"I see a one-dimensional fighter. You feel me? I see a great competitor within him, but I see a one-dimensional fighter. The only thing that he could possibly try to do is to smother me, stay close, crowd me and apply pressure," stated featherweight champion Gary Russell Jr., who talked about his upcoming clash with Oscar Escandon. Check it out!
GRJ: You are catching me mid-stride right now (laughing). What's going on?
PC: Not too much, my man. I won't hold you too long. I've talked to the entire Russell Family. I think I should be invited to the next family reunion I've talked to so many of y'all today (laughing).
GRJ: (Laughing) We might can work something out, baby (laughing)!
PC: For sure. How is preparation going for your fight on May 20th against Oscar Escandon?
GRJ: Man, everything is going good, man. It's going just as I expected it to go. With the fight being pushed back the first time, we were already in shape. We were already ready. The only thing we had to do was kind of step on the brakes a little bit. It kind of gave my body a chance to recoup, heal, and come down a little bit. So when we got back to this particular camp, we went into this camp and in the beginning of the camp, I felt like I was ready to rumble. Everything is going just as planned and it gave us a chance to prepare a lot longer and spend more time with the family, man.
PC: Your brother, Allen, told me that he felt you were the one that peaked the quickest, so they had to pull you back. Do you feel like you were wise with that time because sometimes I know it's hard to get out of that camp mentality, therefore it's hard to stay out of the gym for a little while?
GRJ: Yeah! It's easy for me because I'm the type of fighter that's always in the gym. If I fight on Saturday, 9 times out of 10, I'm back in the gym on Monday; that's real talk, no bullshitting you. Now we're not in the gym training, of course, as if we're getting ready for a fight. I'm in the gym celebrating with some of the young team members in the gym, still working out with them and showing them...setting an example that even though you might be achieving your goals, that don't mean slow down or stop. So I show them that even after I fight and win that I'm still in here grinding, I'm still on the treadmill. You still see me in here; let's get it. It's a lifestyle.
PC: That seems important to you, Gary. Every time we speak, you talk about relaying the message on to the next generation. Is that something you really focus on and hold in high priority?
GRJ: Of course! That's what it's about. I feel as an adult, as a father, and as a husband that that's what we should do. We should give back to the youth because that's ultimately what's going to blossom when our time is up. Even when we working, I tell a lot of the youngsters, people think because you get money that it changes you. It doesn't! All money does is magnify the individual that you really are. If you were a clown before, with money, now you're a super clown (laughing). If you were a kind and giving person before, with money, you're going to be even kinder and more giving, and that's real, man. The concept I promote is that it's deeper than boxing. Boxing is something that I do, it's not who I am as an individual. And I want to share to the youth and to the younger generation that the only thing you can do with money is give it away. The real wealth is the businesses that you own and the assets that you control; that's wealth. When you can pass something on to your children when they get 18-20 years old and out of school, they don't have to go and work for someone else and make someone else rich. They could live off of everything that their father and the people before them already established. That's the concept that I want to instill to the younger generation. It's real, man, and that's for adults too. You got a lot of grown adolescent's out here. You don't have to look no further than social media to see what I'm talking about with that. You have grown adolescent's out here because they post like kids or teenagers and they be adults.
PC: Andre Ward recently gave a very passionate speech at one of the press conferences to promote his rematch with Sergey Kovalev. Andre Ward said something addressing the young fighters in the room and you came to mind when he said it. He basically said you don't have to change who you are or be the loudest person in the room, just make sure you shine when the lights come on. So many people have wanted or waited for you to come out of character and be this rah-rah guy. You have always told me that you would never surrender to that, so when Ward said that, you definitely came to mind.
GRJ: Yeah man. That's what's up and that's real, man. I feel that men should conduct themselves with a certain level of integrity and a certain level of morality. If they don't understand that, then it's because they weren't taught that by the generation that was before them, who didn't give back.
PC: Have you studied Oscar Escandon a lot, especially given the extra time, or will you figure him out on the fly as the fight progresses?
GRJ: I mean, a little bit of both. I didn't study him a lot. My father looked at footage on him. I watched a couple of rounds on him. Honestly, no more than 4 or 5 rounds I watched on him. I see a fighter that believes in his ability to win and believes in himself when I see him fight, but I see a one-dimensional fighter. You feel me? I see a great competitor within him, but I see a one-dimensional fighter. The only thing that he could possibly try to do is to smother me, stay close, crowd me and apply pressure. That's the only thing that he could possible do because that's the way he fights. That's the only thing that he knows how to do. What happens when you take someone completely out of their element? I think in order to be great, you have to be versatile and you have to be able to make the necessary adjustments. It's just like chess; you have to make the necessary adjustments based on the moves that your opponent makes. And if you're not skilled enough to do that, then I feel sorry for you.
PC: I was going to ask you are you under the impression that it's going to be tough for any one-dimensional fighter to be in the ring with you and have success?
GRJ: Yeah, definitely! A lot of these guys are one-dimensional. A lot of these guys in this sport today, and I prefer not to name anyone personally, some of these guys are my friends, but what's real is real, a lot of guys are what you see is what you get. They are good at exactly what it is that they're doing, but anything outside of that, if someone was to push them a certain way or someone was to fight them differently and make them have to adjust and do something different than they are used to or comfortable with doing, they are like a fish out of water. And those are the things in order to be great; I think you gotta be able to do that. You gotta be able to make those necessary adjustments.
PC: It jumps out at you, when you step inside of the ring, it will be a little bit over a year since you fought last. Do you feel like all rust was handled in the gym and that you've used this extra time to get better and not get rusty?
GRJ: I used that time to get better and not get rusty. We're always in here; it's never too hard. It's a lifestyle. I got my nephews and my nieces running around the gym right now. It's a family atmosphere and this is what we do, man.
PC: I'm going to let you get back to your workout. I always appreciate your time and it's always great talking to you. I wish you the best of luck next month. Is there anything else you would like to add?
GRJ: Alright, thank you, man. I appreciate you. Enjoy the rest of the night and enjoy your family, man.
[ Follow Percy Crawford on Twitter @MrLouis1ana ]