, he's going to get stronger as the round goes on, and two, it's going to look like you don't want to fight. So being in there with him made me better. This is the longest I've actually been here because I was there for like a month. I was learning how to do stuff inside that I didn't really know I could do. Everybody's style is different, but I would say I'm smooth and really technical. I got some good technical skills.
PC: You will be facing Zoltan Csala on the Kovalev-Pascal rematch undercard. Do you know a lot about Zoltan and how did you land on this card?
CC: I'm signed with Main Events and I fought in Vegas on the Kovalev-Nadjib card and now I'm fighting Zoltan Csala and he's a veteran. He has a lot of fights, but he's small and I think if I just keep my jab on him and work off it, it will be a good night. I just gotta be smart and just do what I do; box and be relaxed. I'm excited that Main Events is letting me showcase on this undercard. The people that have helped me, it's just been great. The last 3 months, I've been able to sleep in my own bed only like 10 nights. I was in Philly because we thought that Amir was going to get Wilder at first, so I went down there. And then I had to go right to England for Tyson. And then I came back from England and had to come right back to Philly and I just used it as my camp as well. I've just been grinding; been working, man. I'm just staying in the gym.
PC: You're still young in the game. As a fighter, what have you learned about yourself over the course of these 5 fights and multiple training camps with high profile guys?
CC: I've learned that I have the heart and I'm a natural fighter. One thing I know I've learned is how to stay composed and it's different types of fighters. Some guys are going to come to fight and some guys aren't. I'm learning how to keep my composure. It's like when I fought the guy in England, Larry Olubamiwo, and he had no interest in fighting. He knew how to survive and it frustrated me because I really didn't understand why the guy was doing what he was doing. So now I know there are certain guys out there that's going to do that. They gonna come there to get a check and they are just going to survive. They going to try not to get suspended. It's just all about keeping my composure. There is no question I have the heart and the toughness. That's one of the things I think Tyson respected me for, as well as Amir. When it comes down to it, I'm going to fight. I'm going to go out on my shield and we're going to just fight. All of the sparring stuff goes out the window once in awhile and I'm just going to fight. I'm tough, I'm technical, and my body is built for boxing.
PC: I look forward to seeing you move forward. Best of luck on Saturday night. Is there anything you want to say before I let you go?
CC: I just want to say thank you to FightHype again, man. I'm telling you, I look on this website every single day. I'm thankful for it. Charles Martin is a champion now and I helped him a few months ago, so I've been in the ring with some good competition and I will be champion one day. I just gotta stay in the gym and keep learning and I'll be back on FightHype soon!
[ Follow Percy Crawford on Twitter @MrLouis1ana ]