Matchroom Boxing: "What made you guys make this decision?"
Adam Booth: "We spoke with Eddie about a year, year and a half ago, and it didn't happen then. We spoke again last week and talked about what I want to do with George, and where I saw his career going, and he talked about what he was trying to do, and it made perfect sense, so here we are."
MB: "What does George bring to the Matchroom stable, do you think?"
AB: "He's definitely if not the, one of the brightest prospects that we've got in British boxing, in terms of his fighting style and also where his career sits at the moment. What I think he can achieve and how he can develop as a fighter, he's going to give a lot of entertainment in the coming months and years."
MB: "What did Matchroom bring, and Eddie Hearn bring to the table that made you guys decide to go with them?"
AB: "Really the opportunity to have the right type of shows on Sky, and also working with people that we feel have the right contacts, and put on the right shows to develop George's career."
MB: "George is clearly a talented fighter, but he's had injury problems in the past. Is this something you can get over, that he is over, maybe?"
AB: "Any long-term sporting career has injuries. It's just something that professional athletes and sportsmen have got to get used to. George is now used to that. Last year he fought twice. He was supposed to box for the WBO title against Stieglitz, it didn't happen because he had an injury, he had a couple other little injuries as well. But now, today, he's healthy, he's fit, he understands what it's like to be injured, so he appreciates it more when he's fit and healthy and he's got to make the most of every opportunity he gets to step into the ring, as often as possible."
MB: "Eddie outlined a three-fight plan for George. Would you mind explaining what the plan is?"
AB: "Well he's fighting this Saturday, the 9th, at Wembley Arena on the undercard to Darren Barker. He's then going to be boxing at the O2 as the chief support on the Carl Froch-Mikkel Kessler bill. And the ultimate plan is then for him to fight again in September, headline his own show, and really by that point be sitting just under all of the main world champions, almost ready to take that step."
MB: "Can he do it?"
AB: "I wouldn't be here if I didn't believe that, would I?"
MB: "Do you think the draw of the Froch-Kessler undercard spot was something that went straight into George's mind, and said I'd love to go here?"
AB: "Of course. Last time he was at the O2 on a pay-per-view event, he beat James DeGale, so the O2 is a happy stomping ground for him. And also fighting as the chief support to the world (super) middleweight champion, is something that's definitely going to get his juices flowing, because that's where he wants to be. He wants to be there now. If Eddie turned around today and said, 'Kessler's fallen out, he's injured, will George fight Carl?' George would be saying, 'Yes, immediately.' He badly wants these type of fights. My job is to make sure he gets ready, so that when he does have these fights, he gives himself every chance to win and to hold onto the championships that he wins. May 25th is going to be a phenomenal occasion. The Kessler fight with Froch is just going to be round 13 of the previous fight. Just because a fight's happened before doesn't mean that this one isn't going to be just as entertaining, because I think it's going to be more entertaining. It's gonna be a wild night, a hell of a night."
MB: "Have you got any news or any ideas on any of George's opponents in these three fights?"
AB: "I do, yeah, but I'm not gonna say them now, because somebody else might go and sign them up."
MB: "Adam, what is George like to train with and to look after?"
AB: "I think any talented fighter who has his own mind and is intelligent, there's always going to be hard work at times, but really satisfying at others as well. We get on outside the ring. He's got a lot to say for himself. He's an intelligent man. He's funny. And so, he's easy to work with the majority of the time, but just like any professional athlete, just like any relationship, let alone working relationship, there are ups and downs. We have our ups and downs, but that's all part of the journey."
MB: "Is this your first time working with Matchroom?"
AB: "Yeah. Matchroom worked with me once, when Audley Harrison challenged David Haye, but now I'm working with them."
MB: "And are you looking forward to the relationship?"
AB: "Yeah, yeah, I'm fine. Yeah, I get on really well with Eddie, always have done. It's just never fitted for us to work together in this capacity before, but now it does."