What do you offer that makes you stand out from past Golovkin opponents?
"You never can tell with a cat like me. If you watched the Boxcino tournament, if you watched the Bryan Vera fight, there was times where I stood and banged, times where I boxed, times where I was in and out. Never can tell. I apply what's needed and I execute on the drop of a dime."
On the magnitude of the fight
"It's huge! It's huge. This is a fight I always said I wanted, because I know a lot of other middleweights I know don't want it. Whenever I see a bunch of people running from a situation, that's when I say, OK, I gotta go see what this is about, I gotta go see what the hype is about. May 16th I'll find out."
On what was originally planned after Vera
"We were supposedly gonna fight on the undercard of Matthysse-Provodnikov, because it's near my home, and that's where I fought on ESPN the last couple times. Then we thought Tureano Johnson had gotten the gig to fight GGG. Then Art Pellulo called me and was just like, 'I think we got it.' I was like, 'Sigh me up.'"
On a (supposed?) better reaction to Monroe than Johnson as GGG's opponent
"It tells me a lot of people respect what I do as a fighter. When you look at somebody like me, like Andre Ward, or Rigondeaux, or Erislandy Lara, we bring back the true essence of what boxing is about, which is hitting and not getting hit. You don't see that a lot these days. I think it's appreciated because there's less of it."
On slowing Golovkin down
"I know it'll make a lot of people laugh when you look at my knockout percentage, but my power. It's speed and velocity equals power. People don't understand that. Speed is power. Power hurts but speed kills. I think that'll be a big difference, once he tastes my power he'll say, OK, this isn't Martin Murray, this isn't Matthew Macklin, I'm in here with a guy who knows what he's doing."
On taking the risk against GGG
"Why not? This is a big opportunity. This is boxing, this is what boxing's all about. Like GGG always says, big drama show. How can you get a big drama show when you've got one guy that wants to fight and a bunch of guys who don't wanna fight? When you get two fighters willing to fight each other and put it all on the line, that's when you get a big drama show. That's what fighting's all about to me. I don't know about the rest of these fighters."
On the biggest key to beating Golovkin
"Ring intelligence. You can be stronger than guys, but there's gonna be guys that are stronger. You can be faster than guys, but there's gonna be guys that are faster. You can outthink anybody."
On fighting at The Forum
"It's a blessing, and I think it's a testament to what I've accomplished as a professional fighter thus far. I have to thank HBO and ESPN for believing in me and allowing me to be at a venue like this. ... I'm super excited (to fight on HBO at The Forum)."
On neutralizing the power of GGG
"I'm part Cuban. Hit and don't get hit. Like I said, look at Erislandy Lara, look at Rigondeaux. Hit and don't get hit."