"I think Berto, he has very fast hands, looks to be very strong, has a good right uppercut and he's a world champion. He became world champion for a reason, but now I think he's stepping in the ring with somebody that's a little more than just a world champion. I have experience he doesn't have. Berto's going to have trouble with me...I'm coming in there with both guns loaded and ready to throw. Hopefully, Berto will be doing the same," stated welterweight champion Shane Mosley as he spoke about his upcoming clash with WBC welterweight champion Andre Berto. Check out what he had to say about Berto, the fight and much more.
BT: Hey Shane, how's it going bro?
SM: I'm good. How's it going Ben?
BT: Good, good, good. As always, thanks for taking the time to do this interview, man. I appreciate it.
SM: Of course. No problem.
BT: So first and foremost, congratulations! This past Saturday, you guys held a press conference to announce that you finally found someone to step up to the plate. How does it feel to know that you've got an opponent and a date locked in now?
SM: It feels good. I'm waiting to get started in training camp and I'm just excited. I'm excited to get back in the ring and do what I do best...fight!
BT: It's been a long time, far too long in my opinion, since we've seen you in the ring. Obviously you stay in shape, but when was the last time you laced up a pair of gloves and got in the ring for a little sparring?
SM: Yesterday (laughing)! Yeah, yesterday! I always get in the ring. Some of these guys that are getting ready for fights, I get in there and just spar with them and move around. My son, you know, Shane is training and fighting too, so I get in there with him, move around sometimes and help him out. I'm always in the ring helping somebody.
BT: How much are you walking around at right now?
SM: Probably 158, 159. Maybe even 160.
BT: Do you already know what guys you plan on bringing in for sparring?
SM: I leave that to Naazim Richardson to pick the sparring partners and stuff like that. He's the trainer so he's gonna know what he's looking for in sparring partners.
BT: So what do you think of Berto as a fighter?
SM: I think Berto, he has very fast hands, looks to be very strong, has a good right uppercut and he's a world champion. He became world champion for a reason, but now I think he's stepping in the ring with somebody that's a little more than just a world champion. I have experience he doesn't have. Berto's going to have trouble with me.
BT: You know, a lot has been brought up regarding his experience. Do you think they might be rushing him into a fight that he's not ready for?
SM: Well, I think so, but you know, we have to get in the ring and prove that. But I think so. He fought Luis Collazo and I thought, you know, I was watching the tape of Luis Collazo and it looked like Collazo beat him. Good fight! It was a good fight, back and forth, but I thought Collazo beat him. I went in there and I fought Collazo and I beat him pretty easy. This was when I wasn't even fighting like I'm fighting now. Now I'm hungry, now I have the fire in my gut to knock people out and now, people are in trouble right now. The good fights that willÂ…the best fights in 2010, the people that really are going to put it on is me and Pacquiao. Pacquiao's gonna fight and I'm gonna fight and I'm going to make sure it's going to be very explosive. But I'm not calling out anybody. I'm not calling out Pacquiao, I'm not calling out Mayweather. I did that already. When they're ready to fight me, when they're ready to fight the best welterweight, come and see me! Till then, I'm going to be knocking out everybody; destroying everybody.
BT: You mentioned that you and Pacquiao are guys that bring it. Berto didn't really seem too eager to bang with a smaller guy like Urango, so I can't imagine that he'll be anxious to go toe-to-toe with you. How do you think the fight will play out? Do you think he'll be looking to stick and move and just put rounds in the bank?
SM: Well, I think he's going to try to run, but he's too little; he's too short. My arms are longer than his. He has to come to me to fight me. He can't run around and box me because I'm taller than him and my arms are longer. What's he going to do? When he was fighting Luis Collazo, Luis Collazo had him going back and Luis Collazo is not a particularly hard puncher. He's got a little pop to him, but he's not a particularly hard puncher and Luis Collazo had him pretty much going back the whole fight.
BT: Yeah, Collazo and Urango both had him going backwards in their fight. With his style, do you anticipate having a difficult time looking as good against Berto as you did against Margarito?
SM: Um, I can see some problems with there being a lot of clinching going on. You know, Berto used to be a wrestler back in his days. He's not really small. He has fought as much as 160 pounds, which is middleweight, so he can carry the weight. I mean, he can try to stink the joint out if he wants to and he might, but I'm going to be there ready to fight with both guns ready to shoot.
BT: I know a fight with Andre Berto wasn't exactly what you were hoping for coming off of your win over Margarito. Is it a little disappointing knowing that it won't be Mayweather or Pacquiao in the ring with you in January?
SM: It's disappointing that the networks are not pushing for the best fights to be made. I mean, it's disappointing that, I think, if you want a fight where the fans get their money's worth, you're going to want to put me and Pacquiao together to fight. If they want to see a great fight, they want to see me and Pacquiao fight because you have two guys, two killers in there fighting. If you want to get a 12-round snoozer with Mayweather running, Mayweather moving around, ducking and counterpunching, then you're going to be looking for that fight between Mayweather and Pacquiao. It's going to be hard for Pacquiao to get in with Mayweather because Mayweather's going to be going backwards. You know, Pacquiao made a believer out of me with Cotto, so I wouldn't count Pacquiao out. I think Pacquiao could do a number on Mayweather because Mayweather's chin is not that good. I think that Pacquiao could very well knock out Mayweather too. But if you want to get like a 12-round snoozerÂ…Mayweather's not coming in there with chin first, like all the rest of them, like Hatton or like Cotto or like any of the rest of the guys. Even Oscar went in there with chin first. So I think it's going to be a problem for Pacquiao to fight Mayweather, meaning that Mayweather is a pure counterpuncher/boxer and he's not going to stand there toe-to-toe with Pacquiao.
BT: I'm sure you're not looking past Berto, but obviously, a big fight with one of those guys is what's at stake down the road. Do you feel like you have to make a statement againt Berto to ensure that those guys won't avoid you in the future?
SM: Well, if I look as good as I looked with Margarito, then they probably will want to avoid me a little longer, so maybe I shouldn't look as good and maybe I might get that fight (laughing). That seems to be what's going on now. I don't think that I have to look any much better. I shouldn't look as good, but I am going to look as good because I want to fight the best and I want to be the best that I can be. I got 4 or 5 more years of fighting and I want to go out with a bang.
BT: (Laughing) You're going to have to let Berto touch you up a little bit. You're going to have to look a lot worse than you did against Margarito to get those guys to fight.
SM: Yeah, I'm going to have to let him touch me a little bit, but, you know, right now, I'm a killer and they don't understand that right now. They'll see.
BT: So January 30th, let the fans know what to expect when Sugar Shane steps back in the ring.
SM: January 30th, just expect fireworks. I'm coming in there with both guns loaded and ready to throw. Hopefully, Berto will be doing the same. Hopefully he's going to be getting ready to be prepared for what's going to happen. It's going to be a great fight!
CLICK HERE FOR PART 2 OF THIS INTERVIEW WITH WELTERWEIGHT CHAMPION SHANE MOSLEY
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