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WILLIE MONROE JR. DISCUSSES FREE AGENT STATUS; EYES JUNE RETURN AND POSSIBLE MOVE TO 154

By Percy Crawford | May 03, 2016
WILLIE MONROE JR. DISCUSSES FREE AGENT STATUS; EYES JUNE RETURN AND POSSIBLE MOVE TO 154

"Everything is all over and I'm a free agent across the board. Thanks to God I'm free...I weigh in at 160 and come in the night of the fight at 169.  He feels I should be fighting at 154, so I have a lot of options and choices to make. I'm hoping I can get back in there by the beginning of June if possible," stated middleweight contender Willie Monroe Jr., who talked about his free agency status and a possible move to the 154-pound division. Check it out!

PC: Your situation is forever changing. What's the latest with you my man?

WMJ: I'm just blessed, man. I can't speak too much on the case I told you about earlier, but I can tell you that it's all over. Everything is all over and I'm a free agent across the board. Thanks to God I'm free. There is nothing like being free.

PC: How difficult was it for you to not be free and to be going through a situation where you felt restricted?

WMJ: At the end of the day, I'm a fighter and that's from my boxing ability and just me as a person. I think a lot of us as human beings, we get a little bit of momentum and we think we can't be pulled back. I've never been an arrogant person. I've always been humble, soft spoken, and I have never overstepped my boundaries, but like my grandmother told me, "It rains on the just as well as the unjust." Just because you're a good person doesn't mean you're not going to get wet when it rains. I just took it as God telling me, "I'm going to put you on the bench for awhile and let some of the other players play and when the time is crucial, I'm going to put you back in." I stayed true to my craft. I stayed in the gym every day. I stayed running every day; no sparring, just a lot of work. I just recently linked back up with my amateur coach. His name is Armando Munoz and after the Triple G fight, he came to me and we had a nice 2-hour talk. We sat down at the gym and he was like, "Look, I noticed that a lot of things that we used to do in the amateurs and a lot of moves you used to make and a lot of things that made you who you are, you stopped doing them. When you fought Triple G, I saw flashes of it, but I didn't really see you do what we normally do." He said he was not looking for any money or anything; he just wanted to work with me again. Before my grandfather passed, Armando Munoz was the only guy that my grandfather would allow to work with me, so he's going to lend a helping hand and get me back to doing what I was doing. So I started working with him in late July and we have been working with him ever since. I landed a spot out here sparring with Vanes Martirosyan, helping him get ready for Lara.

PC: How is that going?

WMJ: It's going good. Me and Lara both have that hit and don't get hit style and we use our legs a lot. We are very tricky on our feet and very deceptive fighters. Just about everybody that's getting ready to fight Lara calls me; Austin Trout, Ishe Smith, and now Vanes Martirosyan. It's a blessing. It's a blessing for me to be considered one of the top tier fighters that people want to work with to prepare for one of the best. So either way you look at it, it's a blessing for me.

PC: As a free agent now, what are you looking for or what would you consider the perfect situation so to speak?

WMJ: Well, before I go into saying what my ideal situation is, I want to say Banner Promotions and I split on good terms. Banner Promotions did an awesome job in the time that I was with them. Look what they did; they put me in Boxcino and got me a world title shot. You don't do that not being a good promoter. Artie Pelullo and the staff over there did a really good job. I have nothing negative to say about them. I want to have a little bit more control. I just turned 29 and I'm in my prime right now. With this being my prime years, it's time for me to really take control of my career and start thinking about not only what's going on right now, but getting the most out of the next 5 to 6 years, God willing, before I have the option to retire. I may want to stick around. I don't get hit a lot. I'm what they call a defensive fighter. I haven't taken a lot of punishment in boxing, but I want the option to retire at 35-36 years old. I'm thinking about life after boxing. This time off gave me time to think and I went back to school and finally got my associates (laughing). I know that's not the top. I didn't even get my bachelors yet, but it's a great accomplishment because I stopped going to college when I was getting ready for the 2008 Olympics and I just never went back because I turned pro after that. But I got my associates in Physical Education/Sports and Nutrition and I passed my Civil Service exam with one of the highest scores in my city to be a fireman. I'm just dabbling in a couple of other things to make sure that I'm successful during and after boxing. I just wanna have a little bit more control and have a little bit more leverage. A lot of fighter's coming up, especially minority fighters who come from the hood, they feel like this is their only ticket and that's not true. So hopefully grabbing a little control of my career and moving forward, I'll also be able to encourage other athletes to be humble in this sport and appreciate the sport, but also remember that the sport needs you, you don't need the sport. I have to really thank my strategic partner Adrian Clark with AC Management for coming in and helping me and showing me how to structure things and put things in order to where I can get the most out of my career for myself. When I say leverage, I don't mean leverage against the promoter or leverage against the manager or advisor, but leverage to where I'll know I'll be in the best hands.

PC: How soon can we expect to see you back in the ring?

WMJ: Honestly, it's a bunch of PBC cards coming up. I'm out here working with Victor Conte in the Bay Area. I checked my body weight and Vic is like, "I don't know why you haven't been fighting 154. A lot of middleweights that weigh in at 160 come in on fight night weighing 175-176." I weigh in at 160 and come in the night of the fight at 169.  He feels I should be fighting at 154, so I have a lot of options and choices to make. I'm hoping I can get back in there by the beginning of June if possible.

PC: I'm glad things seem to be heading in the right direction for you. Best of luck and keep me posted. Is there anything else you would like to add before I let you go?

WMJ: Thanks to FightHype and thanks to you Percy for always keeping it real and putting my story out there. It's a lot of haters, but there is also a lot of love out there and people actually see what happens in the boxing world because you guys give us a voice, so thank you very much, man. I will be back in the ring very soon.



[ Follow Percy Crawford on Twitter @MrLouis1ana ]

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