"Zab Judah rematch is a fight I really want and I talked to Zab today on Instagram Live and he wants the rematch, but he needs to get a couple of tune-ups before he steps in the ring with me again and we just need a promoter that's willing to do the fight...I wish I could've got Adrien Broner, man, because he mimics Floyd Mayweather so much; to get another chance to fight someone that fights just like Floyd Mayweather. And Adrien got balls. He'll gamble with me. He'll stand in the pocket and exchange," stated former world champion DeMarcus Corley, who talked about his future plans and much more. Check it out!
PC: You had a very successful 2016. Can you reflect on it a little bit?
DC: 2016 was a great year for me. I had one upset loss. I went to Monterrey, Mexico and I fought Adrian Estrella over in his hometown. I knocked him down and I thought I won the fight, but they didn't give me the decision. But other than that, I won The Contender series over there in Jamaica as a welterweight. That wasn't easy because them guys outweighed me by a good 8 to 10 pounds, but I got the job done.
PC: You're 42 years old, you're on a 4-fight winning streak, and you won The Contender series in Jamaica, two divisions above where you compete. What keeps you young?
DC: Staying active. If I'm not in the gym, I'm still out doing my road work, playing with my kids, staying in shape, not drinking, not smoking, getting the proper rest and eating good, man. You know I love to eat (laughing).
PC: I see a lot of guys in their twenties who are fighting once or twice a year. You fought 7 times in 2016. How important was that activity for you?
DC: It's very important to stay active because your body is not getting younger, it's getting older. It's like a car. If you don't keep your car tuned up and running right, it's not going to perform the way you want it to when it's time to race. You're going to go and do a race and if you haven't had a tune-up in 6 to 8 months, you're not going to get a good outcome out of that race.
PC: Has it been different for you fighting out of the country so much or does it just come with the territory?
DC: When I'm out of the country, I prepare harder because I know I'm not just fighting the fighter. I'm fighting against the promotion and also that guy's country. So it's like 3 strikes against me before the bell even rings. So my goal is to go for the knockout every single time.
PC: You have displayed more power in your recent fights. Is that just a matter of sitting down on your punches more now that you're 42 years old and don't want to use your legs so much or the circumstances of thinking you have to knock guys out?
DC: At this age, I'm sitting down on my shots more and I'm looking for knockouts more as opposed to trying to outbox these young fighters because I know they are going to come out of the gate fresh and hungry for the first 4 rounds. And my thing is to get them in deep water and drown them in the later rounds.
PC: You have had 76 fights, Chop Chop!
DC: (Laughing)!
PC: Does it feel like that many to you?
DC: It's funny you say 76 fights. I'm pushing 80, man. It's crazy because just a couple of months ago, I was in Texas doing my road work and I was getting ready to go back to Jamaica for The Contender series and I was like, "Dang, I got 74 fights. How old am I really?" I never thought I would have that many professional fights in my career. I didn't even think that I would be fighting this long and love to fight.
PC: I'm sure you will reach 80 in 2017.
DC: Ah man, I'm trying to get a title shot in 2017. I'm trying to get with a promoter and fight one of these young prospects who got a title. I know that's going to be hard to do with my resume and my background. They don't want to take a chance of putting their fighter in the ring with me. They'd rather cross the street where it's safer, which I understand, it's a business, but if I can get with a promoter and they can back me the way that other promoters are backing their fighters, I can make it happen.
PC: What would it mean for you to capture a world title at this stage in your career?
DC: That's the icing on the cake. It's not just capturing a title, it's doing it at 135 pounds. I went to Guyana and won the WBC FECARBOX title at 135, but to win a world title at 135, Henry Armstrong is the only fighter to do that in history; to go up in weight and win a title and then come back down. I campaigned at 140 my entire career and to move down now a weight class hasn't been done. Most fighters are moving up in weight.
PC: When it's all said and done, what would you like people to remember the most about Demarcus Corley?
DC: I was a young, hungry fighter that was willing to go fight anyone, anywhere at any given time no matter what. Someone who stayed ready no matter the outcome of the fight. I stayed ready because you never know when that call is going to come in. That happened in 2001 when we got the opportunity on a 5-day notice to fight for the WBO world title. I took the fight on a Tuesday and the fight was scheduled that Saturday night in Las Vegas.
PC: That's rare now because very few fighters stay in shape year round without walking around 20 pounds or so heavier than where they compete at.
DC: These fighters today aren't dedicated like the old fighters. The old fighters, Mark Johnson and Sharmba Mitchell, they would fight and be back in the gym 5 days later training, preparing for anything that came about the next fight. Now, fighter wins a title, "Man, I'm going on vacation with my family. I'm going to blow up 15 pounds over the weight limit and I'll worry about getting back in shape once I have a good time." I hate to use the word spoiled with these guys now, but you can almost say that because they get it so quick now. They don't appreciate it because it comes so fast to them now. We had to work to get where we wanted to go in this game. You had to fight someone and now, you really don't have to fight no one. You just have to fight the right person with the right connections and you're a champion. I see these guys now, 26-27 years old will fight early to mid part of the year and announce they are done fighting for that year. Ain't no way I'll be saying I'm done fighting for the year in April, May, or June. I love to fight. I would have gone back to the gym and be trying to fight within 60 days. I'm trying to get right back in the mix. Why? Because I love to fight.
PC: And not just the fact that you love to fight, looking at your social media pages, you love to train. It's not a job to you to be in the gym.
DC: If you love something you do, it's not work. I used to ask my dad, who is a carpenter and he could make anything out of wood. I used to say, "Dad, why you always get up and go to work at 6:00 in the morning every single day?" It's not work when you love doing it. He loved making stuff with wood. And I remembered that. If you love it, it's not work to you. I love to fight.
PC: You engaged in some social media war of words with Zab Judah discussing a possible rematch and you also threw Paulie Malignaggi's name out there as well. Any word on your next move?
DC: There is some talk and me and Zab may get a chance to do the rematch. We trying to get a promoter that is interested in promoting the fight so we can do the rematch. I called Paulie out because Paulie made an announcement that he wanted to fight again and I never got a chance to fight Paulie over the years, so I put it out there to see if it would get a buzz to see if Paulie would be interested in fighting, which I knew he wouldn't. That's a dangerous fight for Paulie. But the Zab Judah rematch is a fight I really want and I talked to Zab today on Instagram Live and he wants the rematch, but he needs to get a couple of tune-ups before he steps in the ring with me again and we just need a promoter that's willing to do the fight.
PC: When you look at your resume, you have fought several future Hall of Fame fighters. Is there anyone young or older that you wish you could have squared off against?
DC: I wish I could've got Adrien Broner, man, because he mimics Floyd Mayweather so much; to get another chance to fight someone that fights just like Floyd Mayweather. And Adrien got balls. He'll gamble with me. He'll stand in the pocket and exchange like Floyd wouldn't do. I would catch him!
PC: What else do you have going on?
DC: I have 3 sons boxing. We'll be out in Vegas in a couple of months and I'm going to help get them ready. One is pro and two of them are amateurs, so I'm going to see how they like the west coast and see how they like that work.
PC: Realistically, how much longer do you see yourself doing this? Is there an end goal for you or you want to just keep going?
DC: (Laughing) My end goal is to come out next year, but if a promoter is really looking at me and I can catch his eye and they say, "This guy still has it," I can make it happen. I want to finish 2017 out with a world champion and retire. If I can get a promoter and have someone to back me, I may go longer. I'm not going to keep chasing these young fighters because I'm not getting younger, I'm getting older and they are not going to take the risk. And it's not the fighter, it's the promoters and the managers who are looking at me as a dangerous fighter. Why cross that road when they don't have to. "If he don't have nothing to offer us, then why fight him? If we beat him, it's a good name on your resume," but 9 times out of 10 you're going to go through hell trying to beat me.
PC: Before I let you go, I wanted to get your take on Bernard Hopkins and the way he went out. Does seeing him knocked out of the ring really make you put a timetable on the tail end of your career?
DC: I watched that fight. I was on Instagram Live when it was on and I look at it and you can always say, "No, that's not how I'm going to go out. I'm not going to be like that." I know for me, I love to fight, so even when I retire, I will go to the gym and still get in there and spar with these young fighters just to show them, "Look, when I was in my prime, I was something to be fucked with." But when it happened to Bernard...it's like you're so hungry that you don't want to go out the way he went out. So I think for Bernard, I think he's going to come back and fight one more time. Why do I say that? Because if he wouldn't have gotten knocked out of the ring and he would have just been knocked down, he would have gotten up and continued to fight and most likely it would have gone to the scorecards. It happened, he fell out of the ring, and he had an injury where he couldn't continue, so he's going to look at that as, "Look, if I wouldn't have been knocked out of the ring and hit my head on the floor, I still could have been in there fighting that guy and even had a chance to knock him out." If he would've just lost in the ring, I could see him feeling like a younger fighter beat him, he's walking out on his feet, and it's time to call it quits.
PC: It's always a pleasure talking to you. Best of luck to you in 2017 and we will be in touch my man. Is there anything else you want to say?
DC: Man, I'm working on something big. It ain't going to be long. I'm working on something big. I'll be back in the ring within the next 45 days. I'll tell you the location once the contracts are signed. Zab, good job on your fight!
[ Follow Percy Crawford on Twitter @MrLouis1ana ]