"I think if you're going to be in any sport, the goal is to be the best in that sport. I hadn't heard that from him and that night, upon reflection, he said if he did the things he's supposed to do, he could be champion. Fast forward 2 years and I think the Tito Ortiz fight showed him that he belonged at that level and the Shogun fight solidified he should be at that level. Now he believes on Saturday night that he has the goods and the tools and he's been training the right way so it can happen," stated Xtreme Couture boxing trainer Ron Frazier as he talked about Forrest Griffin's upcoming clash with UFC light heavyweight champion Quinton Jackson on Saturday night. Check out what else he had to say as he talks about Griffin's training and mental state leading up to the fight and much more, including his thoughts on Manny Pacquiao, Floyd Mayweather Jr. and Andre Berto.
PC: How's it been going Ron?
RF: I'm good, I'm good.
PC: Before we talk about tomorrow's big fight, you know I gotta get that boxing knowledge from you. Do you think Manny Pacquiao has cemented his legacy as the pound-for-pound top fighter in the world?
RF: It's hard to argue against him with Floyd retiring. Right now, Manny is on top of his game and he seems a little more comfortable at 135 than he has been at his other weights. Maybe the best is yet to come out of Manny Pacquiao, which could be scary for a lot of other lightweights.
PC: Do you think the timing of Floyd Mayweather's retirement was good or would you have liked to see him get a couple more fights in?
RF: My thing is this, if you don't feel it, then don't fight. If you're having desire or motivational problems, then don't do it just for the payday or just 'cause the fans want to see it. You have to be true to yourself as an athlete. If he doesn't feel it anymore right now, then don't do it; the timing is his. He has nothing left to prove. He has already beaten De La Hoya once and yeah, it would've been nice to see him fight maybe a Cotto or somebody like that, but he has nothing to prove. If it's time to go out, then it's just time to go out.
PC: I know you said you were ready to see Berto step up and fight better competition. He recently captured the WBC welterweight title. Do you view him as the future?
RF: I like Andre Berto's game. He throws sharp, crisp combinations and he seems to have power in both hands. He can be the future of the division. There are still some questions about his chin. We saw it a couple of fights ago when he got touched by not necessarily a big hitter, but that can happen in a fight. He's grown from that experience. When he gets in there with a big banger and some of the bigger 147 pounders, like a Joshua Clottey and fighters like that, we'll see how he handles those type of guys and that will determine if he's going to be the future of the division or not.
PC: Touching on both sports a little bit, when you see the pure wrestlers like Matt Hughes, who dominated for so long, fall from grace like he has, would you say the momentum has swung back to the strikers?
RF: Oh yeah! I think right now, with the way guys are going out and doing their jobs like BJ Penn and the phenomenal ground guys, and BJ put his striking on display in his last fight, Georges St-Pierre, and we all know what Anderson Silva does. You have to have a well-rounded game and I think for a lot of these guys, striking has been the last thing they've learned because they come from different backgrounds, whether it's wrestling or Jiu Jitsu, and even Muay Thai is different striking from traditional boxing. They're learning that they could do some things with their hands and having more confidence in doing that. The thing is this, and no matter what type of fighter you are, you are going to revert back to who you are in times of need. So if a wrestler gets hurt, they're going to go into a wrestling mode and Jiu Jitsu guys are going to go into that mode because now, they have more confidence in their striking. They're willing to stand their and bang and do those things so you've seen it come more to the forefront, but you're always going to see that even-flow. The guys that can strike well will dominate for a while and then the wrestlers and all-around superior athletes will dominate for awhile. There are so many varied ways to win or lose a fight in MMA, it's always going to be a constant even-flow.
PC: I know you guys got some work done over there at the UNLV boxing facility. Can you talk about that a little bit?
RF: Absolutely! Xtreme Couture stepped up in helping out at UNLV Boxing and not only myself, but Chris Ben, Skipper Kelp and Frank Slaughter, who has been part of UNLV Boxing for a while now. It's a struggle even though the program has been really successful. Thanks to Randy and Kim for stepping up and supporting the program and providing the money needed for some new, much-needed equipment and giving it a face lift over there. The guys and girls that are coming into the gym are very happy with what we have done with the new ring, new flooring and some of the new equipment we have there. It gives us more things to work with for these guys and girls that come in. You gotta realize, this is not a scholarship sport. We're governed by USA Boxing, but to most people, it is a club sport so most of the people that fight for UNLV are full-time students or they're graduate students and have jobs so they have to find time to train in between food and work. It's been a big boost to have a fresh team and facility; it's fun!
PC: It seems like we've been talking about this fight forever. We are one day away from Forrest and Rampage's fight. How are you feeling and how did Forrest look for this camp?
RF: Forrest has been very intense and looking very sharp for this fight. The thing is this, and I go back and I actually just sent him a text about an hour or so ago and it was about 2 years ago, me and Forrest was sitting in this promotional event he had to do. It was after the promotional event and maybe he had one too many beers, but he was like, "Coach, if I get my act together and do everything I need to do, I can be champ." That was the first time I had ever heard Forrest say that and I had been with him for a year and some change to that point. When I first met the kid, he was just one of those guys that was tough and would fight anybody and he said from day one, "Coach, no one will ever break me!" I knew that, but what I wanted to hear him say was, "I want to be champion." I think if you're going to be in any sport, the goal is to be the best in that sport. I hadn't heard that from him and that night, upon reflection, he said if he did the things he's supposed to do, he could be champion. Fast forward 2 years and I think the Tito Ortiz fight showed him that he belonged at that level and the Shogun fight solidified he should be at that level. Now he believes on Saturday night that he has the goods and the tools and he's been training the right way so it can happen and he could be champion.
PC: Rampage put on a lot of weight during the taping of the show. Do you think it's important to jump on him and see if he left it in the gym or to just stick to the gameplan?
RF: Just stick to the gameplan. The thing is this, he's had plenty of time to get that weight off and get it off the right way and that may or may not affect his cardio. I think more than his cardio, 4 of Rampage's last 5 fights have been against smaller guys that are not really 205-pounders, outside of Chuck Liddell. Most of those guys have been really small. Now he's fighting a guy that's a big 205-pounder himself, with a great motor and great cardio. That's going to be the test when you have to bump and grind with this guy and you get into the 3rd, 4th and 5th round and he's still there and still strong. He's just as strong as Rampage and Rampage is used to having that superior strength edge by far on everybody he's faced. Well it's not so significant in this fight. I think he might be a little stronger, but I think Forrest is a pretty strong guy himself.
PC: The last time Rampage didn't look really great, which it's tough for anyone to look great against Matt, but was in his fight with Lindland and he was coming off of an extensive layoff then. Do you think his time off could benefit you guys any?
RF: It could. It's not really on my mind because Forrest is coming off of an extensive layoff himself because of being injured so they're both coming off of layoffs. I think that's pretty much a wash there. I was at the Lindland fight because Martin Kampmann was fighting on that card and I watched the Dan Henderson fight so there are definitely things that we think Forrest can capitalize on and we're looking for a good show. We're looking for both of those guys to be in good shape and to bring out the best in one another so I'm looking for an exciting fight. I'm looking for Forrest to be champion at the end of the night.
PC: In saying that Ron, you've been around Forrest for some years now. What will it mean to you to see that title strapped on him tomorrow night?
RF: I'd be so proud for him. He's really a good dude. I like him a lot. Forrest is a very loyal guy to his friends and to his training partners…just to see him have that success. He's worked so hard in the gym. Here's a guy, and he probably don't want me talking about it, but I'm going to say it a little bit anyway, but here's a guy who has been banged up going into several fights and he's never said one word about it. Everybody else tells you if they had a hangnail and say that it affected their performance. Here's a guy I know has had some serious injuries and he just goes in there, makes no excuses and does his job. I know he really wants this and that's why I think, when you saw him lose to Jardine, you saw the outpour of emotion because he finally feels he's at a place where he could become champion. I think the Shogun fight solidified it and gave him confidence that it's his time and he's ready to do it and he will also get some of the critics off of his back that he is Dana White's poster boy and he's gotten everything because of the TUF series. Also, the people that think he's more popularity than substance, that's the people that don't know. I've been with this kid over 3 years now and they don't know the ends and outs of what he puts in and he helps out everybody else in camp as well also. Hopefully, with a culmination of victory Saturday night, people will realize that he has a lot of substance there.
PC: If Forrest does stop Rampage in some type of fashion, please tell him not to get up with that same Shogun celebration (laughing).
RF: You know what, even he knows that. We laugh about that all of the time. He says, "I got the coolest victory of my life and the worst celebration ever." Part of that was they wouldn't let any of us in the cage because the doctors had to check on Shogun first so he was kind of celebrating by himself. Obviously he needs more people in there celebrating with him. I think the camp will be well represented in that cage tomorrow night.
PC: Good luck Ron and I'll talk to you afterwards. Anything you want to say to end this?
RF: I want to thank Xtreme Couture. It's a great place to work and we have a lot of great guys starting with Forrest Griffin and we also have Tyson Griffin fighting on Saturday and I want to give Tyson his props as well. He is in a tough fight and I look for this guy to be holding a belt one day soon, as well as Mike Pyle and Jay Hieron also. I also want to thank the guys at Warrior's Gym that helped out Forrest as well. You have Gil Martinez, one of his other boxing coaches, and Mark Beecher, who you saw on the show, and they are great guys. We have a great working relationship and we want the best for Forrest and good luck to him Saturday night.
