How have you been? How are things?
"I'm good. It's a tough season. I love boxing, and, you know, I don't think I'm at my prime yet, I think I'm just knocking on the door to entering my prime--"
That's crazy, then, because you've just been walloping people.
"The world hasn't seen the best. They haven't seen the best. I'm close, I think. We're gonna get through it, though. We just gotta keep pushing. Same thing I told you last time I saw you, these are things that you gotta go through in the sport. It's unfortunate that you gotta make this kind of stance, these stances from time to time. But again, I just want the fans to be clear about one fact. My lawsuit is not stopping me from fighting. Any questions about when I'm fighting, they shouldn't really be directed at me. They should be directed at the promoter that I have right now. It's his job to find. He hasn't made any offers. And that's a fact. I just want people to understand that. I get a lot of people making it almost like I'm holding out. That's not the case. We've got a lawsuit, that's going to take care of itself. But this guy has an obligation contractually to (get me fights). That's his job. But in the meantime, just know that I'm preparing, and that I'm staying ready, and that when my opportunity comes, I'll be back."
When is all this gonna finish, and you get in the ring? Do you have any indication of when you're gonna step in the ring?
"I think last time we talked, my hope was to get two fights this year. I hope to get one fight this year. I can live with that. One fight this year, and then hopefully have two to three next year. It's part of it, man. It's unfortunate, but it's just part of our sport. And I don't have a timetable, but I firmly believe this year that I'll get one."
I see Andre (Berto), and he's battling a few things, the shoulder injury, the rehab, and stuff like that. I see both of you guys kind of in a support system, he pulls on you, and you pull on him, from what he told me earlier today.
"We have to. He's got a comeback that he's working on, and I can help him with that, because I had the same exact shoulder situation. He's going to the same therapist that I went to, and I understand the mental and physical battles that he's going through right now. Plus he's coming off a loss. And I'm helping him with that. Obviously I got a comeback that I'm working on. He encourages me by just showing up every day. We're feeding off each other. This is what it's about, man. There's no big I's and little you's, man. You take setbacks in this sport, whether it's business-wise, or physical, or a loss or whatever the case may be, but we stick together, and that's what makes us stronger, that we stick together."
You've got quite a crew over there. You've got Amir, Angulo, yourself, and now Abner.
"Like, I watched Abner plenty of times before, but I really became a fan when he came to our gym. Not just because he came to the gym, but because the kid can fight, man. And I don't really do this a lot, but every time he sparred, I pulled up a chair, and I watched, because he's that good. Abner is a crafty guy, he's very skillful, he stays relaxed in the ring. I picked up on a lot of different things and pulled a lot from his training camp, just from watching him.