Anthony Dirrell

what's going on, What's what up? What up? What's on your mentor just looking as we get into two like as like everybody else, just hoping like it's you know, continues to get better than the previous year, two year, two and a half years. So I mean that's really all it is. I mean, you know, we we've been we haven't been together for a couple of weeks because of the holidays. And I actually got COVID Welcome to the club Man. It was based the VP section is

over here around the corner. Nah, boys had me waiting the line. Yeah, I basically spent Christmas recover. Yeah, that's a second time to have it. It was Yeah, I was I was where where were you now? I was in the house. I was just I was I had my own restroom, had own bathroom, and I sat there and who it was so bad. Even my dog Tigo was like, no, you got that. Rona was coming to room and she was like, nah, yeah, that's that's that

sick brother and walk right on. When I had it, it it was same thing, like I kind of posted up in bonus room I ended up taking because our our kids bathroom is connected there, so I took their bathroom. They couldn't use that anymore. They had to use our bathroom, me and my wife's. And so it was just and the drains on you man, like being being Western like that. Like the only thing I could do is like I wake up early in the morning go for a walk, just just because I needed to leave the house and

be away from them. But then it was just and it was something else bro not me. I was just being inside that now that was messing with my mentor I had to It's only so much sleep you can get. There's only so much sleep. It's only so much. It's only so much you win games I could watch. But you've traveled with me, you know I could sleep it don't it? Don't it don't matter. Like I did the same thing. It's it's only so much sleep you can get. So I got it all. I can tell you. I've

been to watched squid games the whole time. That was that was the highlight. Well, I can tell you when when I had it, and I don't know how bad it may have gotten, but I know, uh Angie, Steve's wife just concocted us like silver and this and that and and all kinds of appointments and pills and mentally, I don't know what I was taking, but I can tell you, Like I said, I don't know what it would have been like, but ours got through pretty quickly, so hopefully she took care of you at the house

as well too. So I was on nebulizer just keep my lungs, just to keep my luck. We already have one, just to keep it because I was coughing and I didn't I didn't want the coughing, so doing that. But do you still have like a slight one a little bit? Um. It's been a while, so I'm it's getting better now. When I'm working out and starting to I would tell that linger for a while after after I had it, I would tell you though. I did lose some weight. Okay,

COVID diet program. I'm getting lean pretty good. So it had it had his benefits. It had his benefits. And her brother slept. I slept a lot like so, uh just switched my mind a little bit. I got the opportunity to go out to the Rose Bowl, um, you know and see University of Utah. But I got to go time to go home, and I went home with Peyton, my oldest and so we were uh University of Utah,

were staying downtown. Um, we stayed kind of in between because I wanted to kind of have that time just be with Peyton and my you know, just being my son. So I just didn't want to have the distraction of Steve Smith former Utah play area out for a bowl game. I just wanted to be you know, Payton's dad. And so on the way there, we took a I took the street, and so I went to the went went onto the street and went to this little this little taco um taco place and it was you know bout tacos, burritos,

you know, burger whatever. You know. If you ever been in California, California has a plethora of mom and pop, hole in the wall, independent places, and so this is a place that I went to, and it was right there on Pico and those a lot of cultures. And one of the interesting things was I was sitting there at that I was just sitting there and I kind of smiled, grabbed our food. Were sitting out there, and we're just sitting outside and we're eating and um, so

how was he was like, yeah, it was good. It was in and so just watching people, watching watching all the people and all that stuff. And I remember I had a moment and I was sitting there and I was remembering what I went through as a kid growing up back home, and Peyton had a moment that he was seeing part of Dad's past. And so on the wee eight when you know, went to the to the Team hotel. We saw some folks, got our tickets, got

our stuff, and then we were driving back. Um, and I had said, you know, I was thinking about and I was like, man, when I was sitting there eating that food with Peyton, I was going backwards. I remember when I was a kid, and when I was a kid at something point. I love that Lafe. It's my home. That's my You know when I asked people at their hometown is Charlotte is my Charlotte is the place where I call home. But the place I called my hometown where I'm from. Man, it's l A and the l

A taught me a lot. But it also at the time it damaged me. And I remember I was sitting there and I was like, man, when I was a young pup, I was just sitting there, going, will I ever make it out of here? Will this be big stent of me riding a bus? No driver's license? I don't get my drivers like charge twenty two years old

when I was out in Utah. I just remember that, and just remember, and when you're sitting there, if somebody rolled up that you know, from the opposite circle of friends, you have to that lights witch had to go on, even if he was eating from fries or burger or taco. That lights which had to go on. That lights which go on. And you can't take that. Hell, man, you

can't get molly wapped and lose your lunch. And I just remember that, and I was smiling because now I'm looking at it, I'm looking at my got two generations. Now I'm sitting there and and so we're in the car back and and I told, I told Payton, I said, you know, sitting there, I remember I never thought that I would have a son, and I'll be coming back for playing sixteen years blah blah blah. And he goes, you know what, Dad was funny as I was thinking

the same thing, but I was thinking the opposite. What would it take? I wonder how would I have handled living there? Would I have been able to make it? And it was just great. He was just like, damn, he says, man, Dad, I don't know how you made it. And it was just really cool for his authenticity to kind of just not justify or make me feel good. But it was a father and a son thinking about one place the same how I made it and how he was thinking how he can't make it or what

it would entail. He was just so thankful, you know, for those bruises that I experienced because of that. I just felt, you know, I just I just personally feel like to grow up always on high alert. Man. There's no way to grow up. There's no way to thank you. I wouldn't wish I wouldn't wish that on someone. And so I was it was just that cool moment that I had with my son that it wasn't something that

I tried to make. It was something that just experienced it. Man, it was really cool to start off the new year, to be able to look at your you know generation, somebody that will carry on your name, that he he gets it, you know. And there's y'all are parents with kids that aren't of age of mind. I'm just telling you when you're sitting down with Tyson or me at some point, you're sitting down with Ava at some point and they go, Dad, I get it more of anything,

he said, Dad, I get you. Man. That's the things that I pray for. You know what, what a great story for you to be able to share that with him. And it wasn't planned, it was undernounced. You just stopped and in that moment you were reliving what you went through and you look at Peyton and be like, yo, you don't ever have to do this. But he gets it and he understands. He didn't. Oh whatever, Dad, it

ain't nothing, you know. I mean for him to see that is you don't you have no idea like want I'm not even lying like people walking by and those people walking by you just kind of like scratch your head and you know, like the way they're walking by, and you gotta think about it. It's l a Friday, like to thirty in the afternoon, right five, hydrid leaking and it's water all over the place, straight dogs, single mom,

single dass. Like it's just every walk of life, every culture and just seeing it and it's your hometown and it's in your hometown is talking for you. Like we weren't at thirstree problem. No, we weren't at the highlighted places. We were off the beaten path where you know those places that you know, you when you hear about people, when you hear about people when they go back and they say, oh, such and such a from here, and

they always hear that that's you know, that's what. Yeah, I think I think what you said is really like you said, that's the I don't want it to go and say it like when you say that's an answered prayer, like that's big. That's that's the things that you do pray about. That's the things when you talk about generational change, those are the things you want because at the end of the day, like it's great we do the podcast you.

Everyone has their own business endeavors. You do all that stuff, and that's fantastic, and you leave a financial legacy and you do all those things. But that is what you hope for. That you can um change your lineage, you can change the generation and uh, you may have been going or family treatment have been going one way and the course corrects and go another. That's that's really what it's all about. The good days the bad days. It

makes it all worth it. When you can know that your children and that you've left an impact with them, that's all that's that is. That is literally what it's about. It was really cool, right, and then I took them some other places. Uh, took them around the corner. I was showing them one of the duplexes that we grew up in UM And I have a driver's but I used to drive to school. Had a car right that

I bought. I was driving to listen to this. I bought a car for two d fifty bucks, drove it to school and he used to pick up my boy, one of my homeboys, Dwayne, and got pulled over because expired tags and they didn't take they didn't arrest us. They made us pull over we had to catch the bus to school, and then we waited, caught the bus to the car, picked up the car, and then drove it on you know. And uh, but I used to hide it around the corner and go through this, go

through this other apartment complex. And myself, I was like, and I was driving like four fifteen, sixteen years old. I was driving to school, no license, no insurance, no nothing. So that was just in the first week. I just imagined the rest of the y which you gonna be able to dive into those other conversations. You go ahead. That was pretty cool though, but you know, and then he's taught lawson. We were depressed ever since. Man, let me introduce our our our next guest. There's a guy

who's from Flint, Michigan. They they say some of the dudes for some about of the dudes from Flint, Michigan. Man, they're tough as they come. Yeah to time, w b C super middleweight champion, professional boxer, a father, a husband, a son, a nephew, and a guy that's uh, it's really overcome a lot of things in his life. So um, cut to it. Welcome to the podcast, Anthony Derell, Thank you for coming. Thank you guys for having me and this man were Donna. We're gonna get right into it.

Um Man, we got this. I love these little icebreakers show man. Just growing up? You know obviously, Uh get deeper into your story. Man, name your top three boxers growing up? Uh? Mohammed Ali is at the top of the top of the list for me. Uh you got you got uh Sweepie fill Uh, I mean I and Roy Jones. But it's so many people, man, You just

I just can't name three is a tough number. Three a tough number, especially with all the grades that you know, I came by watching you know, I just can't name three. So name some other ones. But tell me why, tell me why they what? What you what did you admire about them growing up? Right? Because for me, Mike Tyson was all always that guy. He intimidated. He was short, he was stocky, he was powerful, he was quick, he was intimidating. But he was also a boxer's boxer. He

was a hood boxer. He was whoever watched them, he was that individual if you if you were a businessman, he was he was. Yeah, he was an entertaining like he's gonna get you what you want, and it was gonna be. But we knew what to expect out of Mike Typon. We was younger, all our family used to go for my grandfather's house and and watch it, and it an end so quick that we just had the rest of the night just to fool around, you know, party.

You know, we wasn't partying like that because as kids at the end of the at the end of the you know, late and all the grown up so you know, they get smashed, They they play cards, music, you know, all of everything. But like I say, Tyson was one of the people. You know, you knew what you was getting if you paid the pay per view fifty dollars to get it, you knew what she was getting. Your first second, first half of the fight is over. Some ficing go like that, but you know it's boxing, that's

what that's what you know boxing is. And uh but I'm just happy that, you know, I I got to watch them the people growing up, you know, and learned a lot from them growing up, especially I leave to Sweepy. I mean I'm not as quick as Sweepy or as slick as he was, but you know, you always have learned something and try to imitate what he had Roy Jones and other guy. He was fast, pomp, one of the best, especially back in his day. Uh that I

mean I was just there. Uh when Antonio Tarbert not Roy Jones out like that was one of the saddest moments, you know, for me and my fact, because we, yeah, we idolized Roy Jones. Man. We thought he was just the best and nobody can defeat him. But obviously it was wrong. I think what killed him was he went up to heavyweight and came back down. That really takes a toll on your body, especially losing that much weight,

uh for a fight at that magnitude. Your old school we didn't, you know, we didn't play golf together and talk smack. So I know your old school cat man. Um yeah, man, some of the some of some of your cartoons, your favorite cartoons growing up. Uh ah man. I mean like like with me, I ain't watched a lot of cartoons, but I was like, I was like that that kid that like wrastling like the w W E R w w F then used to come on on Saturday Morning Superstars. Yeah, but it came on on

Monday's two. And when it came on on mondays. I used to had to run to the remote, and my brother would not let me watch it if he got it first. Ye turned into the to the wrastling and if we we gotta watch Raszl because I got there first. And that's it. That's what my grandpa sailing. Yeah, I mean, and that's just what it is. That's just how you know, you know, how I grew up. I wasn't a cartoon guy. If I did, I probably watched like a Simpson's or

Jimmy Neutron type thing, you know what I'm saying. But I wasn't like a big cartoon gout. I was, you know, more real. But when I first came out, I wouldn't a lot to watch that Simpsons can. Yeah, for sure. The reason I say cartoons is because I think I feel like Man Saturday cartoons. It was like bye bye, like eight. You were started about seven thirty, eight o'clock. They cut them up by thirty by noon, you was done.

Now he was watchingba inside stuff right now. No no, no, no, no side no even before that Batman right yeah, same batcha same tune in what oh what was it Robert bro you're talking about? Robin had me clowning or like what Adam West? They say, what is? What are we gonna do? Batman? You know Batman want to say, shut up rightly? Porcupines? Yeah all right, um man? What's your favorite sandwich? And with that sounds what you're having when

you got some chips fruit my favorite? Second, I'm gonna go turkey lettuce put some mustard on their little mayonnaise America with you know light. Uh yeah, I'm having chips, chips and probably like I don't drink like right now. I don't drink pop really like that. I just drink it sometimes just to get that burn in my throat. I wa yeah, yeah, I probably have a water okay,

water water. I love cut to It and I love it even more when you download us and subscribe, and you can follow us on social media too, Smithie, where where at? That's at? Cut to It on Instagram? What about Twitter? Act? Cut to It Facebook? Cut to It featuring Steve Smith singr what about online? And you can follow us at cut to It podcast dot com where you can buy merch and you can subscribe to us wherever you listen to podcasts. I got all my answers questions.

Uh yeah, I got all my questions answered. That's what I'm here for. A brother cut to a podcast dot com. All right, well we already said it, but I always like to ask, man, where are you from the place you call your hometown? Let mission always rap it. Uh. Yeah, I think it bolded me to the person that I am. He gave me doing the toughness and the confidence that I need to go on with life for sure. How how would you describe growing up in Flint? You know

from your point of view? Uh, it was rough. I mean, not not as rough as now. It was definitely rough because uh, just a neighborhood, the property we lived there GM. Uh. I don't know if y'all noticed, No, y'all probably do. But GM was known for Flint, Michigan cars. Uh. A lot of people want to start their families here and move here. But now it's it's gone. But we're back then we had GM, but it's still was. You could tell a point was on the decline, especially with the

murders and everything that was going on. Back then. We couldn't uh you couldn't say Flint without talking about how bad it was. And that's you know, still to this day. But it just moded me. So, like I said to the persons I am today, Uh that in my family, but uh Flint man, I always reperent today I got an a one off on my arms Flint, Michigan. You know that that's just me. You know, I think everybody from Flint, that's somebody that made it out will tell

you Flynn is is home. We'll always reply. So I got a uh got homeboards from Flint. And he told me that, uh Anthony used to mop up dudes at Burston Field House when you was a young kid. And he said that Flynn has a boxing lineage that has really not talked about speak on that it is. You know we Uh Chris Burg came out out of Flint. I mean, I don't think too many people give Chris Bird credit for what you know he came. You know, he came from his daddy grades from a kid as

coached him and his mama. But it's uh, it's rough man. Flynn is rough and bursting is you know, wanted the dang near the stumping ground and everybody if that's somebody then being a bursting or either ashooping boxing you know to anything football whatever. You know, they haven't been there worked out or play basketball there for sure. So how did those days at Burston, running through the streets at Flint,

how did how did shape you? Uh? Just hanging around the people, you know, taught me right some wrongs, Uh everything. It's like I said, Man, it's it's home. I mean just like probably where you're from. Man, it's you know, that's home. You can always go back and feel comfortable there, Uh with anything that's going on. Um, And that's how Flint is. I'm still in Michigan. I'm about fifteen minutes from Flint, but you know, I I try to help Flint get back as much as possible. But it's hard

to do it by yourself. Yeah, definitely, anything it's hard to do by yourself, especially trying to impact the community. Um that has been through a lot of the stuff Flynn has been through, you know, weather, it's uh, you know systemically, UM, lack of water, like a lack of lack of education. Um, it's it's it's really tough man. You know, I think this is Uh, I got I got why why boxing? But I think it's I think it's a more in depth question to have. Is growing

up for you boxing? For me, it was sports. You know, sometimes you only can make it out with an opportunity and whatever that is, whether it be a you know, somebody wants to be a veterinarian, it doesn't matter, right, But you know when you have when you don't have a lot of options, you know you you gotta stick to something that can help you propel yourself to to give you an opportunity to go to college or get a job or professional trade that gives you an opportunity

to advance yourself, to get out of the to get out of the lower class of the rat race. We're all in a rat race to some degree, but to the lower concitor of the rat race. Um, what did boxing mean to you at such a young age? So my grandfather got us into it. I was nine when I started, so I've been doing it for a long time, my brother, but nine, I was nine. My first fight was at nine. I'm thirty seven now, so God that that's almost thirty years Uh in the sport of boxing.

Uh never had really a childhood. I guess I live my childhood through my kids now I can't. I mean, we got the side by side to poort whillis to everything you know and and I see myself in them. I give them my opportunity to that I didn't have any other sports because I don't want my kids to box at all. Do I want to learn to defend thatselves? Yeah, boxing is just I think it's so cricket that I

don't want to see my kids go through it. What I not And now I'm gonna say what I've been through because I've been fortunate enough to have a smooth career. But what like my brother been through a bad situation. But I want to see my kids grow up in and do something else, and it don't have to be sports, agree anything, but something better than what I had. But can you break that down? Because you're still boxing right

at your thirty seven years old, you're still boxing. How why would you not allow your children to box or to do a profession that you're currently still in. So football, I'll take your support for example, you guys have a union. You know you have somebody looking out for you. You know you're gonna get depend on you depending on who you ask. There's some guys who would disagree about the union, but you know, I'm just understanding. I agree about it

because if somebody looking after you what you need. You to get what you need in boxing, I have to do everything for myself. If that's going out to get sponsors, I have to do it for myself. I don't even care about that. Like if a sponsor approached me and we're talking good numbers, yeah we could do it. But I'm not going out to look for nobody. If I'm gonna get somebody, they're gonna come to me. I'm not going to them like I'm I'm I'm what you want. If not, then I don't care. But it's just it's

that part the un you have nobody looking out for you. Uh. The pay. Let's take Jake paul Uh for example. He hasn't fought a real boxer yet, but he's getting paid six figures four and this is that was his four or fight, but he's been getting paid six figures since his first fight. Why can't a real boxer get paid that the same amount of money as him? Starting out? Like it? That's where that's where it's it's And I

got so many questions. I figured we was gonna wait till the end, but I got so many questions around around that, and and and how and how that's even filtered out. It's just disrespectful to boxers, you know, real boxing. I'm not saying he's not a real boxing but he hasn't fought a real boxer yet. He bought M M A fighters and he bought a basketball player that's not boxing. Uh yeah, so it's it's a disrespect. I can't go into into the NBA and say, let me get a

tendaid contract and put Lebron on the bench. We're gonna happen and without a base mark of anyone's even seeing you play basketball. Yeah, it's not It's just not gonna happen, you know what I'm saying. But boxing, I guess it's one of those sports where you know you can do that, but it's just disrespectful, like in the networks to see it, like his pay per view numbers was crap, But it's that. It's it's torturing. You know, when I when I lose weight and can't eat for a certain amount of time,

that's torture. You know, for me, it's torture. And I'm torturing myself granted, but it's still a torture. I gotta do something to entertains and thousands of people So someone someone listening to this, listening to this would say, based off what you said and I and I actually I wrote it down and it's gonna be it was gonna be a follow up, how unhealthy is cutting weight? But before you answer, but before you say, someone listen this would say, well, you don't have to do this. No,

no one is. No one puts a gun to your head and say lose weight. Right, They're not doing that. But I can't. I can't. I can't do what Jake Paul didn't go into the NB. I want to do the n B. I can't go in there, attend a contract and give me get some money. I can't do that. So I gotta do this. If this is my job, I have to do it. And I have to be responsible and dedicated to the sport, to the career that

I chose. So at the end of the day, I have to do it, you know, if I want to keep UH providing for my family and doing what I need to do to UH succeed in life, I have to do this. So for somebody to say I don't, I don't have to. I have to. This is just

this is what I know. I mean. I'm not saying, this is all I know, but this is what I know, and I want to give my kids another opportunity to a different path to take other than this sport, because it's like I said, And then you gotta look at this NBA players or football players, and football players was getting y'all was getting done in for a little bit. I think they're starting to grow now with the guarantee money. Uh. But basketball players they're getting two hundred million dollars boxes.

Some boxes weren't ever see that. Floyd Mayweather, there was an exception. You know, you would never see two hundred and some million dollars guaranteed. Canello is an exception. But you you want to get certain few, you gotta pick that grain of rights out. That's good. If not, then you're not gonna get two hundred million dollar contract guaranteed. You can't get that, So let's find something else to do.

I don't care what you do. I didn't want my kids playing football, honestly because it I didn't want to playing football or boxing because with football and so many concussions and CTE. Like I I read up on that stuff ct that goes around, you know, getting injury and when you gotta concussion. Sometimes you don't know and you still go out there and it just mess you up more with football. With boxing, you gotta concussion. Like I had a concussion and I had a headache for a week.

I couldn't believe I was getting hit button you know, I get hit, of course, but it was just with and with football, like you gotta sit out, you gotta can CUSSI pro cusion protocol. You start with boxing, you gotta keep going or you're done, You're lost. So I gotta keep going even though I got a concussion and keep fighting. I mean, it's it's I want. I want to go for my kids. So take us through, and take us through your your boxing journey right just as

you started nine years old. I can't imagine, right, I can't imagine. Like I look at my kids and see, you know, my son's played travel baseball, and I've seen how that is. It's challenging, especially here in North Carolina. North Carolina is number one in youth soccer. Right, it

is crazy. I'm in the basketball circuit now with au living breathe and can't even take you know, can't even take regular holiday trips because spring break or Christmas I mean day after Thanksgiving, son is playing in Atlanta after Christmas.

But how much like it's some football players or let's say bad, let's some basketball players who started off right in high school and still made it leave Like what my my thing is Sometimes you gotta let a kid be a kid like my my my boy and his son they go they do travel, basketball, travel baseball, so the kid can't be a kid, Like when is the point that you say, let's stop and let's get your body arrest Because at the end of the day, you still might not do it. They still might not do it.

So I give my kids opportunities to choose what they want to do. But if you do something, you can't quit until that seasons after yep, But if you want to quit after, you can't. I don't, I don't, but you're not. We're not gonna be lab with as twitters in the middle of the season. But at that but at that time they might start like dang, I like it. Oh it's getting better and better than they're gonna keep going.

So it changes their minds set, you know, saying if you want to do it, you could do it, but I don't want to force him to do it because I still want them to be a kid. You know what I'm saying. I was never a kid, Like I never I was going so much and tournaments and shows and stuff like that. I was never a kid. I always had to go fight and go make weight. So it was always rough to me every weekend, or we will miss school to go to tournaments for the whole week,

you know what I'm saying. So it's never a kid. It was just work, work, work, work work. So it just turned. It just turned into the Norman because you you mentioned you you alluded to your brother earlier, but you know you're I know your your older brother Andre, like he was, he was into it as well. Yeah he gotta fight coming up soon to uh soon. He got the Olympic bronze medal uh in a lift he lost the triple G. I thought he wanted but he lost.

But like I said, it's uh we it was constant, man, every weekend, every week I mean it just all the time. We we was running to schools. So we're going to school, sweaty, running to schools. We have to do track after school. So it was it was ongoing like this man, and I don't want to see my kids do that. I want to see him have a kid life. But once, once it gets serious, that's when I'll start getting serious. And because it means nothing. Now, honestly, you anything means nothing.

Do you learn? Do you get kind of responsibility? Yeah, but you can get that somewhere else, just doing other stuff. You know what I'm saying. I want to really show them that sports is not the only way be a kid, you know, because life ain't life ain't along, and uh, you gotta live your life, you know, to the bulls. I noticing I noticing in boxing less now, but more for the older guys like yourself and obviously an older guy, older,

much older guys than you. A lot of boxers don't really get their big opportunity until after they've participated in the Olympics. And not even that because I never went to Olympics, so uh, like I went to Olympic trials, I got I forgot what it was some bullcrap, I know. Like that's what I'm saying. Like you look at Sugar.

You look at Sugar Ray, Sugar Ray Leonard, Right, you look at Mike Tyson, you look at all these guys, Floyd Mayweather We're guys who have maybe got the bronze or got the shilver, they didn't necessarily win or something have but they haven't won. And you hear about, you hear about the disappointment either in Olympic Trials or the Olympics, and then after that they become they blow up, they blow up. Why is what is it about the Olympics or Olympic trials? And it's not it's not even that.

It's just just from the outside, like for me looking in, who's not That's all I have as a reference because there really is no televised, um, you know, internet accessibility of understanding who's coming up in the rankings other than what is either flashed up on TV, put through ESPN or Friday Night Boxing, Saturday Night Box. Like it's just it is. It's the developmental piece of boxing seems to lack.

And you gotta understand, I should have been like and I'm not saying I should have been well more known than him now, but I should have been up there like I had cancer and won a championship. That is unheard. I even pitched this when I won my first championship. I had my boy and which which is a white Man, but that's my one of my best friends. But me said, like, we got one too, but I can't. I can't talk.

Don't worry John part White Singers, because they're gonna throw me off like it ain't nothing, you know what I'm saying. So I gotta get somebody else who really can talk to him, talk to him. So I pitched my story after I want my title to Sports Center. They denied it so bad man, and then put some on their man that I've seen that was interesting and even the issue there and stuff. You have to pick. You won a championship and you got to pitch your own story.

I gotta see them on like, let's just stop after cancer and got a pitch malls. Come on, man, that's unheard of. Let's getting down to do with Hey, Gerard, why did you get that T shirt? You mean? Oh? Yes, I got it from cut to a podcast dot com where we have exclusive merchandise. Shout out to our guys at seven or four shot. But yeah, you can go on buy you a T shirt subscribed to us wherever you listen to podcasts two thousand four you break your

hand while while fighting. Yeah, in the maturer on my hands had surgeries on my so you so you broke your hand in the match. How did you have I have bone spurs in my hands. That's when well, I have bone spurs in my feet. So I can I can't understand. I couldn't. I couldn't even lift bags nothing. So I went to California and got them shaved down. But now I never had a problem with it. Two

thousands cancer, no hospital, BOM. I deal with that for two years and chemo therapy, and you were training in between sometimes like I run first of all, even sometimes even sometimes I can't. I'm down two weeks with a head cold, so I don't you know. Yeah, it was tough like cancer is like like before I even went into the building. I'm talking, I'm throwing up before i've been because I can smell the chemo therapy and I'm right there. Before I even get into the building, I'm like, dang,

so I gotta go in here. Once I get it, I'm gonna throw up and then you know, I'm gonna feel better. But the next three days after I had it, I couldn't do nothing. But I get I get that every two weeks. Uh, it was tough. Man it was for you and for me to go through it, for me to say it was tough, It was tough. So I went to a cancer hospital for ye is and seeing all them, it brought me to tears. But man, it's so hard. I don't I don't even understand how

the kids doing. But they get through it. And I'm so happy, Uh go through that, man, because it's it's so tough, man, And I know, we gotta cure for cancer. Man. If they're coming up with a vaccine for COVID and under a year they got a cure for cancer. Man. Period. Yeah to me, and then uh, a lot of people on on with on going on, going with the thing. I think it was two thousand and twelve. I got to a motorcycle accident. You know when you when you

suspected of a robbery. Oh yeah, I forgot about that. Two thousand eight. Yeah, that was two thousand eight I did. They said I robbed the bank for five thousand. I laughed at him, you know when they when they pulled me over, because so I'm leaving my house to go get my last chemo treatment, last one treatment, and he saw me. I saw him too, because I looked at him. You know, I looked, you know, and when I looked at him, he got in the back of me. I promised.

He followed me for about five called me up. Yeah. When he pulled me over, it had to be about twelve cops and the news was sitting there. Uh. And they took me down. I'm laughing like I'm tripping out because they didn't tell me what I was going down board. And then once I got in the car, knew the police officer and he's like, yeah, they said you ribbed the bank, all right whatever. Uh, and they took me that. I think I was gonna spend a night in that joint.

Then I went down there. Somebody when I say it had to be so many cops came to my sale when I was holding me as saying, man, we know you didn't do it. I don't know way he pulled you over for this and that wood the whoop and uh. I mean they even bringing me different food from what they eight like, they bringing me different stuff, like a whole different stuff. Uh. And then like I tried to sue the police station, nobody would touch it with a tempo po m hm, I ain't touching it. They wouldn't

do it, like I don't understand. I didn't never understood why, and like you you you slander my character on TV papers everything. And when I said nobody would, I didn't even get an apology from there. Why why they pulled you over? I mean outside of you were suspected? They said no, they and I had a gun in the car, but it was my gun. It was I was registered

to me, uh the gun. But they didn't, they said I rather than basically suspecting me, rather than I think it was all me because I looked at him crazy like I don't care about it, like like pull me over, I'm I'm straight, like I ain't doing nothing. Put me over, what you're gonna do? Take you to jail and I get out. So with all these things, the broken hands, the broken hand, the motorcycle accident, the motorcycle accident, Are

you still riding motorcycles? No? I'm happy to that. And you know what, after my accident, I promised my boy came over. Uh so he ride he was riding. I was itching to ride a bike, being like after I got to accent, my leg was still messed up and everything, and I had to like I just went down the street and came back because I had I had an itch to do it. But once I got on and I'm like I'm done, like and that that took it all the way. After I got on that bike and

came I'm like, I'm done. No broken the broken leg and already had that and that and do anything. You just had to get one more ride in huh No. But it wasn't a ride. It was like it was like on my street, like it was residential street. I had to because I don't know why. Man, it was just a thing like I I gotta do it, and I did it, and uh couldn't do it. The while I'm like, yeah, I see why I stayed off of done.

So with with all those things, the broken hand, cancer, being a suspect motorcycle accident, what keeps you going and not giving up? My three little I want to show them that. Uh. And they know I became champion. They watched the fight. Uh the second time I became champion. Uh. I want to show them that. Uh. I guess there's no quick when I want to. When I want to retire, I retire at my own uh leisure. I want to. I want to do it myself. I don't want to

have somebody else do it for me. Uh, but just no quick, just resilient and uh keep pushing, uh them guys out there and my wife man, and it keeps me going. You know. I talked to my wife up to every fight to see, you know, what I should do and whatnot. It's not tips, it's just you know what she said, because she can see more than I

can see if I change in tide rinkers. I'm gonna say, oh, I keep going, I keep going, but she can see if I change from you know, how I fight, my fighting style and everything, and you know, we talked about it. You know, at the end of the day, it's it's not me anymore. It's us, you know, if I keep going or not, or or should I retire? And I asked that after when I thought Tyryn Davis, I was in camp and I asked her that. She said, just give it a couple more fights because you look good. Uh,

but uh, she said, yeah, after the next fight. Yeah, take us through, you know, take us through, take us through a preparation of a fight. You talked about cutting weight, how unhealthy that is. You're talking about how you have to go out and seek your own sponsorship. Take us through you know with pay per view and we at an HBO. We get to see kind of how things are going on, and we get to peek into the camps. But what what part of what we see for TV,

what part of Rocky is is really just drama? Is so much drama, But what is the actual preparation for boxing really looks looks like it feels like from a professional boxer. Uh, it's tough, man, because you gotta stay dedicated if you get out what you put in in boxing. Man, at the end of the day, I think it's really everything you do but boxing. If you if you're doing bad and your party and all the time, it's going

to show. I mean it's it's obvident. It's evident. But like with me with with the bus and weight, with the you know, you gotta stay disciplined, you know, my team, Like with my team, I tell you can go out, you can go out and do what you want. Like I don't care as long as you're there when I need you and you're doing what I need at the time that you need to do it, you can do whatever. I don't care. I'm not gonna hold you back just

because I'm in camp, you know, getting ready. But when you but when you're in camp, like when you're in camp, you're about to let's just you know, hypothetically you're about to have a match. When do you start preparing mentally and physically? What two months? Three months, two and a half, two and a half months out, two and a half

months and I'm locked in. Yeah, I'm locked So what are you doing my family to like about three and a half two and a half months, I don't I don't even see my family two and a half months, Like I'm in camp, I'm they're at home. I'm probably in Florida, like a last camp, I was in Vegas to camp before that I was in I was in Florida. That was three months. So I was going, I've never seen them for three months. Uh take us through that training for three months. Uh it's so I get down there,

Uh condition coach down their meal prep. They ain't even meal prep. I get meals cooked. You know some people meal prep. My My meals is cooked on the spot daily. Uh. And then I got my head trainer. But conditioning is sprinting, you know, we lift weights early uh, and not heavyweights. Uh. We just lift a light to get you know, back into the groove. Uh, just a whole bunch of like exercise man, and it it hurts. That's at the beginning of camp. When when I started boxing, stuff calmed down.

But it don't like on all like so Wednesdays and Saturdays, I do no boxing stuff. It's all something different, but it's still working out. It's just to give your brain to rest from boxing, and you know you're thinking about other stuff. Uh. So then the days that I I do the condition stuff when I started boxing, you know, sparring or boxing other people and uh, like a Tuesday night or something. But then them is the conditioned days I run and I don't run, uh five six, seven miles.

I'm not like, I'm not a tracker. I'm a boxer. If I can get in the ring twelve rounds, I can go twelve rounds with you know, in a fight. I mean, that's just what it is. I'm not a track star. But some people gotta run to lose weight. I don't have a problem losing weight. Like I'm disciplined when it comes down to lose the weight. Uh, I don't eat after seven I'm drinking nothing but water, like water the whole time. Uh, and I'm eating what he

gives me. Some people it's tough to lose weight. Some people will lose twelve pounds in two three days, and that's tough. That that's what get it out of them. You know what I'm saying. If you lose it wrong, that's what we'll discussing. Losing it wrong or losing it too fast, you know, go downhill. But it's just, uh, boxing is a lot of mental man. If you could be mentally strong in boxing, man and do what you need to do, you can definitely succeed in for sure.

Is that what precluded you from moving up or down? That's yeah, I gotta I gotta degree, I got I got you know, I got all that stuff, high school, educating all all. I got twelve, I gotta g d. I don't have no diploma and we all and we all still here. That's the beauty of it. But is that what precluded you from moving up or down? You you mentioned Roy Jones before, like before he fought Harvor, but you've never done that, So what precluded you from

moving up or down? It was just I was I mean, I could make sixty eight easy, like it wasn't a problem. You know. Yeah, when people move up, is generally a problem of you making that weight. You know, I'm coming down probably from one nine probably highest. I remember after cancer, I was two hundred or something and I had to lose all that weight in two months, uh to get back to where you know at sixty eight. But like with me, I don't uh, I don't get too far

out of shape. I'm still being sure. I got a gym in the back of my house, so I'm still gonna be in shape. I still do little things, uh to keep me ready for going into camp. You gotta get ready to go into camp because it's it's tough, you know, especially for a big fight. You know what I'm saying. You gotta be ready, you gotta stay you gotta stay ready. So you ain't gotta get ready period. So now at thirty seven is your age of benefit because you mentioned how hard it is and with age

it's your age benefit at all. No, it's it's getting tougher to make the weight. Honestly, I'm not gonna sit here and say it's not. I mean, you lie. You know, it's just stubborn but but this it still comes off. Last camp it was it was easy, like I uh, I usually have a a burger, Like I really don't eat like burgers and stuff during camp, but I had a burger my last my last two weeks of my camp because I could like I was on weight. I

was straight, like I can eat it. My metabola if I'm old, my metabola was gonna burn that off, queen. So it was like, no problem, man, what how would you categorize the sport of boxing to day? As far as it was though, as far as good and bad. Right, I've seen boxing, I've I've been a fan of boxing, but I've also dropped off of boxing because of how people from how it is and they're trying to push

it back. But from a guy that's in the inside of a participant of the sport, I want to know what you what do you believe the state of the sport is because you're participating, Like, I'm just a consumer, and just like consumers in anything, my vantaged point is skewed, right, My perspective is skewed because I'm not I'm not I'm not grind. I'm not dealing with all the stuff that you're dealing with. I'm not seeing how Paul's the sausage

is made. I'm just saying the finished product and seeing seeing the finished product is you know, you don't really get a true sense of whether the direction of the sport is going good or bad. So that's why I'm asking from you, because think about it. You've been doing it. You've been participating in the sport for thirty two years. So you you you've seen it when you when you when you could barely read because you're nine years old.

Right now, you've seen it to the point of where you know the contract looks like just everything if you've been exposed too. So I got a question for you. How many changes have been made to football since you've been playing? And so many it is hard to keep up with and that and that's my job, right understandable, Okay, Now none have been made the boxing? Why? Like I don't understanding? Like why haven't changes? We need changes? Like stuff needs to be improved. The judging needs to be improved.

We need to put judges in the box or give them by theirselves with nobody there looking at the TV and judging it by that, how would they how are they judging it currently right there, right right at ringside, looking at it, looking at the fight ringside. But you gotta understand, if the judges behind me and the guy isn't I hit him and I hear don't you can't

see it. But if he's in that booth with no sound and the you know where you can't hear the audience yelling or anything getting persuade, Uh, it'll be better. But that's that's the changes. That's the changes. I think that's one of the changes. I think we need. The other changes is uh finding a way too, and I guess we're doing that, uh, finding a way to see if the fighter is really hurt, having them do the cubis cheff, you know, side to side. Uh. I mean

it's the truth. I mean it's a good yeah to some extent, because if you're a ref you can stop it any time. You can do whatever you want at any time. And like, I don't think that's fair. I'm leaving my life because say, if I got a big fight and I'm winning the fight, but this one judge don't like me, he get a fight to the other guy, that messes up my money the whole time. Like, if I keep winning my pay keep going up and up and up and up. Uh. But if there's one judge,

life in my hand. I mean, my career is in his hand. I want to fight. Everybody's seen it, and these judges give it to the other guy, like, what are we doing? Man, what are we doing? That's why. But the crowd persuades that, like the crowd here, Oh, even if he don't get hit, Oh, they see that and then be like, oh, he had to win that round. And then the judges is judging off the last ten seconds of the fighter, like if I if I, if I get off the last ten tickets, I went around,

but I ain't win the whole round. Come on, man, it's a let's a whole lot of things that we need, and we need a union. We need somebody looking after the fighters. But we can't have that because there's so many. It's thousands and thousands of promoters. Man, that's all they got their hand out. And note we cannot have a union because everybody can't come together and bring on the

same thing we need to. We need a pa person like Floyd, but he's not gonna do because why he's a promoter and he wants his money, just like everybody else. And don't nobody want to look after the fire. At the end of the day, it's not the fighter we look. We we can't look when nobody's looking after the fighter. They're looking after that for themselves. Man. So I give I give the boxing really a B to a C plus.

You know how everything is going. That brother is honest and he ain't on no great in scale either, ain't no Bill Curve, I take that great man? Are they are there real boxing rivals or is it just for show that? I mean, I don't. I don't gotta fight him. The bottom want tom fight them. Like with the m m A. You gotta fight if you're gonna fight, like they're not gonna tell you you fighting, and you gotta fighter boxing. We got this guy, I don't want to

fight and pick somebody else that don't make no sense. Man, how much I'm sorry I didn't cut your way? How much do you think m m A UFC. How much has that impact of the popularity of boxing? Popularity went down because of the m m A. Seriously, like m C m m A, it's taking over. People want to see knockouts, people want to see the best fight. The best, and we're not giving them that we're giving them. You just fight anybody you want to fight. Man, what was

I want to fight? I don't fight anybody. I don't give it. Hell, be in there and put me on the phone book, coach, I'm rereading ye. Why are you on Alvarez? I fight anybody like and I do want him because, like right now, you gotta understand, I'm thirty seven years old, I'm the top five, I'm one of the I'm the one of the best super middleweights at thirty seven. Like I'm the oldest guy in the top five right now, oldest, like nobody in Super Mario. I'm

the oldest. And I can't keep fighting for nothing. Like if I keep fighting for nothing, what am I reaching for it? Like I'm reaching for nothing like money or yeah we give money, we don't get that. But what am i? What am I actually reaching for nothing? I'm reaching for error. But if I don't fight for a championship, what am i? What am I doing? M end of the day? What am I doing? You? You play football to play for championships? You don't. You don't play football

to win a division title. You play football for champions I want a championship. Forget that. I mean the money. Everybody wants money, we understand that, but come on, man, if I could, if I could read if, if I'm miss close to that bill, I want to grab it. Man, I don't want to keep reaching for error. Give me a shot, me a shot coach the next one. What would that next title mean to you? I mean in me everything. It means that you know I'm still there, you know, and people will see that. Uh with the

knockout I had my last fight. I think people seeing that I'm still you know, contender and this, Uh, you knocked the hell out of that dude. Man, I man, a body, a body, a body blow, an upper cut that man, they'll leave, they'll leave, Yeah, they'll leave a lasting impression. And that was textbook upper cut ding dong nightnight. I'll let you. I agree. I think that was one of my and I knocked somebody out where he really didn't remember where he was like, he asked that we fight.

Check and yeah, but you should checking you right now, I'm talking you right now. You missed a great opportunity. You should tell him. Don't worry about it. Dog. What what was your boxing dreams when you first started. So my grandfather always said, we are you know, these boys gonna be world champion. That was my dream to be a world champion. And I succeeded. I have nothing to prove to anybody, but I succeeded being a world champion.

I did it twice, me and my brother. And you know that was the dream, you know, become world champion. What do you believe the lasting effects about boxing we'll have on you? Uh? Right now, I'm fine. Uh the last in effects I mean that, I mean, do you think about it any right now? I'm not really, but I do want to. You know, my mind when I first when I first pay professional, my mind is no, i'mnna be the best super midiweight you know. You know how ever, like I'm gonna be there, the top guy.

And I still got the opportunity to do that. Litten me fighting Canello, I can meet him, I can be thrown him, the king, the pall king. And when I do that, if I can get the opportunity to do that, that would be my dream. That would be my legacy. So you talked, You talked about Flint at the beginning. If you were known for one thing in Flint, at the end of your life. What do you hope it would be? Just how much I helped out the city.

I know, not nothing to do with sports, just be helping out the city and me trying to bring flat back up. Well, man, that's all our time. Man, really appreciate you sitting down with us. Yeah, of course, Man, I appreciate you all having Man, you are a unique person. You are well worth it, you are competent and most of all, your lovable. I'm Steve Smith Senior, I'm Gerald Little John and this is cut to It. Cut to

It with Steve Smith Senior. That is Me is a production of Cut to It LLC, Baltold Creative Media, The Black Effect and I Heart Radio. For more podcast from I Heart Radio, visit the I Heart Radio Apple Apple Podcast or wherever you listen to your favorite shows from Cut to It. Executive producer Steve Smith, SINGR co host Gerard Little John, talent and booking manager Joe Fusci, Social media team Wesley Robinson and John Show from Balto Creative Media.

Cut to It is produced by Brian Baltaschevitch and Meredith Carter, with production assistance by Alex Lebrek, Production Coordinator Taylor Robinson. Theme music by Alex Johnson, Lyrics and vocals by Anthony Hamilton. You ain't heard about it, then we're about to let you know. It's all