"As long as you in the water with a shark, and a real shark, you might as well let it all hang out while you're up there. Now that he's up there, he's going to try to come out as quick as he can because he can't go nowhere now. He's gotta face the music and it's a long songÂ… like I told ya'll, let me get my little tune-up; that's all I been needing. I got me a little tune-up now. Now it is time," stated future Hall-of-Famer Roy Jones Jr. as he talked about his March 21 clash with Omar Sheika. Check out what else he had to say about the fight, his desire to put together a card featuring boxing and mixed martial arts as well as his future plans to have a rematch with Clinton Woods in an IBF eliminator.
PC: Thanks for your time my man. Where are you training and how is camp going?
RJ: I'm in California where I always do my boxing training at. Camp is going good. It's been a delight to have my daddy back in my camp giving me a little tune-up on my skills, you know? It's probably going to be pretty difficult to beat me, so all of the people that thought they could beat me, they probably should have did it before now because now I'm tuning back up and getting my old stuff back. It's nothing like having a really good tune-up, you know what I mean? Having a good tune-up makes me feel good about myself now. I got 3 or 4 left and it's time.
PC: It seems like you go through your periods in the sport where you're interested and then you're disinterested. It sounds like you have your swagger back. Is that the case?
RJ: Oh, most definitely! It's been back for a minute now. Like I said, I got everything that goes along with that swagger back, so yeah, I definitely have my swagger back now.
PC: The opponent is Omar Sheika. What do you think of him as a fighter?
RJ: He's a very strong puncher, very good fighter and one of the most action-packed fighters of my time. I used to always watch his fights on ESPN because every fight he was in was always going to be a thriller. He's one of the most exciting fighters you could see around our time. So to me, it's a wonderful opportunity to be fighting him because I always watched him from a distance because I thought one day he may get to where I was and I was going to have to do him anyway. So now we have the opportunity to do it like this and we'll do it like this, you know what I mean? I'm looking forward to it.
PC: I'm from Louisiana so I used to enjoy it when you came to fight in Biloxi. You always said you felt obligated to fight in Biloxi because it's so close to home. Now you're fighting in Pensacola. How important is that to you?
RJ: Right! Very important; very, very important! I'm gonna tell you I'm one of them guys that like to keep it how my people want it for supporting me all of this time. If they want me to fight in Pensacola, Florida, then that's what I'm going to do for them. I'm one of the guys that try to cater to my fans if I can. They always were there for me so I try to be there for them. If I could do something that they want me to do, I'm going to try and do it if I can. They want me to fight in Pensacola? They got it!
PC: I know the Calzaghe rematch was something that was on your radar. He has since retired. Have you accepted that and are you just going to keep pushing forward?
RJ: Yeah, I gotta accept it, you know what I mean? He won and I should've beat him when I had him. I had him; I should've got him; that's my fault. You can't cry over spilled milk. You gotta keep going. That was that, that's how that went and if that is what he chose to do, then that's what he wanted to do with his career. I'm cool with that and I'm ready to move forward and do what I gotta do.
PC: You're a fight fan; from cockfighting, to MMA and of course boxing. What made you want to put this card together and involve both boxing and mixed martial arts?
RJ: I wanted everybody to understand that it ain't got to be everybody against one another. Why can't we get together sometimes? Everybody always say, "Well, boxing is taking over or MMA is taking over!" Why it's gotta be all of that? Why we all can't just get along (laughing)! We all put our lives on the line and breathe the same thing. Why we gotta be against each other? Why one sport gotta hate the other? I get tired of that. I get tired of the stigma. It's always boxing this or MMA this; why we can't do it all at once? Then everybody gets satisfied. If you like MMA, you can get that. If you like boxing, you can get that. You got everything going to be done in one shot. If you want it, you can get it. We got any kind of fight you want to see now. That's what I like and that's what I represent. It's a wonderful thing.
PC: I agree. Combat sports are combat sports either way you look at it.
RJ: Exactly! Aint no sense in talking about one better than the other one or one is this and one is that. I don't want to hear all of that. To me, it's like, "Hey, if you gonna do it, then you gonna do it!" You want to do it, you gonna do it. It is what it is (laughing)!
PC: I know you like a good challenge. So Roy Jones not out there in California learning any submissions, is he?
RJ: Nah, I ain't practicing them yet (laughing)!
PC: What type of fight are you expecting from Sheika?
RJ: Oh, Omar is a very powerful fighter, you know what I mean, so of course he's gong to try to come out and get his licks off. They think because you've been knocked out before that they could do that too. So I know he's going to come out there throwing bombs to get me out of there quick as he can, but that ain't going to happen. I can't do nothing but respect that though. If I was him, I would do the same thing. As long as you in the water with a shark, and a real shark, you might as well let it all hang out while you're up there. Now that he's up there, he's going to try to come out as quick as he can because he can't go nowhere now. He's gotta face the music and it's a long song. It says, "Ya'll must've forgot!" (Laughing)
PC: You've accomplished more than you could have wished for in the sport of boxing. How much longer do you realistically see yourself fighting and, not to overlook Sheika, but what would you like to do after that fight?
RJ: I got about another 2 more years. As far as after this fight, I guess the IBF told Clinton Woods that he could fight me in an eliminator to see who is gonna fight for the IBF title. He told me he wants me to come to Manchester and fight him because he came to Portland and fought me over here in my country. He wants me to come to his country and oblige the same way he did for me and fight him in his country. I told him, "You know what? Being the man that I am, I will oblige!" So I will be over there as soon as I get through with Omar Sheika. When I get through with Omar Sheika, nine times out of ten, I'm going to go to England and do battle with Clinton Woods.
PC: It's been an honor and a pleasure to speak with you. It's definitely something I always wanted to do. Is there anything you want to say to your fans in closing?
RJ: Hey, I appreciate it man. Thank you for wanting to speak to me man. To my fans, like I told ya'll, let me get my little tune-up; that's all I been needing. I got me a little tune-up now. Now it is time!
[ Follow Percy Crawford on Twitter @MrLouis1ana ]