"It's a great fight; a wonderful fight! I've been waiting for it to happen for a long time. Like I say, I'm like that high school test...He flunked it back then, now he wanna try it again when he think he done finished college. He wanna come back to see if he can pass...He still can't pass, but he welcome to try," stated future Hall of Famer Roy Jones Jr. as he talked about his upcoming long-awaited rematch with fellow future Hall of Famer Bernard Hopkins. Check it out!
BT: What's up Roy? I just wanted to touch base with you real quick before you get busy with the press conferences coming up over the next couple of days.
RJ: Yeah, they got some questions they going to ask us, like a debate, so we'll see how it goes.
BT: Oh, so they're going to do like some type of moderated debate for this?
RJ: Yep! Exactly! And I'm looking forward to it.
BT: That's different. There might be some fireworks in the debate. Maybe they should've put the debate on pay-per-view too.
RJ: They should have. They really should have. I think they gonna use it in the promo though, so we'll see.
BT: When do you plan on starting camp? Are you jumping in the gym immediatly after the press conference tour?
RJ: Yep! I sure am.
BT: Is your dad still going to be working with you for this one?
RJ: Yeah, he gonna be there.
BT: So tell us about it. It's been a long time coming, but finally, you and Bernard are doing the rematch. What do you think about that fight?
RJ: It's a great fight; a wonderful fight! I've been waiting for it to happen for a long time. Like I say, I'm like that high school test, what they call it, the FCAT [Florida Comprehensive Assessment Test] they had to pass to get outta high school now. He flunked it back then, now he wanna try it again when he think he done finished college. He wanna come back to see if he can pass the FCAT again. He still can't pass, but he welcome to try.
BT: It's been a long time since the first time you stepped into the ring with Bernard. How much do you think he's changed over the years as far as his style is concerned?
RJ: He changed a whole lot. He improved a lot as a fighter. I gotta give him his credit. He did change a whole lot. He improved a whole hell of a lot and I'm looking forward to it. I can't wait to see what happens. He's a great fighter and I look forward to being in a wonderful fight with him.
BT: What do you think is going to be different fighting him the second time around?
RJ: You know what? I don't see how it's going to be no different. I honestly don't see how he gonna win.
BT: Obviously there's some people who question whether or not this fight should be taking place due to the outcome of your last fight with Danny Green. How do you feel about that performance and do you think...
RJ: (Cutting in) It was a very quick, a very quick stoppage and on top of that being a very quick stoppage, they let him wrap his hands harder...the way that they wrapped his hands was very wrong, but you know, that happened, I'm cool, I'm over it, I got a rematch clause and after I finish with Hopkins, I'm gonna go over there and clean that up too.
BT: I know you guys filed a protest regarding his wraps to get the result of the fight changed. I was going to ask you what the status was on that.
RJ: We still going through with it. We still dealing with it right now.
BT: So you and Bernard might be starting a new trend, having that knockout clause in for this fight.
RJ: Yep! 60-40 to the winner knockout clause. Yep!
BT: You two have been arguing over that 60-40 split for a long time. I don't see this one going the distance knowing that a KO will finally get it for either one of you.
RJ: I don't either. That's why I'm looking forward to it.
BT: The first fight went the distance, so let the fans know how long this one is lasting?
RJ: About eight rounds at the most.
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