Andre Berto: Olympic Trials Controversy, Floyd Mayweather Fight Breakdown & Sparring Andre Ward

Andre Berto opens up about his Olympic Trials controversy, from the disqualification against Juan McPherson to joining Haiti’s Olympic team. He breaks down what it was like to finally step in the ring with Floyd Mayweather and the strategy Floyd uses to win rounds. Berto also reflects on sparring a young Andre Ward, chasing his father’s approval, and the lessons learned along the way.

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
Welcome back to another episode of an Art Award Today.
My guest is an olympian, a former two time world
champion who's explosive speed and power and his unyielding heart
inside the ringers and dared him to fans around the world.
He's a husband, he's a father, he's an entrepreneur.

Speaker 2 (00:20):
Something call him.

Speaker 1 (00:20):
Depending on who you talk to. Polk County Bird, so
call him Hollywood Burt. I can't say he's retired because
a brother just took a five year hiatus and came back,
so you never know what he's gonna do. I want
to welcome to the show, my brother in the boxing game.

Speaker 2 (00:35):
I just Burdo. Appreciate it.

Speaker 1 (00:37):
Brother, Welcome, finally welcome. It's a long time coming. Has
It's so long to get you man, I know you
busy man. You got a lot going on, but I
like going on.

Speaker 2 (00:46):
Took a little time to get you here. It took it.

Speaker 1 (00:48):
It took a little bit, but but but you here
though I had to show up with my brother.

Speaker 2 (00:51):
Man. I appreciate.

Speaker 1 (00:54):
And now you you know, I don't know if you
want that out there, but now you're on the East
coast again. Yeah, you're not on the West Coast no more.
This wasn't that farm. Yeah, I had to get away
from man, l A.

Speaker 2 (01:04):
I had a good time, as you know, I had
great times.

Speaker 1 (01:07):
But uh you know, you know, as soon as those
kids come, we got to change it up, had to
changed it on up.

Speaker 2 (01:12):
Man, head back home.

Speaker 3 (01:13):
Man, you're the proud son of two Haitian immigrants. Man,
you were born in a fighting family, which is very
very rare. Take me back to your to your early
days in winter Haven and some of your earliest memories.

Speaker 2 (01:24):
Man.

Speaker 4 (01:24):
Pope County, Polk County, Pope County, I mean, you know,
Pope County was a little bit, uh, you know, a
little different, especially in the eighties, you know, I mean, uh,
you know, a lot of immigrants came from Miami and
they moved over to like the Pope County, Central Florida
area to work.

Speaker 2 (01:40):
You know.

Speaker 1 (01:41):
I mean, like I said, my parents, they were picking
fruit and things of that nature. But it was it
was heavy, and it was heavy a drug cycle. You know,
people if they've seen the movie Cocaine Cowboys, you know,
these guys are down in Miami, but one of the
partners were right there in Central Florida, right in Bartow

(02:02):
right in Pope County. So when all the drugs were
coming through Columbia to Miami, and then of course the
fiends got they got ahead of it, they start stopping
that they thought they were smart. They start going to
back way instead of flying straight to Miami, they start
going to Pope County over in Bartow and driving the

(02:23):
drugs the back way to Miami. So within that time,
so much of that just got you know, infiltrated right
in the Polk County area.

Speaker 5 (02:33):
Man.

Speaker 1 (02:33):
So, like I said, we grew up with a lot
of you know, with a lot of you know violence,
especially when it comes to the Mexicans, the Cubans, the Haitians,
you know, all the people that migrated to the area
of the work.

Speaker 2 (02:46):
You know, now they can play with the drug game now.

Speaker 1 (02:48):
So it's a lot of it was a lot of
violence and that I mean, you know, I mean during
that time, like what kind of cities like you got
We got one ahead, We got we got winn Ahay,
we got Bartow, we got Hayes City, we got Lakeland.

Speaker 2 (03:00):
Uh lake ain't.

Speaker 1 (03:02):
My boy for said from pok County, Yes County, Pok County,
ray Lewis, Poe County.

Speaker 2 (03:07):
Rather than ray Lewis. Yeah, you know what I.

Speaker 1 (03:09):
Mean, what's his name, Trace McGrady. I'm already style of mind.
So we got some killing.

Speaker 2 (03:13):
Give it up.

Speaker 3 (03:14):
Yes, we start to give it up to Florida. Now
you gotta give it up to Florida. Like like you
you get. You can ignore it only to a point.
You start getting so many athletes and so many different
sports like that are not just playing but on top.

Speaker 2 (03:27):
That's a fact, and they're looking different.

Speaker 3 (03:29):
I don't know if it's the humidity, my boy, I
don't know if it's the waters.

Speaker 2 (03:32):
I don't know what it is.

Speaker 1 (03:33):
The heat y'all got. Y'all brings a lot out of Florida.
It's a swamp ward. I think we drank a lot
of it, and uh, you know we're lo Now.

Speaker 3 (03:44):
Your father man was you know, it wasn't just a
father man. He was a patriarch of the family, but
he was also an ultimate fighter. A lot of people
don't know that. What was it like being raised by a.

Speaker 1 (03:54):
Man who was a former ultimate fighter but also a disciplinarian.

Speaker 2 (03:58):
I mean it was a little different, bro.

Speaker 1 (04:00):
I mean, like I said, the way we grew up different,
you know, especially you know just even my parents, just
the fact they're from the dollars, you know, so they
have a different type of different type of young mindset.

Speaker 2 (04:13):
Of the upbringing. Like we made it here, We almost
died coming here, and.

Speaker 1 (04:17):
Y'all not gonna mess it up.

Speaker 2 (04:19):
So y'all got to make sure to stay tightened up. Uh.
You know, when it came to discipline, the discipline was heavy.
You know.

Speaker 1 (04:26):
If you, of course you get in trouble, of course
you get your smike, you get your whooping by. At
the same time, for us, it was five hundred push up,
five hundred squads before you go to school. And this
is elementary school, so you know, I mean, of course here,
I mean, like I said, during that time, you know,
like I said, they were heavy on us.

Speaker 2 (04:43):
We didn't like it.

Speaker 1 (04:46):
You know, every time we went to school, they already
knew that we got into a situation because it was
just Sowred's.

Speaker 2 (04:51):
Head walking around like this, you know what I'm saying.

Speaker 1 (04:53):
So so, like I said, it was a you know,
it was definitely different man. And and you know we
understood our every circumstances just by seeing what was going on,
you know, seeing how the struggle was to pay Bill
see how the struggle was to to to you know,
not have all the fancy close everybody else had, and
they made sure to let us know, like listen, man,
you know you know what I mean, everything's on us.

Speaker 2 (05:16):
Y'all got to make sure to.

Speaker 1 (05:19):
Try to walk a street line, you know, so we
can try to make a better life for ourselves.

Speaker 2 (05:23):
So was y'all? Was it not?

Speaker 3 (05:25):
Not not your parents with your siblings though, because you
got your siblings like what four?

Speaker 2 (05:31):
I mean I grew up with four or five? But
were y'all close? Yeah? That was a close knit family. Yeah,
we're very close, very close.

Speaker 3 (05:39):
Like I just talked to Steven Ate Smith a couple
of days ago, and when you read his book Straight Shooter,
like like that's how his family was. Yeah, like when
he started tripping, you had big brown and yeah, big sister.
Yeah you know, even as as an adult, stuff is
happening while you being that's was y'all like that?

Speaker 2 (05:56):
Yeah for sure?

Speaker 1 (05:56):
Because like I said, you know, our parents let us
know and we're able to see it around the environment,
Like our situation was different with.

Speaker 2 (06:03):
Haitian immigrant kids.

Speaker 1 (06:05):
We're the first generation, you know what I mean, Like
we all we got you know what I mean. You
guys are seeing everything else that is going around and
seeing this.

Speaker 2 (06:13):
We are all we got.

Speaker 1 (06:14):
We got to try to make the best of our situation.
And plus everybody in the house. Man, everybody, Like I said,
we're working. Who was who was the other fighters in
the house? Everybody?

Speaker 2 (06:23):
Everybody? Pops, I mean both of.

Speaker 1 (06:26):
The sisters, Cleveland, what Cleveland was doing State and National
wrestling champion karate when he was younger, You know.

Speaker 2 (06:35):
What I'm saying. So I was the only boxing the family.

Speaker 1 (06:37):
Everybody else, you know, my Pops, I mean just like
growing up, I used to get in trouble. I was
the trouble maker that in the house. Yeah, we gotta
talk about that. We're gonna talk about that man off
the truble makers.

Speaker 2 (06:46):
So that is how you.

Speaker 3 (06:47):
Presented when you was at the Nationals. You come in there, smile.
You worked at a jewelry store.

Speaker 2 (06:54):
I couldn't mess up, you know what I mean? Like,
how does that look? You know what I mean?

Speaker 1 (06:58):
Like I said, with these Haitian immigrants parents that I
knew the story. I know the situation that they had
to go through to get here and not have the
opportunity to go out to nationals.

Speaker 2 (07:07):
Do this, do that. I can't better not get a call.
I can't mess that up.

Speaker 1 (07:11):
I for to go smile, fight, do what I gotta do.
I'm coming back home and act up, you know what
I'm saying. But I can't mess up the protecial situation.

Speaker 2 (07:18):
Not the family name.

Speaker 1 (07:19):
I can't do it because we're very big, very very
very big on respect, especially when it comes to the
family name. Don't embarrass us, don't embarrass us, don't let
anything happen. To know, they got to mess upon the situation.

Speaker 3 (07:33):
You're raising your kids like that, even though they're younger.
You start trying to implement that.

Speaker 2 (07:37):
You know. We had a conversation about this few days ago.

Speaker 1 (07:40):
I think with me it was it was, you know,
something that's just in my system, you know when it
comes to that. You know, I got a chance to
grow up, you know.

Speaker 2 (07:49):
Seeing you know what I mean.

Speaker 1 (07:51):
It wasn't just you know, like I said, my parents
just I mean just yelling at me and telling me
things I was see I was in see hard work,
I see my mom, you know what I mean, getting up,
you know, five o'clock in the morning every day. Yeah,
make sure you'll school close, right, make sure, this is right.
Take it off the work, same thing on my pops,
you know what I mean? All right, y'all, nobody to
head the work, don't make no crazy noise. Just walk

(08:13):
to school, make sure to lock the door, and make
sure able to walk back home. And don't cause no trouble.
We're gonna get in trouble. We're gonna call the police.

Speaker 2 (08:21):
Offers. So that was that, you know what I mean.

Speaker 1 (08:23):
So I got a chance to see that hard work,
you know, I mean, ethic day and day.

Speaker 2 (08:27):
Out with my mom's because of my pops.

Speaker 1 (08:30):
Of course he's training because he was a gym owner, right,
he's a gym on.

Speaker 2 (08:34):
I still got that. Yeah, we still got it now,
you know. But just him.

Speaker 1 (08:37):
Preparing for his fights over in Japan and other situations
like that. So I got a chance to just see
it on a regular basis. So that's the only thing
that we knew. Now, help me out, bro, what's up?

Speaker 2 (08:47):
Help me out?

Speaker 3 (08:48):
Like I told you a few minutes ago, Like the
guy that I saw you the Nationals, the USA Boxing
training camps and all that. Man, he was a good,
wholesome young man, you know, smiled a lot, you know,
just coming in with that gold chain. You know, you're
feeling yourself when you're coming to you know, you pull up,
you know, confident. But then I start, you know, later

(09:11):
in life, you start kind of sharing some of these stories. Man,
and I'm like, wait, I'm trying to I'm trying to
reconcile what I know from what you're telling me.

Speaker 2 (09:19):
So whatever you comfortable? Shit? Like what's that that the
burdo that was a trouble maker? Who is that person?
Because I don't know it. Yeah, I was a little different, man,
I was a little different. I wanted to you know.

Speaker 1 (09:33):
It took a while, and you know, I mean I
still even now, I'm still trying to you know what
i mean.

Speaker 2 (09:37):
God is still working on me.

Speaker 1 (09:38):
I'm still trying to rent a lot of it out,
you know what I'm saying. You know, you know I
had something in me, you know what I mean. I
grew up with a chip on my shoulder. Like I said,
I was a troublemaker, you know what I mean, getting
kicked out of the leg I mean getting kicked out
of you know, schools here left and right, you know,
got arrested. Yeah, I think my senior no, no, my
freshman year of high school.

Speaker 2 (10:00):
Believe when you told me that.

Speaker 1 (10:01):
Yeah, man, just you know, like I said, we just
kept on the wraps. But but just kept just getting
at it.

Speaker 2 (10:06):
Man.

Speaker 1 (10:07):
I think I think a lot of that definitely came
from just me just seeing my dad as well, just
seeing him being such a big, uh like authority figure
in our community. When it came to him, you know,
everybody looked at him as boss, you know what I mean.
They know he didn't play no games. They didn't know
what he was with you all the time, you know

(10:28):
what I'm saying. And I was a kid that wanted
that type of respect, you know what I'm saying. I
wanted that respect from him, and I wanted that type
of respect from everybody else, you know what I mean.

Speaker 2 (10:39):
I knew that I was uh.

Speaker 1 (10:41):
I knew I had the aggression to prove my point,
you know, whenever I needed to, and and and you know,
it just continued to go. But when I was out
in public, when I was out at these tournaments, when
I was out, it was still in the back of
my head like, all right, cool, I can't mess this up.
I gotta try to make sure presentable enough for the family,

(11:01):
for the family name. But back home, I'm smacking.

Speaker 2 (11:05):
He went scared of your daddy. That's the crazy thing
about it. Man.

Speaker 1 (11:10):
My brothers and sisters used to look at me crazy,
like why you keep getting in trouble knowing this dude
about to beat you up and you go home?

Speaker 2 (11:18):
You know it got to a point brouh.

Speaker 1 (11:21):
No, My principal used to be scared to call my
dad to come to this because they already knew because
he had this aura about it, Like when he showed up,
do you know what I mean, he's leaving, he's leaving work,
and they know that he about to come in, eyes red,
he looking at me, and he'll say it right in
front of him Like he was that type of guy,

(11:41):
like like the principal or teacher talk.

Speaker 2 (11:44):
He'd be like, well, didn't y'all get home. When I
get you home, I'm going to kill you. Come on,
you know what I mean. Oh, he'll slap me right
in front of you know what I mean? He might die.
So he had that type of aura. Say, everybody was
always a little nervous, But what's wrong with you, bro?
If your daddy?

Speaker 1 (12:01):
Your daddy fight for a living and he got a gym,
he trained all the time, I seen younger pictures of
your dad. Even when your dad was older, your dad
was still yeah, yeah, he was still yoked you up.

Speaker 2 (12:10):
Yeah, it was still what's wrong with you?

Speaker 1 (12:11):
Bro? I mean it was the principal bro, if anybody
wanted to try to disrespect me, you know, growing.

Speaker 2 (12:16):
Up, I had to. I had I had to show something.
I had to. I had I had to do it.
I had to do it.

Speaker 1 (12:21):
Got to a point that my reputation, you know, you know,
like I say, it was, that's just what it was.
But some of these stories, even as you got older,
that's crazy. Some of these stories, even as you got older.

Speaker 2 (12:34):
But they so wild. I had to. I had to.
I had to call Julie. I said, Julie, have you
ever heard of it? She was like, no, I haven't
heard this crazy. Yeah. Even as you got older, though, Bro, Yeah,
it kind of got crazy. Bro. I'm gonna leave it
right there. Man, Now, it kind of got crazy, bro,
you know.

Speaker 1 (12:53):
I you know, when it came with the fame and
the money, definitely get definitely put a little bit of
you know, gas on it, you.

Speaker 2 (13:02):
Know as well.

Speaker 1 (13:03):
And I think I think people, you know, like I said,
it's very easy to get put in the position of
you know, okay, he's just a boxer. And the type
of streets that I was running in and the type
of you know, circles that I were in.

Speaker 2 (13:17):
You know, in la in Atlanta, in New York.

Speaker 1 (13:21):
Uh, you know sometimes you know there look at you
just oh yeah, let's do it.

Speaker 2 (13:25):
That box.

Speaker 1 (13:25):
Oh yeah here, you know, I mean just a boxer.
All right, all right, you know what I mean. So
that was just always my mentality at the same time.
All right, so you ain't appreciate that, all right, you
know what I'm saying. I mean, yeah, box but all right,
don't get it twisted. And some people had to make
some examples of so you know, it turned out.

Speaker 2 (13:43):
Man, you live in two lies. Brother, It's crazy.

Speaker 3 (13:45):
Bro, I'm still fact checking, by the way, I'm I'm
still tapping in checking. I got kids nowadays, I'm cool with.

Speaker 2 (13:53):
Brother.

Speaker 3 (13:53):
Take me back though, to you know, the amateur days,
like you training, you're doing all of this stuff, but
like when did the amateur stuff really take off?

Speaker 2 (13:59):
And he was like, oh I can do this. Yeah,
you know, I believe it's early in my amateur career.

Speaker 1 (14:04):
Man, you know, just being from pok Counties, being from
a small town, and and and and just really you know,
going to these tournaments and you know, really out here
just standing out, you know what I mean, Like, you know,
after I started winning all these state tournaments, you know,
national tournaments, you know, regional tournaments. You know, I was
that guy that everybody always looked at him Florida, you
know what I mean, when the Florida team came to Nationals.

Speaker 2 (14:26):
They knew our they knew our situation was trash.

Speaker 1 (14:30):
But it was that one kid. It got that got,
that one little black little boy.

Speaker 2 (14:36):
He can he can he over his smashes, you know
what I mean.

Speaker 1 (14:39):
So so I think that really made me, you know,
stand out for the rest and uh and I ended up,
you know, I ended up.

Speaker 2 (14:45):
You know, I understanding the situation. Uh.

Speaker 1 (14:47):
And I have other guys that are around me at
the time that Jeff Lacy's the Winkie Rights, you know
back then. Yeah, like even back then, you know what
I mean, they used to they used to see me
because I because I just made so much noise, you know,
I mean in Florida, because I was really just I
was just knocking everybody out. So you know, you know,
I'm a man, wi you know Jeff, you know, Roy

(15:08):
used to come down and check me out, and you know,
they was like, oh yeah, this kid gonna be the
next one out of Florida.

Speaker 3 (15:13):
So man, I think the first time I seen you
was probably the Junior Olympics. I don't remember you at
the I don't remember you at the Silver Gloves in Lenexus.
I only went these Silver Gloves one time, Okay, so yeah,
I don't remember you at the Silver Club. The first
time I seen you at the Junior Olympics and Mark
kV Mist.

Speaker 2 (15:32):
I think I was at forty seven.

Speaker 1 (15:34):
Yeah, you had fifty fifty to you below, so he
was even heavier than me.

Speaker 3 (15:38):
But my first time it was forty seven. We got
a little couple of rounds there. So once you once
you did after the national you got the World camp. Yes,
we got a little couple of rounds around that.

Speaker 2 (15:50):
Yeah. I had to go ahead put my hands with
these camps. Man.

Speaker 1 (15:56):
You know, we had one thing I remember though that boy, Yeah,
you feel like you had rocks in yoglood.

Speaker 2 (16:03):
Yeah he he, I ain't in here with that. That's
one thing I remember was the speed and the power. Yeah, speeding,
the power.

Speaker 3 (16:11):
I think we only had like two round because they
swap you in and out and get different looks.

Speaker 2 (16:15):
But yeah, I had uh had power was real yeah,
powers real real. Yeah.

Speaker 3 (16:21):
And but some of that stuff though, you know, you
you credit that to your father with the work and
a lot of that stuff just natural that he built
on top of.

Speaker 2 (16:28):
I think a lot of it was nastural.

Speaker 1 (16:30):
But but at the same time, you know, uh, you
know what I mean, I think it was definitely the work,
you know what I mean, all the work that I
hated growing up, and just him at the same time, uh,
you know.

Speaker 2 (16:40):
Never really giving me that.

Speaker 1 (16:42):
Approval growing up. It was he didn't no, no, it
was just like make sure to work. So my thing
growing up was I always tried to prove myself to
him as well. So you know, you know, I mean
just me training for these tournaments. We literally was training
for these tournaments. It's like I was getting ready to
for a championship.

Speaker 2 (17:01):
Fights.

Speaker 1 (17:02):
Early in the morning, five six in the morning, before school,
we running sprints and he behind me with the car
vosseling down. Yeah, he cracking me, you know what I mean,
He hitting me with the car.

Speaker 2 (17:12):
Bro Like no booo, he hitting me with the car
and he ain't caring, you know what I'm saying.

Speaker 1 (17:17):
So, you know what I mean. So I had to
stay on it. And like I said, he put in
the time you know with me. You I mean, like
in a way that I couldn't, you know, let him down,
you know what I mean. And I wanted to show
him that I was superior. At the same time, all right, cool,
you're gonna make me do this, all right, I'm sure
I can do that too. All right, you gotta do this,

(17:39):
you gotta do that. It was a lot of just
me just trying to prove myself to him. And even
when I used to go to these tournaments and win,
He's to come back. Oh yeah, that's cool, all right, good,
all right, make sure I see the jumda marw you know,
make sure here's his junder mar.

Speaker 2 (17:53):
So it was never that. That's how my daddy was,
you know what I'm saying. It wasn't never that, you
know what I mean. That was just our household.

Speaker 3 (17:58):
To me a couple of days and we right back
to it quick, right back to it quick.

Speaker 2 (18:02):
So uh, you know what I mean.

Speaker 1 (18:04):
That was the house man, that was the mindset, and
and that's the only thing I knew is to go
out there and work hard and like go out there
and put on the show and come back home and
brain pop that trophy, you know what I mean?

Speaker 2 (18:14):
And and yeah that's what it was. But with every one.

Speaker 1 (18:17):
Of those, it was like all right, cool, and I
look what I did, you know what i mean, really
kind of trying to you know, reach for that you know,
for that uh you know, for that acceptance.

Speaker 2 (18:27):
You know what I'm saying.

Speaker 3 (18:27):
No, it's crazy because like some of the stuff that
you know, my dad verge, you know, your father's stuff
like that, the stuff that made us. Yeah, like like
not celebrating too long over your victories, yeah.

Speaker 2 (18:38):
You know, putting it behind your stuff.

Speaker 3 (18:40):
It's like that stuff can help you and make you,
but it's also it also kind of messed you up
in life, Like I don't really like even to this day,
I don't celebrate me well yeah either, I don't really
like you know what I'm saying, Like, like it worked
in the ring and with the boxing stuff, and in life,
some of the stuff that work in that ring in
life it kind of throws you off, you know why.

Speaker 2 (18:58):
You don't why, I don't know.

Speaker 3 (18:59):
That's just because you've been It's been like that since
I've been a kid. So it's interesting with that stuff. Man,
even as I'm getting older, Like the stuff that I'm
working on today that work in a boxing environment and
in life, it's crazy you can't.

Speaker 1 (19:12):
Yeah, I mean even me and my wife now, like yeah,
I mean it's one thing we've boup here.

Speaker 2 (19:17):
It's about because everything she does, she thinks she needs to.
You know what I'm saying.

Speaker 1 (19:23):
She thinks everything that she does or accomplish, you know
what i mean, I'm.

Speaker 2 (19:29):
Like, all right, that's the first step. You gotta keep.

Speaker 1 (19:31):
Going, man, I mean you kind of keep your foot
on the pedal not But that's just not what she
came from, you know what I'm saying. She and Daddy's girl,
you know what i mean, she got So it's crazy, man.
I think it just depends on the kid too, right,
because I've seen a lot of kids just growing up
that have parents that were tough on them and that
and that definitely uh, you know, putting that type of
pressure on them, and they didn't like it. They didn't

(19:53):
like it and made them fold, you know what I'm saying.
They just they kind of just like stayed away from it,
where they really kind of really it separated.

Speaker 2 (20:01):
Themselves as well. But some of us.

Speaker 1 (20:03):
You gotta pit bull lead, you know what I'm saying.
Sometimes you like that resistance and you're gonna show.

Speaker 3 (20:08):
But you gotta we got like again, like I'm learning, man,
you gotta you gotta get help with that stuff, and
you gotta tain that stuff because that.

Speaker 2 (20:15):
That lock in that ride, ride and focus and.

Speaker 1 (20:17):
Then then that competitiveness. You can't bring that into marriage
every day. You can't bring that with your kid, like
it's time. I'm good people with my kid like chill
man to you, I'm compete with my friends and something.

Speaker 3 (20:29):
It's like my competition level is different than it's crazy,
So I gotta I gotta real myself back in. But
a lot of time, I think that's why we see
entertainers and athletes it's tough after That's the fact as
they get older or when they retire, because like you
bringing all of that into this, these people ain't ready
for that. That's good for the stage, for the ring,
for the field, but on the other hand, but it

(20:50):
can't work for you too.

Speaker 1 (20:51):
But if you manage your That's what I'm saying. But
on the other hand, which I tell a lot of
you know, athletes or even just entrepreneurs, right, A lot
of them they come in, you know, they pay me
to come speak to me, I said, the teams and
things of that nature, because they want to know their
championship mind They want to.

Speaker 2 (21:08):
Know their workers.

Speaker 1 (21:09):
They know how to make money, but they need that
dog getting at the same time. So when it comes
to us athletes, you know, I say all the time,
I'm like, listen, bro, like you got to take that
same mentality and just put it in there.

Speaker 2 (21:21):
You just competing in different stage.

Speaker 1 (21:22):
That's it. I mean the same thing and put that
work in, put that mindset I mean the same you
know what I mean, like the mindset.

Speaker 2 (21:29):
Preparation to work the same thing. You just got to
go out there and do you got to change the mission.
You just gotta change the mission.

Speaker 3 (21:35):
Still, I'm still who I am to a point, you
know what I'm saying. I'm evolving, but I still got
that thing in me. But it's just the mission is
the mission is there.

Speaker 2 (21:41):
You know, I got the.

Speaker 1 (21:42):
Different now different arena now, so take that there, you
know what I'm saying.

Speaker 2 (21:46):
But like I said, that.

Speaker 3 (21:48):
Were in the process of going through right now, Man,
that's a fact. It take me to two thousand and three,
two thousand and four, man, why Mike fiersh?

Speaker 2 (21:57):
Why mc fist Cleveland?

Speaker 1 (21:59):
You know how he built like Tommy hern But the
boy was smooth and buy any left hand.

Speaker 2 (22:04):
Yeah, and y'all rumbling man, and he giving you the blues.

Speaker 1 (22:07):
Bro because you thought this dude won't stop moving. And
then take me to Tunic and Mississippi in two thousand
and three oh four?

Speaker 2 (22:17):
Was it? It was? I think it was like oh
three o three oh four.

Speaker 3 (22:20):
We got our researcher in the US, A boxing representative
was Tunica, Mississippi, oh three or four.

Speaker 2 (22:26):
It was earlier for to the Olympic trocks.

Speaker 1 (22:29):
First time I ever seen cotton in my life on California.
We don't see I'm going through we driving to the
to the to where the fights. I'm looking like, what
is that that's cotton?

Speaker 2 (22:38):
Huh? Yeah? Tunica wasn't it? Tunica wasn't it? It wasn't
it was?

Speaker 3 (22:42):
But you man, you had a you know, and I
was a pivotal moment for you as your as yr,
as your Olympic run was starting and your amateur career
was end.

Speaker 2 (22:49):
There what happened at Tunica. That changed everything for you man, Tunica, Mississippi.
That was crazy was that the first night, the first night,
first night we get.

Speaker 1 (23:00):
To Tunico, Mississippi. You know the Olympic trials. Of course,
you know, you know me, I'm a warm Wick Fairce
and we used to always exchange uh you know, ranking
number one, ranking number two for the last few years.
You know, he beat me. I think he beat me
twice already. I never I never got a chance to
beat him. Like I said, the kid was six one
sixty two South Paul bucks and nasty, you know what

(23:21):
I'm saying. But for this particular you know, training camp,
I was fortunate enough. Uh my boy Winkie, he brought
me into camp when he was getting ready to fight Yo,
Shane Mosley, So you know, he knew I had to speed,
he had the power, and I was.

Speaker 2 (23:38):
I was his number one guy for the camp. So
it was out there Houston with.

Speaker 1 (23:41):
Jay and I was out there and training camp with
him for like two months, two and a half months.
So I got a chance to see, you know, one
of the best South pauls.

Speaker 2 (23:53):
I got a chance to see that.

Speaker 1 (23:54):
Look every day every day for two or three months bro.

Speaker 2 (23:59):
So you know, I mean I felt I was. I
was just more than prepared. And you know, look, good man,
they showed that fight.

Speaker 1 (24:07):
Man. I got a chance to and went out there
to the trials. And I still remember the first night,
uh you know, when they were doing the drawing, you
know for the brackets, and you know, everybody knew what
time it was. They already knew me and one was
gonna beat those ones. So I still remember them drawing.
They got the one forty fifty two and they called

(24:31):
my name, Andre Burdo. They put me up on the board.
I'm sitting I still remember sitting there with my dad.

Speaker 2 (24:37):
My Pop's right here.

Speaker 1 (24:38):
I'm like, all right, cool, all right, all right, they
do the drawing. He said, wow, why I'm experiencing Why
they putting that up?

Speaker 2 (24:47):
Everybody everybody in the room, like, oh my first night.
I looked at Pops. I said, you got up and
walked you. I got up and walked out. It's about
to go down.

Speaker 1 (25:01):
It's go time, let's go, you know what I mean.
And I just I just locked myself.

Speaker 2 (25:05):
In the room, man.

Speaker 1 (25:06):
And and I just got my mind right. I had
to get my mind right, bright and and you know,
people don't understand the the I say, the tensity that
goes to a lot of pressure, you know, you know
when it comes to this fight game. Man, Uh, you
know all the you know, all the weeks and months
of working out, the anticipation, especially even from your family

(25:27):
that I look into too, you know, especially my situation.

Speaker 2 (25:31):
You know, just like understanding the vibing my people is in.

Speaker 1 (25:33):
And I was that guy that you know, in my heart,
in my mind, I knew I was going to change
the situation.

Speaker 2 (25:38):
But I can't let this dude. I can't let this dude,
you know what I mean.

Speaker 3 (25:42):
I try to derail it from that because at this
point it's over a career, over.

Speaker 2 (25:47):
The trials or whatever. It's over. Yeah, the stakes are high.
It's done deal.

Speaker 1 (25:52):
So so you know, going into that fight, it was
it was you know, I was getting ready to walk in,
but I was so nervous to I still remember my
being behind me.

Speaker 2 (26:01):
He he rubbed my shoulders. Come on, come, you know,
come on, kid, you know it.

Speaker 1 (26:06):
Ha's one thing with Pops man, it's like once he
sees me in almost like a life of death situation,
that's when I see his emotions come on. I love
you son, I left, you know, I mean, stay focused
at home. Never hear it, you know what I'm saying
during train it. Never hear a lot of these.

Speaker 2 (26:23):
Other you know what I mean, like turnament into the other,
never hear it.

Speaker 1 (26:27):
But when he sees me in a situation where the
world is watching and it's almost like a life of
death situation, that's when I see it pour out.

Speaker 2 (26:38):
I'm like, alright, cool.

Speaker 1 (26:39):
So I mean just walking into that fight, man, you know,
I was ready and yeah, look I said, I got
a chance to see that look over and over and
over again. And you know I went at it man,
and and just going into the last round line I remember,
you know, I mean in between rounds they were able
to tell you the score, so I know I was
up at like six seven point.

Speaker 2 (27:00):
I was so happy.

Speaker 1 (27:02):
I said, finally, I'm about to beat this man fining me.

Speaker 2 (27:08):
I'm about the kid, I'm about to beat this man.
We in there, We're getting in the mix. I remember him.
It was like slow motion. He threw straight left. I
rocked back. I hit him with that right hand. Boom.
I see his body go left. But he grabbed me.
He just grabbed on top of me.

Speaker 1 (27:27):
And the only thing in my mind that went was
you ain't getting away this time, bro.

Speaker 2 (27:32):
I can't. I can't let you. I went to shake
him off, me, shaking him off me, and I threw him.

Speaker 1 (27:39):
He fell to the floor, and I remember his old coach.
What's the alf I remember his old coach, Al. I
went to the I went to neutral corner and I'm
seeing one trying to get up, but he looking.

Speaker 2 (27:53):
I see him looking at Al, and IL was like.

Speaker 1 (27:55):
Stay down, stay down, because he was losing.

Speaker 2 (27:59):
Stay down, stay down. Look looked again.

Speaker 1 (28:05):
That boy went to rolling around the cans. Remember I
was rolding around the cams. He just got hit by
a truck, bro. And he stayed down there until they
came out and picked him up in a stretcher. And
I didn't know what was going on. I'm sitting there
looking around. I don't know what's happening. And and like
referee brought me in the middle and he said, yeah,
I'm disqualified, said I threw him down, heart broken.

Speaker 2 (28:29):
Yeah it's broken broken, so I mean.

Speaker 1 (28:34):
And then right after that, after I remember Julie was
trying to go to bat for me, and you know
some other pill process.

Speaker 2 (28:40):
Yeah, yeah, yeah, it was going through the pill process
of it.

Speaker 1 (28:43):
They rewashed the tape and and they reinstated me into
the tournament.

Speaker 2 (28:48):
So I showed up at the waves next day. I
remember that.

Speaker 1 (28:52):
And guess who showed up too from leaving the hospital, showed.

Speaker 2 (28:56):
Him at the showed him a I'm good, now let's go.
So U you know, went through that man and then
he was trying to fight.

Speaker 1 (29:06):
Yeah, he was trying to fight. He was trying to fight.
He said he good, Okay, he got to squalified.

Speaker 2 (29:10):
I'm still in there.

Speaker 1 (29:12):
So you know, went through that, and they were just like, listen,
this is you know, this is a little too crazy.
And we got to put the whole to everything cause
you know, of course, you know Wyan had a big
team with him. You know, the second part of the trial,
they were supposed to be in Cleveland as well.

Speaker 2 (29:27):
Yeah, the box office.

Speaker 1 (29:28):
Yes, and and around that same time, that's when Lebron's
about to get drafted too, so Cleveland was you know
what I mean, they kind of wrapped this whole thing
around the whole Cleveland situation. So uh, you know, they came,
they stopped the tournament until we had to until we
had to do it, like arbitration.

Speaker 2 (29:45):
Yeah, and figure it out.

Speaker 3 (29:46):
So you went through that whole process, man, and they
didn't you know, they ain't reinstate you. So you with
it the whole you know, the Haitian option come in
and whose idea was that?

Speaker 1 (29:57):
You know, actually was Shelly Finkers. You know, we got
out of the oportunit. They stopped the tournament for about
two or three days. Of course everybody else in the
tournament they were highly upset because they wanted to continue
to keep moving. I mean, so we had to go
through arbitration and uh, you know, I still remember just
being in their arbitration room. Then after they made a
verdict that they're just gonna you have both of us out.

Speaker 2 (30:21):
You know, I had a lot of the managers and
promoters there.

Speaker 1 (30:23):
Of course, they were their scarting, I mean they area scouting,
and Shelley fink was, I mean he was standing outside
at the time they're here, his manager and yes, his
name Jeff Lacy, and of course he wanted to sign
me as well, so you know he seen him. He say, hey, man,
what you got dual citizenship for Haiti. I'm like yeah,
and he's like, have you ever thought about you know,

(30:45):
what I mean fighting be Hayden.

Speaker 2 (30:46):
I'm like, I don't think they got no team. Like
it's kind of and they didn't. It's kind of it's
kind of messed up down now. Man, they didn't.

Speaker 1 (30:53):
But uh, but the funny thing about it, man, this
particular year, for the first time, they were trying to
they were trying to take a boxing team to the Olympics.

Speaker 2 (31:02):
So I made the call. My possib made the call
out that way.

Speaker 1 (31:04):
And and you know they were more to happy.

Speaker 2 (31:08):
Oh man, right, comeomb you know what I'm saying, You're
the only one on the team.

Speaker 1 (31:12):
No, but still listen, I made the team or they
put me on the team and we went to Mexico
for the qualifiers, and uh, they had other people from
from like France, Canada or some other guys, some other
Haitian guys that they ended up making the team. The
first day, everybody loses, I'm the only one that made it.

(31:34):
And continue to win, continue to win. Well, I don't
know if you know the situation. You know, they tried
to qualify me at the at the qualifiers too.

Speaker 2 (31:42):
They did. I never heard that story. Yeah, remember that
you do this time?

Speaker 1 (31:47):
No, because because I'm there everybody on the Haitian team
gets wipe the first day. But he's got this one kid.
He knock out the guy from Margantina. He not got
the guy from Columbia. He's knocking out this other guy
and they're like, nah, bro, he ain't he don't fight
for Haiti. We seen him fight on the US team before,

(32:08):
you know what I'm saying, Yeah, yeah, you know, he
ain't it. You know what I'm saying, Like, we got
to see documentation that he has that he has the
Haitian you know what I mean, passport, So we had
to go through the whole situation again.

Speaker 2 (32:20):
Man, So my pops and he called his government friends
out that way. They made me.

Speaker 1 (32:25):
A makeshift you know, birth certificate.

Speaker 2 (32:28):
They made me a make shift.

Speaker 1 (32:29):
Came in after so you know, and they ended up
meeting Vannas in the finals.

Speaker 3 (32:33):
Yeah, that was wild man being in Greece with the Olympic,
the US team and we used to seeing you with us.

Speaker 2 (32:39):
Yeah, and you the.

Speaker 1 (32:40):
Only one that got on y'all did that boy bad
Haitian uniform?

Speaker 2 (32:44):
Like bro, we seen you. Good luck man, head of
your business.

Speaker 1 (32:47):
But it was weird though, But y'all did what happened
because I mean, you know, of course all my boys
on the US team, and I was saying all the
stories y'all talking to him crazy.

Speaker 2 (32:58):
Yeah, supposed to be.

Speaker 1 (33:00):
Here, you know, I mean over here to be a
lot of people loved you, man, and some of the guys, Man,
some of the guys are treating them bad.

Speaker 2 (33:06):
A lot of people loved you. He was. He was
fighting arguing that, you know, you know he was. He
was fighting back. Man, he was trying to.

Speaker 3 (33:13):
But you know, so you you in this situation, bro,
when you lose the first your first night, you think
you lost.

Speaker 1 (33:20):
Nah, I get the dude, but like three standing accounts,
you don't think you lost that.

Speaker 2 (33:24):
I never seen the fight.

Speaker 1 (33:25):
Yeah, no, I fought the Captain France, you know the
guy I fought at that duel when we heard Yeah.

Speaker 2 (33:32):
You know he got me that night. I think I
think he I think he robbed me a few times.

Speaker 1 (33:36):
But for this time, of course, I was ready for him,
you know, like I said, man, I was on here.
You know, I gave him away him like three standing acounts.

Speaker 2 (33:45):
He still won. So yeah, I mean after that, man,
but at that.

Speaker 3 (33:50):
Time, though, you know, people don't know like you mentioned,
Shelley Finkel. Yeah, and the managers and promoters coming to
these national events.

Speaker 2 (33:57):
Yeah, we don't have no it ain't.

Speaker 3 (33:59):
No no regulation where you can't talk to an amateur
fighter like I was at the Nationals and I'll be
talking to camera Duncan that night's Jelly Finkel that night, man,
I saw your win. Congratulations were watching you right, so
they hovering?

Speaker 2 (34:13):
They there? Yeah. So was Lou Debella in Greece with you?

Speaker 1 (34:17):
No, he wasn't in Greece. We had a lot of
conversations before Greece. I had a conversations with a lot
of guys. It was I mean, you know him, Shelley Finkel.

Speaker 2 (34:26):
Did you talk to Gary Shaw? No, I didn't know.
I didn't know anything about that.

Speaker 3 (34:30):
So you ended up signing with lou Debella? Yes, coming
out of the Olympics.

Speaker 1 (34:35):
Yes, because Louke called me right after the games and
he watched the fight.

Speaker 2 (34:39):
But we love you, man, we gotta have you. I
don't care about this amateur points. You got to pro
guy and you got a pro style. You're our guy. Yes,
just come home, you know what I mean, lead this
stuff along.

Speaker 1 (34:50):
I'm my allright, bet, you know what I'm saying, So
I came home and I spoke to everybody, Gary Shaw,
Shelley Finkel, camera, duncan you know, I mean.

Speaker 2 (34:59):
Went to see Lou Day yeah, j and still on
our Hayman. No, I didn't know what was al at.
I don't know. I didn't know nothing.

Speaker 1 (35:08):
About you know, No, I ain't know nothing about our Haman.
I never heard his I never heard his name, didn't
know anything. So I ended up signing with end up
signing with Lou and we did.

Speaker 2 (35:18):
Us cold promotion, you know, with him and Dame Dash. Yeah.

Speaker 3 (35:21):
So say he was doing Broadway boxing, we did Curtis Stevens.

Speaker 1 (35:27):
Was cy and uh that was hot for a minute.
That was like at that time, that was it. We
lived crazy.

Speaker 2 (35:33):
Yeah, that was it. I mean we were fighting at
the Hammerstein Ballroom.

Speaker 1 (35:38):
You know, everybody running around these little cameras doing the interviews,
but we in there, you know, Dame Dash, jay.

Speaker 2 (35:43):
Z's uh you know the jo rules in this little
Hammerstein ballroom.

Speaker 1 (35:48):
You know, Shan Tee, all the little celebrities, you know, me,
Jada and Curtis, you know win that thing, you know,
going in there just knocking all these guys out right
afterwards was putting on big fur coats, you know what
I mean. We're walking out the place. You know, they
opening up, you know what I mean, Like Chiprianni's forest

(36:08):
two three o'clock in the morning.

Speaker 2 (36:09):
You see Dame and Puff.

Speaker 1 (36:11):
Everybody like it was a We was living like rock stars.
The next day, you know what I mean, Chris and
IRV Gotti. They putting them boys on the jet. They
flying over the Vegas the park. Yeah, yeah, you know,
private jet flying out there, you know, flying out in Vegas.
Anything y'all want. Were staying at the Blage, yo, anything
you want, you know what I mean. So it was

(36:31):
it was a lot. We knew how they was getting
down though, because I was beefing with them. I know
you I was beefing way in California. You watch it
everything I see.

Speaker 2 (36:42):
It's like them boys ain't focused right now. They gonna
have their day, so I'm beefing. Look me and Curtis.

Speaker 1 (36:50):
Here you are, Me and Curtis go back we in
three fall time. Yeah, for sure, we got that history.
And I ain't never had no history with with Jade Jen,
but we was in a similar weight class. I was
the gold medalist, so you know, they they looking at me, like,
you know, it's some week and soft about me.

Speaker 2 (37:05):
I'm silverspumed because I remember.

Speaker 3 (37:07):
When I got knocked down earlier in my career, I
didn't hear nothing to do before that. At that time,
boxing talk, yeah was a big So you're on the
website and see what everybody talking about. So when I
got knocked down, they start talking. They start talking like
if he if he hurd, what you think we're gonna.

Speaker 2 (37:24):
Think I'm gonna do. But you know, we watching the
whole time. I'm watching the whole thing. Burt Currs was saying, somebody.

Speaker 1 (37:31):
Yeah, it's different, different pros, you know what I mean.

Speaker 2 (37:35):
We go ahead, I'm clipping it. I'm clipping Burke.

Speaker 1 (37:39):
Yeah, I know. It was a It was a crazy time, man.
But yeah, just like you said, I don't, I don't.
I think I think the lifestyle, you know what I mean,
definitely got him early.

Speaker 2 (37:51):
And you with I mean you with guys.

Speaker 1 (37:53):
Listen, man, you know Chris and my guys still now
that they let him go into death.

Speaker 2 (37:57):
But at the same time, they like they like the homeboys.
They got some fighters. It's almost like you got some
pit bulls.

Speaker 1 (38:08):
You know, my pit bull can beat your pit bull,
you know what I'm saying me.

Speaker 2 (38:11):
So it wasn't really too much of.

Speaker 1 (38:14):
I mean of real determent when it comes to their matchmaking.
It was just like, now we want to throw you
out there, and you know, my guy gonna beat your
guy memory type situations and it ended up catching up
with him.

Speaker 2 (38:25):
Yeah, but they live in like they live in like
rock Star. Yeah.

Speaker 3 (38:28):
You know, I ain't saying every rapper smoking drink, but
they live in like rappers.

Speaker 2 (38:31):
But they athletes though, Yeah, you.

Speaker 1 (38:33):
Feel what I'm saying. So you know you can't sustain that. Yeah,
you can't sit that. Ain't that ain't sustainable.

Speaker 3 (38:41):
As soon as you step that level up, maybe even
the next level, you can get away with it.

Speaker 2 (38:44):
Start getting into that contender stage.

Speaker 3 (38:46):
You got dudes that really know how to fight and
they don't mind gett whipped on for seven eight rounds
just to get that one shot through and they know
you inexperience and you're gonna make a mistake. Now, the
game is different when you gotta stretch them rounds out
and you're hitting something, hitting a fighter and they hit
you back, you know. So that's when stuff started getting
getting different for them.

Speaker 2 (39:04):
When did I come in the picture. At what stage
in your career? Did you first hear about him? On
my first fight? Actually?

Speaker 1 (39:10):
Yeah, my first fight was in Little Rock, Arkansas. Jamaine
Taylor was on the car. I think I was the
cole Man. I think it was he had at that time. Yeah, okay,
they had Jamaine. I believe I was the cod Maine
for that one. I went in there. Of course I
not do it. I'd like to take the third round,
I said, we put on the show. Then on my way, yeah,

(39:31):
to the dressing room, I see some dude just you know,
he just rapping to me.

Speaker 2 (39:36):
You know what I mean, Hey, hey, talk to you?
And he talked to you. Hey, ma, I haten man.
You know. I'm like, what's going on? Who was the dude?
He just they let him in my dressing room. He
just like this, Hey man, I need to one time.
I'm like, who are you talking to? Bro?

Speaker 1 (39:54):
Who was like saying, my man, Sam? You know Sam
Watson like, Bro, I don't know our Hamer. I'm like, man,
y'all give him up, saying I didn't know saying my
first time seeing him, I'm like, I don't know what
y'all got going on, but get.

Speaker 2 (40:07):
Him up out of here.

Speaker 1 (40:08):
They working, man, that's what they get out here, they working.

Speaker 2 (40:12):
So you know, you know he's seen me, you know
what I mean?

Speaker 1 (40:15):
Like I seen him again later you're trying to get
you up out of there.

Speaker 2 (40:20):
And listen, dude talking two fans. You're talking too fans?
Who are you? Was going on? Like they get him
up out of here?

Speaker 1 (40:27):
Brother, I seen him again later on that night, said listen, man,
we can't see Jermaine.

Speaker 2 (40:31):
You know what I mean, But we love you. We
love you.

Speaker 1 (40:33):
Ain't man, l Haymen, I said, he what you're saying, brother,
I don't know you.

Speaker 2 (40:36):
I don't know what's going on. I leave.

Speaker 1 (40:40):
Next morning, I get a mystery call private. Hey y'all
you doing, it's our Hayman.

Speaker 2 (40:51):
I got my number.

Speaker 1 (40:52):
You know what I'm saying. And and you know, we
just had light conversations.

Speaker 2 (40:55):
I called Lou. I called Lou, I said, Lou man,
what's this dude? Hey man? You know he just called me.
Who is he? You know?

Speaker 1 (41:05):
And and you know one thing about it, you know,
Lou went to bat for him quick. Really was like,
hey man, you know he's he's here. I mean, he's
gonna be a he's gonna be a big force in
the game. I think he should consider it because I
used to always think, listen, bro, I don't need no manager.
I believe and I know I'm good enough, you know,
going into the situation, I believe that I was better
than lose whole roster. And I was like, listen, he

(41:27):
said that, No, I'm saying, that's what I believe, you
know what I mean. Like going in and I was like, listen,
all I need to do is get a few fights
on Jermaine's on the cars. They gonna see and they're
gonna put me where I need to be. I don't
need no manager, you know what I'm saying. And it
plus I don't want nobody else trying to take no
money from saying it.

Speaker 2 (41:44):
You know what I'm saying. So so that's how the
situation happened. And you know, Lou kind of went to
bat for him. He just kept calling me.

Speaker 1 (41:52):
Like a lot of people don't know, I spoke to
Al on the phone for a year before I signed
with him.

Speaker 2 (41:56):
You know what I'm saying.

Speaker 1 (41:57):
He was just called me, He'll continue sitting you know,
Sam to the fights. I don't know why, you know
what I'm saying, but we'll have conversations almost every day.

Speaker 2 (42:06):
At the time he was he was with you know,
Jermaine tell he had Jermaine.

Speaker 1 (42:13):
Bernard Force and uh yeah, you know what I mean,
he was in the mix of getting floyed. So everything
that he would do, you know, he will tell me,
He'll let me know, Hey man, we got this right
here about to happen.

Speaker 2 (42:28):
Like just watch y'all.

Speaker 1 (42:29):
I mean it was very much just I mean, just
showing me, you know, his power and just showing me
that everything that he's saying or everything he's telling me
is going to happen. So he will tell me something
and I'll see it on box and talk, see it
on the news. I'm like, man, god man, this dude
is serious for real, Like you know what I mean,
any type of really big moves that was going on.

(42:50):
Of course I can't get too in depth, but but
you know, but but but uh, you know you.

Speaker 2 (43:00):
Know what I mean.

Speaker 1 (43:00):
So he really I mean, I mean, he really showed
me some things within that year. But then again, like
I said, we had a lot of you know, life conversations.
I'm not just boxing but just I mean just life conversations.
And I was able to get really close to him
and understand and just know his family and just know
everything about him, and you know, just everything that he's
said that he was gonna do for me or he

(43:22):
was doing around the boxing game.

Speaker 2 (43:24):
You did it. You know he did, and he was
able to you know what I mean, let me know
and let me see it.

Speaker 3 (43:28):
That's one thing I always respected about you is that
you know, even though you you were still young in business,
you always had good instincts like I ain't just gonna
go for anything.

Speaker 2 (43:36):
Facts like I watch you, I hear what you're saying.

Speaker 1 (43:39):
Let me you know, I'm saying, yeah that Polk County
come out Like, I hear what you're saying.

Speaker 2 (43:43):
But I'm too busy watching what you're doing. Man. So
you know, that's good. That's good to know. And that's
a good lesson for the youngsters out here, man, because.

Speaker 3 (43:50):
It's a lot of fast talkers and sometimes they can
produce for a little while.

Speaker 2 (43:55):
It's very rad that.

Speaker 3 (43:56):
Somebody can talk a good game and keep it going
as long as al did.

Speaker 2 (44:00):
In your life. You know. But y'all got to take
y'all time. Man, When you when these dudes coming up
to you and they flashing money. Even dudes, I want
you to invest in stuff. I got this, I got this.

Speaker 3 (44:10):
Just listen, man, just listen to what they're saying. Just
watch and take your time and time as a revealer,
and you either gonna see over time. No, this is
a good connection.

Speaker 2 (44:17):
I need to do this, or I gotta leave that
dude the loan or I can't get involved in that
bus to see it all the time. So that's a
good thing. Man, y'all, y'all took y'all time. Give me this.
I'm gonna ship gifts for just a high second.

Speaker 3 (44:27):
What's your first and welcome to the pro game moment
where you say, oh, this is different.

Speaker 5 (44:33):
Uh, when I thought David Strata, yeah, I think I
told it. I think I told that story before. Probably
when I thought David Strata before then?

Speaker 3 (44:45):
Was that before the title or after? That was before
the time, right before couple.

Speaker 2 (44:48):
That was like my big you know, one of my
big you know HBO showcases.

Speaker 1 (44:53):
Yeah, he just got off of you know, fighting shame
mods at the time, you know tough, you know what
I mean, like Rugged Cap from you know, from Chicago,
and he fought, like I said, he fought Shane.

Speaker 2 (45:05):
He had a tight fight with Shane and a few others.

Speaker 1 (45:08):
And uh, at the time, I'm just running through everybody.
You know what I'm saying. Make that look easy. I
mean just running through everybody, man. And then and they
finally put me in there with a god David Shorten.
At the time, I don't care about it. I don't
care about.

Speaker 2 (45:21):
None of these cats. You know what I'm saying. I
ain't cared about nobody. They ain't gonna be able to
handle my speeding, my power. I don't care about my power,
speeding my power. I ain't gonna be able to handle
none of that. So so.

Speaker 1 (45:33):
How budgets me thinking, I'm trying to tell you as
soon as I hit him to take that. So so
I've seen a little bit of his tape and listen, bro,
when I was coming up like that, Bro, I wasn't
watching no tape none.

Speaker 2 (45:45):
We watch a little bit.

Speaker 1 (45:47):
If I see somebody, if I see a little bit
of tape and I see how slow off, I see
a combination looking at you. Oh yeah, go ahead, turn off,
make that fight. We go ahead, turn off, turn off.

Speaker 2 (45:59):
I want time. I don't want see it no more.
He now we go boy to eat him. Up up bad. So,
like I said, Dave was one of those guys, I
don't want to see it.

Speaker 1 (46:06):
I want to see him good. We're training to camp
in Miami. And the funny thing about that fight wasn't
yes name was trained at the tame Gym in Miami.
H you know what I mean. That's crazy different times
at different times. Fine, not a little bit later, but uh,
I had a hell of a training camp and uh
you know, of course when that fight with a lot
of confidence, it was my showcase, like on a big show.

(46:28):
I think it was another Jermaine Taylor on the card.
But when I tell you, when I.

Speaker 2 (46:36):
Tell you got bean, what when I tell you the way.

Speaker 1 (46:43):
This boy came out in that first round, he came
out just banging.

Speaker 2 (46:49):
It was no jabs, nothing. He walked straight to me
bing ban ban b mean bee.

Speaker 1 (46:55):
I said, oh oh oh oh, I'm trying to cout it.
But I'm I didn't get warmed up, relaxed like I'm.

Speaker 2 (47:01):
Like, relax like me.

Speaker 1 (47:02):
He coming out fast the first round. I still remember
walking back to the corner. I was like I was
telling him, I said, man, he's trying embarrassment from everybody.

Speaker 2 (47:10):
What's he doing? Yeah. I'm like, yeah, he ain't following
the script.

Speaker 1 (47:15):
You know, he was there trying to put I'm like,
what I mean, all the people with everybody there was
carry on top.

Speaker 2 (47:24):
Carry Davis was there, everybody was out there, you know
what i mean.

Speaker 1 (47:27):
He come out banging me, you know, and and you know,
I was just I was just surprised. And second round,
same thing, come freit at me, bing bing, bing me,
and a crazy.

Speaker 2 (47:35):
Thing about it.

Speaker 1 (47:36):
It's like I'm hitting him with these power shots I
said I had, and the.

Speaker 2 (47:40):
Speed out was anymore. He was bank ban coming right back.

Speaker 1 (47:46):
I was like, okay, okay. So he's pushed me back
to the ropes. He's banging me up and down to
the head, to the body.

Speaker 2 (47:54):
You know what I mean.

Speaker 1 (47:55):
I'm trying to move, I'm trying to shake, I'm trying
to jab and move. He don't care about that. He's
grabbing me. He putshing me to the ropes. He hitting
me on the side of my head, hitting me on
the you know what I mean. I hear my other cuts,
hit me to the body, and I'm like, this is crazy.

Speaker 2 (48:09):
I'm looking it's crazy because I'm not supposed to go.

Speaker 1 (48:15):
I'm looking around like this is crazy, Like what are
you doing?

Speaker 2 (48:19):
You know what I mean?

Speaker 1 (48:19):
He just coming out banging, bruh, and you know, and
just midway to that fight, you know, I really had to.

Speaker 2 (48:28):
And I had to start talking to myself. You know.

Speaker 1 (48:30):
I used to hear guys say about it all the time,
and once you in these certain type fights, you have
to really start talking to yourself. I was in the corner,
bru talking to my something. I was swelling up. Never
seen the twelve before in my life, lips swelling up,
you know what I mean, bleeding, And I had to
talk to myself like Okay, okay, okay, I need to
I need to move around the jab, I need to do.

Speaker 2 (48:49):
This, I need to do that. Tony, please tell me something.
We're going in that boxing bag, like figure this out.

Speaker 1 (48:55):
But tell me something, you know what I mean, what
I need to do, What I need to do, you.

Speaker 2 (48:58):
Know what I mean?

Speaker 1 (48:59):
And you know, and I really just had to make
a choice right then in the middle of that fight, like, Okay,
it's either gonna be It's either gonna be me and him,
you know what I mean. I'm in a situation where
this guy is steady coming and he's banging. He don't
care about who I am. He don't care. They are
all these people in here for me, you know what I mean.

(49:20):
He trying to take me up out of here. So
I had to make a decision, man, and you know,
and you know it was I mean, it was either
just me and him.

Speaker 2 (49:28):
So I had to sit down and had to bite down.
Had to bite down.

Speaker 1 (49:31):
After a while, man, you know, my body went numb
actually from all the you know, the punishment he was
giving me.

Speaker 2 (49:37):
And you know I.

Speaker 1 (49:38):
Caught that second win, like the fifty sixth round and
you know, and all the shots.

Speaker 2 (49:44):
Yeah, my body went on.

Speaker 1 (49:48):
They need to notice the fight game, your body going up,
face numb face swore round or two and yeah around,
I think, turn around, you know what I mean, facing
all too the pro game tomorrow.

Speaker 2 (50:04):
I'm tomorrow body hurting, you know.

Speaker 1 (50:05):
But like I said, at that point, you know a
lot of my shots I was hitting him with started
to break him. And you know, and now I'm starting
to see him wentz here and there.

Speaker 2 (50:15):
So now my mind is changing.

Speaker 1 (50:17):
It's it's you know, it's getting to a point of
like yeah, okay, okay, it's gonna be me and you tonight.

Speaker 2 (50:22):
Banging, banging, banging. Now I want to see.

Speaker 1 (50:25):
Your face change, like my face changing, ban bank bing
bing bank. Then like you know, I mean, I can
you take it? I went to deep waters. You were,
I mean, you were a veteran. You kept saying that
about me. So now you're in the deep wars AT's
co and end up, you know, just breaking him down
and end up you know, knocking him out. I think
it's like I think in like tenth or the eleventh
round and uh, you know that was the first fight

(50:50):
that the just me walking out of during of course,
I was happy, but as soon as I went back
in the dress room, I looked at the mirror. I
didn't even know who that was. I didn't know my
face could do that, you know what I'm saying. And
then I take my cup off. I remember going to
take a piss, you know, look like red kool Aide,

(51:14):
red kool aid. So you know, you know my old
rituals of you know, have to fight time, you know,
going to have the parties having fun tonight, bro I
was I was in that bed. I mean you know,
I was in that tub, that hot water in the room.
I told everybody to go out and do it house.

Speaker 2 (51:32):
In that ringer Off.

Speaker 1 (51:33):
I was in that tub, ring off, leave me alone.
I was in that tub, soaking man, thinking about life.
But I was happy. But that was my real introduction
to the program.

Speaker 2 (51:42):
See a dude like that, that's the toughest. That's one
of the toughest time I was. Ain't.

Speaker 3 (51:45):
Richardond Man one of the greatest box of minds philosophers
I've ever known around, the Philadelphia man, the late I
Zine Richardson, he said.

Speaker 2 (51:53):
This about all of us, our class. He said, the
toughest time for them gonna be right now. On the
way up. You got a David a Strada.

Speaker 1 (52:00):
You got a Roy Ashworth that I thought, Darnelle boone.

Speaker 2 (52:04):
Like this this is their super Bowl. No I'm not.
I'm not a champion yet, but we got a name.

Speaker 3 (52:11):
And if he beat you, if a Strata beat you,
that's another big pay.

Speaker 2 (52:14):
That's pay.

Speaker 1 (52:15):
They probably gonna double a triple from HBO. They for show,
gonna bring up out who's this guy that just beat
off your brother. But it's a tough time because you
on the way up and you're trying to learn how
to be a professional. You're trying to learn how to
carry the weight of being a pro plus you.

Speaker 2 (52:26):
But but you you learning how to fight. Yeah, at
this level, you ain't got time for that.

Speaker 3 (52:30):
To dude, it's there for a purpose and if he
can upset you, everything changes.

Speaker 1 (52:35):
But how did you feel to it that boone fight?
I felt terrible because that was the first time being
on the showcase. Youre twitter shot, of course, but.

Speaker 3 (52:43):
I had been with I got to rock my second fight,
so I went. I went from a four rounded version,
like me fighting four round. He said, man, we fight
a four rounder. If you get a slip and they
called her knock, now you gotta draw.

Speaker 2 (52:55):
He said, you good enough to fight six. I went
to six.

Speaker 3 (52:59):
My my second fight and got here with a week
because you know, I'm still learning how to fight inside,
so i'm i'm, I'm I'm not knowing how to yoke
you up and grab you til the rep get there.
So my i'm you know, I'm slipping off you and stuff,
you know, because you got vasoline on the gloves and stuff.
It's just a different world in the pros. You ain't
got a tank top and all that, so it's just different.
So he snuck one in a uppercut and I got

(53:21):
hurt in that fight, first time ever as a pro.
But the doring that boom thing was different because dude,
I don't, I don't. I never seen the shot, but
it was in the clinch again saying.

Speaker 1 (53:34):
Stop relaxing in the Clinton referee say break all right, Rep,
that's what we're doing the amateurs.

Speaker 2 (53:40):
He say, look at me, and you gotta respect him. Man.
The pro game is cutthroat bing bang all right, Rep.
He looked.

Speaker 3 (53:48):
I can't catch you no other time, but I got
you right now. Brother, Listen, I don't listen. Listen to me, good, Bro,
listen to me good. I don't remember the round was.

Speaker 2 (54:00):
Listen to me. I don't remember getting hit. All I
remember is just getting my.

Speaker 1 (54:06):
Hand raised after and hearing cheers and booze. Man, that's it.

Speaker 3 (54:11):
Then I think I got I think I got dropped
in the I don't know if that was a six
or eight, but I had whatever round it was, I
had two rounds left.

Speaker 2 (54:17):
Bro, I don't know how I got through the rounds.
Listen to me.

Speaker 3 (54:21):
You already know I'm fighting no instinct, bro, straight instink.
God had to be with me that night, because I
don't remember the two rounds that I fought.

Speaker 2 (54:30):
It's twenty twenty five. I still don't remember. I just
remember getting my hair right there. It's like we're like
boo and I'm looking like I won. Why y'all booing?

Speaker 3 (54:42):
And then when I went to the back, it started
kind of coming to me a little bit versus man,
you got here with a shot.

Speaker 2 (54:46):
So how did I feel? No, I didn't feel too hot.
I don't feel you hot because the.

Speaker 1 (54:50):
Way it thinks, I didn't figure you mentally because of
you are, like in the moment after I'm talking about
in the moment and after it is just because just knowing.
Of course the media's situation, isn't it big? I mean,
of course it's not bigger than what it was back then,
but still, you know, all of us within our class,
we've seen it, so you know them phone calls when
it coming.

Speaker 2 (55:10):
And I know you felt that.

Speaker 3 (55:11):
Yeah, yeah, I know. The moment I just did what
was it? What was in me came out the dog.
So in the moment, it wasn't no whole bunch of thinking.

Speaker 1 (55:20):
Like I said, I only remember, I just became who
I was, Like I got bite down. But afterward that
was the first time that I ever got I started
feeling with the media stuff with the box.

Speaker 2 (55:31):
Everybody loved me up until that point.

Speaker 1 (55:32):
Even when I got buzzed the second time.

Speaker 2 (55:34):
It was like, oh what happened right there? But nobody
really liked saying that crazy.

Speaker 3 (55:38):
This was the first time when I went on the internet, man,
and I'm looking at these websites, I'm seeing these people
talk crazy.

Speaker 2 (55:45):
He's not who we thought he was? Could he be
a bus question mark? Quick like?

Speaker 3 (55:48):
It got it got licked quick like I'm talking about
days after. So that right there, man, that messed me
up because you know it's weird too about that fight, bro,
because I had a bad feeling.

Speaker 2 (55:58):
I had a bad feeling about that fight saying he
was doing that to everybody.

Speaker 3 (56:01):
It's crazy, but listen to me, boom he was yes
when we but know the world didn't know that though,
but I knew it though because the HBO they sent
taste seeing two three guys, look at these guys pick one.

Speaker 2 (56:12):
I don't think they gave me a choice for that one.

Speaker 3 (56:15):
And I seen how you fallt and I seen that
his style was gonna give me some trouble because I'm
still young, trying to my defense, a little leaky I'm trying.

Speaker 2 (56:22):
To figure it out.

Speaker 3 (56:24):
But but in Portland though, that whole week, I just
had a bad feeling something's gonna happen. I locked myself
in my room the whole week. I just I just
felt I felt like something was gonna happen.

Speaker 2 (56:34):
And it did.

Speaker 3 (56:35):
I never had that feeling since. But I felt like
even in the locker room right before, like I don't
you got nerves because you feel a fight, But I
had like different type of nerves, like I was getting
ready to experience something.

Speaker 2 (56:45):
Something I knew something was gonna happen. But and it
took me. Bro. I had to that that he ain't
got the chance stuff. I had to wear.

Speaker 3 (56:53):
That that that that dor down Boone fight was probably
four oh five or something like that.

Speaker 2 (56:58):
I had to wear that till like two thousand and eight,
two thousand. Yeah, yeah, it wasn't. It wasn't, but it
but it made me.

Speaker 3 (57:03):
Though, you know, it made me so I didn't like it, man,
But in the moments, whoever you are gonna come out,
that's fair.

Speaker 2 (57:12):
So especially in the moments. Yeah, so afterwards too, Bro.

Speaker 1 (57:16):
One thing with the fight game is we love it.
But when I tell you this fight game it's going
to give you some of your highest highs in life,
and it's gonna give your lowest low really really quick,
really really quick.

Speaker 2 (57:28):
And see what I'm saying.

Speaker 1 (57:29):
So it's a it's a it's a it's a funny
it's a funny type of relationship that we have with
it because we love. Of course we're on top, but
when it goes the other way and the thing they're
just put you in shambles quick.

Speaker 3 (57:43):
No, it's a it's a different world. And I think
that's what fans don't understand. We've been actually dealing with
this type of pressure since we've been youngies. Like you know,
we got local hate in our gyms, people chirping on
he good, he not good? We got you know, if
we lose a national or something, you got even you win,
you got people chirping back home support, but you got hate.
We've been dealing with that since we've been kids. You know, Uh,

(58:05):
when you turn pro, you got family pressure. Plus you're
dealing with media stuff. So like we become who we become.
And it's like people think that like they can say
anything and like move you off your mark. I thought
you lost or you're terrible or how'd you even It's like, brother,
like we've we've been dealing with this, yeah for years,
you know what I'm saying, Yeah, but I think.

Speaker 1 (58:25):
The microscope is bigger. Of course as a pro of course, because.

Speaker 2 (58:28):
No, no, I'm saying even as a pro.

Speaker 3 (58:30):
Yeah, but I'm saying, we get to the highest level
and and and the and the stuff start coming to
negativity start coming. People think that that's the first time
you had to experience that. That's not that We've been
dealing with this as some form my whole life.

Speaker 2 (58:42):
Yeah.

Speaker 3 (58:42):
And the higher you get, the the you know, the
bigger the target. As a fact, but we've been dealing
with this stuff our whole life, man, And that's what
makes athletes and fighters different, you know, because you learn
to deal with that. Like it's like it's like a
it's like a person that's going to a nine to five.
Just think with somebody all day was telling you your suck,
you're terrible, why they hire you.

Speaker 1 (59:03):
You can't even do your job right, And you had
to actually tune that out and do your job every day.
Somebody was just ah ah, that's terrible. Your trip coming
off the elevator, I'll look at you you're clumsy. Think
of somebody was talking crazy to you all day at
your job, but you actually had to still do your
job or else you was on your base. And they're
not seeing all the work we got to put in.
They're not understanding all the sacrifice that we got to
make on a regular basis. But then again, we have

(59:25):
to perform in front of the world, have to perform
in front of the world, which people they wouldn't even
they weren't even there too.

Speaker 2 (59:34):
Get stepping on n take that walk as most people
won't take that one.

Speaker 3 (59:38):
Yeah, so you bro, you got fast tracked. You know,
I believe you got fast. They probably about three and
some change year to to a world title about two
thousand and eight. And at this time Al is locked in.
Y'all locked in? Yeah, so all locked in? And uh
but I wasn't always a ghost man. I see some
of them old fights. I see our Hayman in the crowd. Yeah,

(01:00:00):
I think when did he have tar ready? I think
for that fight. I seen him in the cross. I've
seen him as some fights.

Speaker 1 (01:00:07):
Yeah, No, I mean, I mean you know he used
to do that. He used to do that, Like I said,
the people the ol Haman that everybody know now you know,
of course I got a different experience with him.

Speaker 3 (01:00:18):
But what happened though while he stopped being president to
like be them calling him the.

Speaker 1 (01:00:21):
Ghost because I think I think, you know, with him,
you know, like I say, his name was ringing a little.

Speaker 2 (01:00:27):
Too much, he got too big, what I'm saying, Like
for me, I mean, that's our man. It's like me.

Speaker 1 (01:00:34):
I still remember days when he was just put him
at a house in LA when you sit down and
just talk, you know, for hours, you.

Speaker 2 (01:00:39):
Know what I mean.

Speaker 1 (01:00:40):
And and you know, and of course the same thing
with what you just said. He he used to be
at the fights. He used to be in the season.
If you watch the fight with me and uh you
know me and Victor T's and you know me and
all these other fights, you will see him right there
front row.

Speaker 2 (01:00:53):
You know what I'm saying.

Speaker 1 (01:00:54):
And you know, but it got to a point I
believe that you know, his name started to ring a
little too much.

Speaker 2 (01:01:00):
And and and just one thing with him, you know,
he don't like that.

Speaker 1 (01:01:04):
He don't like all that attention at all at all,
at all, you know what I mean.

Speaker 2 (01:01:08):
Like I used to remember, I used to go to
fights and uh.

Speaker 1 (01:01:12):
And you know he's signed a lot of these fighters,
and you know, some of these fighters never seen him,
never seen them. Like literally, be in the press conference,
you know, after a fight, and he'll walk up to
me and talk to me, you know, be in the
back of the room. He's like, all right, I gotta
make my moves real quick, bing bing bing. He moved around,
talking to whoever you need to talk to, and he
out there side door. I'm I'm sitting there watching it,

(01:01:36):
you know.

Speaker 2 (01:01:36):
But like everybody, Oh, I want to think y'all, ha't
to think they ain't never seen it. He was as
he was, So he'll just sneak out.

Speaker 1 (01:01:43):
Or or if I'm in the front of that hotel
at MGM after a fight and I see him, I'll
see him sneak out, and you know, like somebody else,
you know what I mean, they'll pull up behind.

Speaker 2 (01:01:53):
A cord, you know what I mean, He'll hop in
the back.

Speaker 1 (01:01:55):
He taking off. He going to see his mom, you
know what I mean. Like, that's that was just him. Now,
it's just him.

Speaker 2 (01:02:00):
Man.

Speaker 1 (01:02:00):
I always just wanted to stay discreet. And you know
he's always tell me too.

Speaker 2 (01:02:06):
Man.

Speaker 1 (01:02:06):
You know, you get in trouble once you you get
in trouble, wants too much attention, get.

Speaker 2 (01:02:10):
Over here, you know what I mean. So he just
like playing the back man.

Speaker 3 (01:02:13):
You had your first defense against steviee fors I was dead.
I was a big night, you know for a world champion.
You followed that up with a war with Louis Calazzo,
and then you came back and beat Win rang Up,
who wasn't no joke. And you know you had a
lot of buzz man around that fight. You had the
champ sponsorship. This had put you in a position man

(01:02:34):
for a megafight YEP against the future Hall of Famer
Shane Mosley in twenty and ten.

Speaker 2 (01:02:41):
But January twelve, Man, eight days.

Speaker 3 (01:02:42):
Before the fight, you know, it's a catastrophic earthquake in
your homeland, your family's homeland of Haiti. You canceled the
fight eight days before to go help with with with
the rescue relief and the disaster relief.

Speaker 2 (01:02:56):
Who made that decision? How did that decision get made?
Cancel that?

Speaker 1 (01:03:00):
You know it was uh, you know, it was a
tough decision too, because at the same time, you know,
I'm about to make the ultra leap to superstar me
crazy money, crazy money. Uh, you know, fighting a guy.
You know that, I mean that I idolized even at the time.
You know, Shane Molds is one of my favorite fighters,
and you know, just being able to to uh, to

(01:03:22):
be in the same breath as him, and and and
just us just standing there face to face, you know,
just even me going back home looking in those.

Speaker 2 (01:03:30):
Pictures, I was like, ah, that's crazy, I'm about to
fight shame, you know.

Speaker 1 (01:03:33):
But we were in training camp, and of course, you know,
everybody's been following my career for a while. I'm always
you know, gave back, you know, back home and Haiti.
You know, I had had the time, you know, three
orphanages that I used to take care of and I
opened up I don't know about like fifty I mean
water wells and things of that nature.

Speaker 2 (01:03:54):
So so, you.

Speaker 1 (01:03:57):
Know, just preparing for that fight, you had a tremendous
training camp, and of course their story happens, and and
it was just something that I just couldn't you know,
I just couldn't ignore m you know what I mean.
I mean, of course, you know, millions of people died,
But of course, at the same time, I'm getting calls

(01:04:18):
from a.

Speaker 2 (01:04:18):
Lot of the kids. I mean that I take care
of him.

Speaker 1 (01:04:21):
These orphanages gone, you know what I mean, These kids
are dead, the orphanages, they smashed. A lot of the
schools that we took care of, bought computers and things
like that.

Speaker 2 (01:04:31):
Kids dead, you know what I mean.

Speaker 1 (01:04:33):
And and and and it was hard, you know, coming
to train every day and seeing this on the news
every day every day.

Speaker 2 (01:04:43):
And my parents, you know what I mean.

Speaker 1 (01:04:45):
I I mean they were walking up and they were
coming up at the same time at my house just
letting me know, like certain family members are gone, certain
family members are missing, you know what I mean.

Speaker 2 (01:04:55):
So it was a situation that.

Speaker 1 (01:04:58):
Just me just with integrity that I have, you know what
I mean, for the culture you know over in Haiti,
and just the pride that I have within myself. At
the same time, I mean, it was bigger than boxing
at the time it was, I mean, it was bigger
than boxing.

Speaker 2 (01:05:12):
So did your parents want you to cancel or did
they want you to fight? And then go over there
after the fight? I mean, like I say, it was tough. Man.

Speaker 1 (01:05:18):
They would come and sit on my couch, man, and
I just see tears in their eyes, you know what
I mean. So it was like they didn't have to
tell me nothing, you know what I mean, just being
who I am, and I knew what I.

Speaker 2 (01:05:28):
Had to do. You understand what I'm saying. I mean,
I believe you know that just holds weight.

Speaker 1 (01:05:36):
Just for like the love and integrity that I have
for my family and for our nation at the same time.
So you know, I mean, we made the call and
I called out, Yeah, he understood, and I say, it
was hard to ignore. It's hard for me to go
to train each and every day just seeing this, like say,
on the news is just the hearing.

Speaker 2 (01:05:56):
I mean every other day the.

Speaker 1 (01:05:58):
Different family members are missing, different family members they found it.
So you know, I just didn't feel it was right,
you know what I mean for me to do. So yeah,
I probably could have did it and you know, just
probably just shine a little bit more light on the situation.

Speaker 2 (01:06:12):
But I don't know, man.

Speaker 1 (01:06:13):
I just I just I just didn't, you know, I
didn't want to do anything just for my personal gain
at the same time.

Speaker 2 (01:06:20):
And see what I'm saying, country hurt.

Speaker 1 (01:06:21):
Yeah, So so you know, like so we made the call,
I said, we cancel the fight, and and you know,
I had a great friend you know, wasn't named doctor
Barth Green you down in Miami. You know, he was
taking you know, private jets, you know, back and forth
to Haiti bringing supplies. I said, I gave him a
call and he was like, come on. So me and
my brother was strapped up. We packed our bags up,

(01:06:44):
and you know, it was on that first plane smoking.

Speaker 3 (01:06:46):
What was you feeling when you when you first touched
down and had you what did that feel like?

Speaker 1 (01:06:49):
I mean, it was uh, I mean it was like
a scene out of a movie, you know what I mean,
getting to the area.

Speaker 2 (01:07:01):
And and and just.

Speaker 1 (01:07:04):
And just small and smoke everywhere from from just all
the buildings that that crashed. And he was one of
the first ones down that way. He had these big,
you know, makeshift tents of just patience. He was bringing
in the team were going out in the streets, they
dragging people out there. You know what I'm saying, They

(01:07:25):
bringing them in to treat them. And everything was so raw,
andy done cut. So I'm seeing everything, I'm seeing their bodies,
I'm seeing people with arms off, I'm saying, and these
doctors they have to try to work on these people
just like that. They didn't have any Interstiegee at the
time because it was fresh and you know, I'm seeing
babies getting buried, I'm seeing I'm just seeing all this

(01:07:49):
just up close and personal. And you know, like me
and my brother had to have a little conversation like listen, man,
whatever we see me walking to this tent.

Speaker 2 (01:07:56):
We gotta you know, we gotta be strong for them.

Speaker 1 (01:07:59):
So, you know, like I said, man and doctor barth Green,
like I said, it was so intense that he was
giving the doctors that came out to fly there three
days at the minimum, and then and then they had
to leave because it was too it was too heavy, uh,
you know, just mentally for them to see that man.
And you know, you know, we got a chance to

(01:08:22):
help a lot of people. But I've seen a lot
of death and a lot of death and the most
you know, I mean, like the like everything about that
trip that continues to still stick with me. When I
I said, when I think about it is like the Knights,
where I would leave the camp and just walk the
streets just to get some I mean, I just have

(01:08:45):
some alone time, you know, just walking those streets and
seeing all.

Speaker 2 (01:08:50):
Those buildings smash.

Speaker 1 (01:08:52):
But you can hear everybody you know, crying and screaming
to try to get somebody, help get out. They were
still under still in the still under the rubb. I
would hear it walking through the streets. It was like
it was such a crazy eerie you know, feeling to
walk you know, I mean in this I mean in

(01:09:14):
this path of it seemed just like a bomb headed
but just hearing everybody scrimming for help and you couldn't
get to them, you.

Speaker 2 (01:09:22):
Know what I'm saying. So that really stuck with me. Man.

Speaker 1 (01:09:24):
It was it was you know, it was tough, man,
but we got a chance to put a lot of
people out that we could. I seen kids, you know,
get pulled out and watch their parents die, you know
what I mean, in the house and they would just
sit there and just be in a daze. Two three
days later they'll end up, I don't know, just dying
from shock. Yes, that was a tough all over there.

(01:09:46):
We's overder for probably like five days, SuDS and we
we had to get up out of there.

Speaker 4 (01:09:51):
Man.

Speaker 1 (01:09:52):
We It was it was a lot, you know, it
was intense. It was intense. See all that when you
got back, was it was it? Any talk about y'all
trying to reschedule that because yeah, we had some talks,
but but uh, you know, like I said, I was
just like, man, you know that was you know, I
want to make sure you all right, you know what
I mean? And uh, and I think Floyd ended up

(01:10:13):
sneaking in that situation, you know what I mean.

Speaker 2 (01:10:16):
Yeah, him and Shane end up you know, working somebody.

Speaker 1 (01:10:18):
Of course Shane was yeah, he understood the situation, but
at the same time, you still weren't fight, you know
what I'm saying. He been in camp for the last
four every three four months, so they ended up, you know,
working out a situation for having Floyd.

Speaker 3 (01:10:30):
So yeah, man, that's the worst feeling in the world
for a fighter who you know, spent money in training camp.
You've been punishing your body doing what you do and
you're waiting on that check.

Speaker 2 (01:10:42):
I need that need and then you don't get it.
It's terrible, terrible, terrible feeling. This gets you.

Speaker 3 (01:10:48):
You know, you don't fight Shane that you fight in
twenty eleven, Man, you fight Victor Ortiz. This is the
first time you really really face some rough waters in
the pro game, like the Strata.

Speaker 2 (01:10:58):
You had some moments. This is the real, real, time
you go.

Speaker 3 (01:11:01):
Down and a round one he go down, and around two
y'all both go down, and around six.

Speaker 2 (01:11:05):
Walk me through that fight.

Speaker 1 (01:11:06):
Crazy, Yeah, A lot to happen in that fight. Man,
did you ask you?

Speaker 2 (01:11:10):
Did you prepare it? Right? Though?

Speaker 1 (01:11:11):
No, bro, I was a young cat man, that was.
I had a lot of pride in ego. And you
will tell you what sh is. I had a lot
of pride ego at the time too, man. And yeah,
I didn't want to fight Victori t. I didn't know
who he was.

Speaker 2 (01:11:26):
He didn't want to fight No.

Speaker 1 (01:11:27):
I mean I was supposed to be lining up to
fight Floyd. Oh yeah, yeah, yeah, all lined up to
fight Floyd next. I'm like, you know what I mean,
that's the fight I want. And and they been hearing me,
you know what I mean, knocking on the door for
the last couple of months.

Speaker 2 (01:11:41):
And at that time, you know, I'm wilding a little bit.

Speaker 1 (01:11:43):
I'm living down in Atlanta, you know what I'm saying,
I'm getting it in and and and you know, wilding
a lot of bit.

Speaker 2 (01:11:48):
But go ahead, yeah, yes, go yeah. But but you
know they called me for the fight. I'm like this,
what's up with this?

Speaker 1 (01:11:56):
Floyd situation, like, I mean, I don't know Victori T
what we doing, and you know, and of course he
talked to me and say, listen, you get over this
Vic gir Tea situation and this Floyd situations next. But
I'm I'm already hot, I'm already bad. I'm over in Atlanta.
I'm having a good time party. I don't know vic
goor Teas. The last thing I seen about Vic goor

(01:12:17):
T's he fought, uh yeah, Marcles, m Donna and y'a
seen my Donna almost kill him.

Speaker 2 (01:12:23):
Man, Ah, I ain't got a train for this, you
know what I mean. I ain't got a train for this.

Speaker 1 (01:12:32):
Oh you know, I'm out the hey man, I get
the camp probably six weeks out. Mm, six weeks out,
you know what I mean? You know, But that's one
thing with me though, you know, every time T I
mean camp time, you know what I mean, comes, we
get to work cause the only thing we know, so
we get into it. But the thing that killed me
for that fight, which of course not too many people

(01:12:54):
even know. But we are sitting watching No Needle, you know,
No Nino do in there.

Speaker 2 (01:13:01):
He's getting ready to fight Big Dutcheon. Big Yeah. I
think so big. And we see him work with it
the content.

Speaker 1 (01:13:08):
So we see in the preparation, and we see him
using the machine like it's hot, like hypoxia machine that's
supposed to simulate your high alter tool making.

Speaker 2 (01:13:19):
Durrance more this and that. We're already always in great shape.

Speaker 1 (01:13:22):
But but like I said, we're always trying to look
for that edge. And and we seen him. We said,
oh man, this looks dope. Let's get one. Me and
my brother at the camp. I was yet, let's get one.
So we found out the company never.

Speaker 2 (01:13:35):
Really had it, wasn't rented one end. Didn't know what
we were doing. You over did it.

Speaker 1 (01:13:41):
We didn't know what we were doing, didn't know how
to work it. We just seen him with a mask
on their face.

Speaker 2 (01:13:46):
And you can work for him.

Speaker 1 (01:13:48):
You can work for the high altitude situation. All right, cool,
it makes sense. We don't need nobody.

Speaker 2 (01:13:54):
We're good. Are you breakfast in the morning? After it?

Speaker 1 (01:13:59):
Put on my face? Sit down there, I go training.
If I'm not spawning, I'm punching the bags.

Speaker 2 (01:14:07):
Put it on the face. We got the machine. My
brother got the machine.

Speaker 1 (01:14:10):
Just following me around the gym, and I'm you know
what I mean just I mean I said, I'm wearing
it for like twenty thirty minutes straight, and uh, you know,
but as we continue to get closer to the fight,
you know what I mean, I'm just I'm just feeling
just tired all the time. And I still remember, you know,
probably like two weeks, you know, they just are leading

(01:14:32):
up to the fight. You know, I got it on
my face again before breakfast, and I just remember my.

Speaker 2 (01:14:38):
Brother, you know, I mean, waking me up. Hey, man,
and what's going on? You good? I'm like, what are
you talking about?

Speaker 1 (01:14:45):
You're like, man, you almost you're almost in you know,
I mean, like you almost, you know what I mean.

Speaker 2 (01:14:49):
I went to sleep and just passed. I I'm like, really,
He's like, man, I don't think we should use this
no more.

Speaker 1 (01:14:54):
I think, you know, I mean, it's almost fight time,
you know what I mean, Like, you know, probably should
stop using it now.

Speaker 2 (01:14:59):
I'm like, all right, I take it off. I take
it off. But the damage has already been.

Speaker 1 (01:15:04):
Done, you know what I mean, Like two weeks leading
up to the fight. Every damn train, I feel so tired.
I'm sparring. I can barely go three rounds. Spawn we
don't know what's going on. But Tony's like, listen, man,
you know, maybe it's the way cut, but we know
that every time those lights come on, you for form.

(01:15:24):
So they don't worry about it, you know what I'm saying.
But I'm feeling crazy. I mean, I'm telling them and
you know, I'm spawn. I'm just I'm just I'm just
feeling weeks.

Speaker 2 (01:15:34):
But I'm like, ah, yeah, you might be right. So
like I said, go fight time, I'm fueling up. But
I just know something's up.

Speaker 5 (01:15:40):
Man.

Speaker 1 (01:15:40):
It just didn't It just didn't feel right. It's my
first time feeling so extremely nervous. I ain't feeling that.
You felt what done their boom?

Speaker 2 (01:15:48):
That was me. I was feeling crazy.

Speaker 1 (01:15:50):
I still remember sitting down in the hotel praying like,
I don't know what's happening.

Speaker 2 (01:15:54):
I don't know what's going on, but just get.

Speaker 1 (01:15:57):
Me past the night and you know, we get ready man.

Speaker 2 (01:16:01):
And in it, I'm.

Speaker 1 (01:16:05):
Praying, I'm trying to find a way, Please God, Please
God get me through this one.

Speaker 2 (01:16:10):
We get out there, man, and and and you.

Speaker 1 (01:16:13):
Know, and somewhere in Connecticut, somewhere in them somewhere in
the woods. I don't think nothing about it. I'm getting
ready to walk out. I look to the right. I'm
already nervous cause I don't know how my body gonna react.

Speaker 2 (01:16:26):
You. I mean, I walk out. I look to my right.
I see Floyd, I see fifty cent. I see this person.
That person. I'm like, damn doing well. I'm like dad,
they out here scouting.

Speaker 1 (01:16:39):
I said, ah, Man, I walk in that ring. Man,
I see yeah, I teld her. I look across, man,
I see Victor or Tease. I see this boy bouncing.
I see him bouncing across the ring, look like a
rabbit dog broh, huge, big sweating, just looking like he
just looked like he had just killer in his eyes.

Speaker 2 (01:17:01):
Coming from I'm like, damn coming for you. So you know,
I mean, I mean, I mean we got to buckle down.
I'm looking to this side.

Speaker 1 (01:17:11):
I'm seeing he and Floyd looking like, yeah, we're gonna
see what you're about, you know, getting floated with mines.

Speaker 2 (01:17:20):
I'm seeing if it. Tea's over there looking like he's
more than ready. I'm like, god, dog man.

Speaker 1 (01:17:25):
So, I mean everything that people seeing during that fight,
even though now you know, people say it's classic, I
hated it for forever, but but everything that people seeing
that and now that fight, that was your straight instinct,
straight and snak.

Speaker 2 (01:17:40):
I was tired of the second round.

Speaker 1 (01:17:41):
They never seen me just lay on the ropes as
much as I did that fight. My legs was, everything
was gone.

Speaker 2 (01:17:47):
I didn't know what was going on in my body.
Everything was going.

Speaker 1 (01:17:51):
It was straight straight instink man, straight instinate.

Speaker 2 (01:17:55):
What you're thinking when you go down in that first round?

Speaker 1 (01:17:58):
You know, I really just went down just out of
the pace, you know what I mean, because like I said,
I was nervous coming in. I didn't know what was
going on. He came straight at me, boom. I'm like,
that wasn't really hurt. I just went down, all right, man,
that slow this thing down, Like I need to get
myself together. And you know what you're thinking when you
clip him second round? He thought, I cook the second around.
I said, all right, here we go, let's go.

Speaker 2 (01:18:19):
Then let's go to fight, just not starting.

Speaker 1 (01:18:21):
Let's go, yes, sir, I said, all right, bet you know,
but still, like I say, in between all of that,
you can see that I was still, you know, very tired.
I'm still just laying against the ropes, my legs and everything.
But you know, when I clip him.

Speaker 2 (01:18:36):
You know, I feel like, all right, the fight just started.
But the second knockdown, I still don't know.

Speaker 1 (01:18:44):
I still don't know, you know what I mean, how
he got up from that, bro, Because the way I
turned on that right hand and I clipped him, and
I seen his eyes rolling back of his head and
and damn slobber coming out of his mouth. It's no
way he was supposed to get up in that punch's

(01:19:05):
I cracked him.

Speaker 2 (01:19:07):
He fell down. I said this over. Everybody went crazy.
I said, thank you God. When I seen him get up.

Speaker 1 (01:19:15):
And wipe his face like nothing happened and came back,
I said, God, he's still strong.

Speaker 2 (01:19:21):
He was still strong. He came straight back at me. Bro.

Speaker 1 (01:19:24):
He came straight at me, but I was and I
was like, okay, cool, and he's up. I can't let
him off the hook. I said, I gotta finish it
now because my body ain't right. I have to try
to finish it. I came straight at him. Man, I'm banging.
I'm banging. I'm banging. I'm trying to clip him, trying
to clip him, you know what I mean.

Speaker 2 (01:19:43):
I'm touching. I'm trying to catch him with that good.

Speaker 1 (01:19:45):
One by the time, you know, he goes around the
ring a few times with me punching him.

Speaker 2 (01:19:51):
I'm dumb. My body is spent.

Speaker 1 (01:19:53):
So he hit me with that left hook, then he
hit me with that second one. My body just collapsed.
It didn't hurt my body, just.

Speaker 2 (01:20:00):
Uh, I was done. My body was it was, it was,
it was.

Speaker 1 (01:20:04):
My body was just so spent, man, because I came
in with way less than a half tank and that
was and just me expense and.

Speaker 2 (01:20:11):
That I was done.

Speaker 3 (01:20:12):
Yeah, y'all both went down in the sixth round. Yeah,
and yeah, you know you end up losing that fight, man. Yeah,
after that fight, you go to the hospital. No, you
go to the hospital.

Speaker 2 (01:20:22):
Now, I didn't go to the hospital. I didn't. I
didn't think.

Speaker 1 (01:20:26):
You know, it was a tough fight, man, but you know,
but I feel still don't feel like I took you know,
too much of punishment, to be honest, you know what
I'm saying. I got hit with a few shots, but
a lot of them suffers. You know, it was you know,
it was blocked as well. You know, I was. I
was just so hurt by, man. I was just so
hurt by and and you know, like during the time
of that lead up and just even just my Pride

(01:20:48):
fights beforehand. You know, I will always try to gain
the attention, you know, from the masters.

Speaker 2 (01:20:55):
You know what I mean.

Speaker 1 (01:20:56):
You will see me all the time I'm on I'm
on Twitter at the time I'm on and then I'm
in like the hip hop magazines.

Speaker 2 (01:21:02):
I'm at every party, I'm at every event. I'm passing
out DVDs. I got my team passing out DVDs.

Speaker 1 (01:21:08):
I had a big I had a big band that
was rapped with my whole situation on there. It was
promotional promotion. I need everybody to know who I am.
Everybody know that I'm coming. Everybody know I'm the next superstar.

Speaker 2 (01:21:22):
But in that moment, you ain't want to be known
like that.

Speaker 1 (01:21:25):
In that moment when that happened, I remember walking to
the airport, you know, walking through the airport with my
family man and and and and and you know, having
a hoodie over my head. I felt like everybody in
the world seen and me get beat that night. You
know what I'm saying, Every celebrity that I got in

(01:21:46):
contact with, every person that that I loved, that I
wanted ye know me and like for me to you know,
show that attention.

Speaker 2 (01:21:53):
I feel like everybody seeing it, bruh. And I just
wanted to I just wanted to hide from the world,
you know what I mean. I went back home.

Speaker 1 (01:22:01):
You know, it was on ESPN, it was on a newspaper,
you know what I mean, family calling. I wanted to
disappear from everything. But I just wanted just to pain
and stop. Like that was my first time, you know
that I was in a situation mentally that that I

(01:22:21):
didn't care if I hopped in the car and drove
and drove the cross the bridge.

Speaker 2 (01:22:28):
Just the silence at all, you know what I mean.
And and and he you.

Speaker 1 (01:22:33):
Know that was that was a tough time for me,
especially for me to to want so much of that
neediness from the world. But now, you know, getting so
much of the criticism and hate from the world. And
and and like I said, I just wanted just to disappear, man,
you know what I'm saying. So you know, in that time,

(01:22:56):
you know, I wanted to think about a place that
nobody will know me. And I got my brother and
my two three cousins and we flew to Balley and
I stayed there.

Speaker 2 (01:23:05):
For like three Balley with the like as far as
I can go. I don't want nobody know my name,
nobody know my face.

Speaker 1 (01:23:12):
I just need some time, man, So you you don't
waste no time.

Speaker 3 (01:23:16):
You don't waste no time. Two fights later, you fought
Robert Guarrel. Now you fight another tough fight, man. For
Garril's from kind of where I'm from. You know, I'm
from northeas from central another south fall.

Speaker 1 (01:23:26):
Yeah, did you know him going into this fight? No,
I didn't know too much about him, you know. But still,
even in that time, bro, I was I was still
trying to I was still you.

Speaker 2 (01:23:37):
Know, working, you know, with things with confidence. You know.

Speaker 1 (01:23:40):
It wasn't really I mean, like I said, it definitely
got shaken because even a little bit after that and
I got the call from you bit to CONTI. And
it's funny because, like I said, I didn't know him
at the time, but I guess he knew that I
got the machine and I told him, you know what
I did, and he was like, oh my god. First thing,
oh my god, oh my god, you need to go

(01:24:02):
get a blood test right now.

Speaker 2 (01:24:03):
Oh my god. We got a blood test done. Man.
I damaged my kidney's really bad. Damaged my liver pretty bad.

Speaker 1 (01:24:11):
You know, I totally you know stripped, you know, my
body from you know, like any type of like like
the iron that was in my body at the time.
And I had to go to the hospital, to go
to the hospital and get all that stuff checked.

Speaker 2 (01:24:25):
Man, And so was you right before the girl fight?

Speaker 4 (01:24:29):
Nah?

Speaker 2 (01:24:29):
That was not still one.

Speaker 1 (01:24:30):
Right, no, because it was it was it was a
building process to try to heal all of that, heal
the kidneys, heal the liver, just try to rebuild my blood,
you know, I mean, like the iron in my.

Speaker 2 (01:24:41):
Blood at the same time.

Speaker 1 (01:24:43):
So at this time, you know, as a fighter with
all this confidence, now you get that confidence, sugar. So
now I'm trying to find solutions to fix this. I
need to fix this. I need to fix this. So
you know, during the girl fight, you know, I go vegan.
You know what I'm saying, my first this time my life. Okay,
I need to try to fix this. I need to

(01:25:03):
try to fix that, you know. Okay, cool, I'm just
gonna eat this. I'm just I need to put all
the iron back. I need to heal my body. And
it's like, you know, you can't be in a space
where you're trying to test things out, especially.

Speaker 2 (01:25:16):
When you're in the line of fire like that.

Speaker 5 (01:25:17):
Man.

Speaker 1 (01:25:17):
So I'm so I go Vegan, I'm trying to fix
the problems, you know, and I find myself okay, ye,
I got a lot of energy.

Speaker 2 (01:25:25):
But the bite isn't there, that bite down, you know
what I'm saying.

Speaker 1 (01:25:28):
Bite ain't damn looking real lean, looking like my muscles
I mean, like I mean, deteriorating. So you know, I'm
in a position, man, I'm you know, I'm trying to
build that confidence.

Speaker 2 (01:25:38):
I'm trying to really you know, remember you know who
I am.

Speaker 1 (01:25:44):
You know who I am, you know what I'm saying,
and you know, and you know, I mean that was
a tough time for me really trying to figure it out.
But but going through the process, I mean in front
of the world with them not knowing what's happening.

Speaker 2 (01:25:56):
They just seeing me, They're seeing me getting clipped now
like this who we thought he was? Man? His kid
was this? And that just the superstar man? What happened?

Speaker 1 (01:26:06):
I mean, I'm trying to go through the process of
healing my body. I'm trying to go through the process
of still trying to you know, just walk back into
that lions then where I got embarrassed to try to,
you know, regain that confidence back.

Speaker 2 (01:26:21):
So you know, I mean, you know, I understand it. Bro.

Speaker 1 (01:26:24):
It's like when I see you know, people like Deontay Waters,
when I see when I see like the ron Na
Rousey's I see all of these people once they go through,
you know, that first loss. You know, especially the real
confident ones, once they go through their first loss, it's
it's a battle within yourself. I'm really trying to find
out who you are. Nothing change you. Still, you still

(01:26:46):
got the skills, you still.

Speaker 2 (01:26:48):
Got all it, but you gotta find it. But you
gotta find it.

Speaker 3 (01:26:51):
So you know, at this point, man, you come up
with an ArtCamp, you train Withverge, and you have been
through some stuff. Now you got the scars to prove
you've been through the emergency room.

Speaker 2 (01:27:00):
You didn't. You didn't you didn't took.

Speaker 3 (01:27:01):
The lass, so you didn't see how the dark I
call it the dark side of the game where everybody
really don't love me. The suits, the you know, the
people at HBO, whoever you fighting for, they they start
moving a little bit different because they this about business,
it's about ratings, it's about numbers for them and the talent.

Speaker 2 (01:27:18):
So if you start slipping, we ain't got will be
here a little bit, but we ain't.

Speaker 3 (01:27:20):
Got time to really hold your hand like that. Were
you thinking about your health at this point in time,
because you'd have been through like back to back to
back moments. What was you thinking about, man, I gotta
be careful to retirement ever. Coming to question, did your
parents bring something up?

Speaker 2 (01:27:32):
Yeah, of course, man, I mean I definitely thought about it.

Speaker 1 (01:27:34):
Uh you know, I think I think like I said, man,
it was it was really me just trying to find
myself again. You didn't know whether you want to retire,
keep going to what Yeah, I mean like I said,
I mean I believe I still had the fire in me,
but like I said, had to find myself in their
confidence and with me, I'm hard hitded.

Speaker 2 (01:27:54):
Some people will just see, I mean, run away from it.

Speaker 1 (01:27:57):
But I'm like, all right, well, you know I need
to hop back in that fire again.

Speaker 2 (01:28:03):
I need to.

Speaker 1 (01:28:04):
I need to I need to know within myself, which
I always did know you mean, who I am, And
sometimes you gotta I'm hot back in that fire and
you might get hit by that truck again. But it's
the only way you're gonna get through it. On the
other side of that, you gotta show up.

Speaker 2 (01:28:20):
Gotta show up. You can't keep running away from the
battles just showing up.

Speaker 1 (01:28:23):
Yeah, I mean, you can't keep running away from it.
I mean your whole life, understand. So that's just how
it was.

Speaker 2 (01:28:28):
Man.

Speaker 1 (01:28:28):
I was hard hitting with it. You know, I know
I can put it into work, but I had to.
But I had to find you know what I mean
that Andre Birdo again.

Speaker 2 (01:28:37):
Man.

Speaker 1 (01:28:38):
So that's why, like I said, you know, me and
Tony parted because I felt that, you know, I've always been,
you know, very talented, but but some skills I had
to try to put in place. And and you know,
I didn't really trust too many people. And of course
I know, I mean your verge for since we kids.
So yeah, I went ahead and made that switch up.

(01:28:58):
And and you know the crazy thing about that is, man,
which which.

Speaker 2 (01:29:03):
I think a lot of people need to know.

Speaker 1 (01:29:05):
And hear right, you know, I believe you know, I mean,
coaches have their seasons too. You see what Freddie roach,
he had his rids. Everybody running to Freddy, everybody running Freddie.
Get that, you know, I mean, I mean, I had worked.
You see, you see Verge, you know, I mean had
his stint and a lot of fighters went out that way.
Uh uh, you see Earl Spence coach the same thing.

(01:29:25):
But I think one thing that a lot of people
don't consider, especially with Verge at the time. You know,
you know, I showed up, you know, you know, I
mean after showed up, American showed up a few other
guys because to be honest, I mean, I can be

(01:29:46):
honest and be candid. Now you know, we we showed
up as I mean, I mean, I broken fighters, you
know what.

Speaker 2 (01:29:54):
I mean, And and and.

Speaker 1 (01:29:56):
And we had to get that confidence again, you know,
but we we're not supposed to lose who we are.
And I think when you get into a position when
you're looking for a different coach, like how we went
with Verge, you know, Verge how to completely you know
what I mean, like like a different style of.

Speaker 2 (01:30:12):
What we're used to.

Speaker 1 (01:30:14):
And when you're trying to fix something, we try to
we try to take all of it in at one time,
and we try to implement everything at one time.

Speaker 2 (01:30:24):
So once it's fight time, you are really not who
you know who you are. You don't fight like this.

Speaker 1 (01:30:31):
I'm gonna try to because yeah, I see andre Ward
final like this, I see this this person fight like this.
They said this is the right way to do it,
and you lose yourself. Same thing happening to appenue. Ain't
thing having to miss sain't thing happened to me, and
you might, I said, my first fight back because you're
trying to implement all these new things because you want
to want to get fixed.

Speaker 2 (01:30:50):
You want to fix it.

Speaker 1 (01:30:51):
You want to fix it, and you know, and that's
one thing that you know what I mean that Verge
us to say that.

Speaker 2 (01:30:57):
Verges tell me.

Speaker 1 (01:30:58):
You're just like man bro listen, like remember you know
how to fight, Remember who you are already, you know.

Speaker 2 (01:31:06):
What I mean.

Speaker 1 (01:31:06):
You need to go back and watch your amateur fights.
You need to go back and watch your first you know,
twenty twenty five, you know, pro fights. You know what
I mean, It's still there and to see what I'm saying,
So of course we can implement this, this, this, this,
but be who you are and you see what I'm saying.
But I think you know, I mean, that happens a
lot when you see a lot of you know, fighters

(01:31:27):
that go through some type of trauma trauma.

Speaker 2 (01:31:29):
Yeah, and they go to try to get fixed.

Speaker 1 (01:31:32):
They want to fix it now, and it's going to
throw them off to a sense.

Speaker 2 (01:31:36):
So you know what I mean. That's one thing that
I had to I had to learn.

Speaker 1 (01:31:40):
I had to see, especially when my first fight come
with Verge and of course you're not.

Speaker 2 (01:31:45):
Going to fix everything in one camp. And see what
I'm saying.

Speaker 1 (01:31:48):
So so you know, I say, man, this fight game
this yeah, I mean this fight game as wild.

Speaker 2 (01:31:53):
But you need to you don't need to to.

Speaker 1 (01:31:57):
Go away so far from what brought you. You see
what I'm saying. What I learned from him.

Speaker 3 (01:32:03):
You know, I've never been beat as a as a pro,
but I've had a lot of rough moments.

Speaker 2 (01:32:08):
Yeah.

Speaker 3 (01:32:08):
Sometimes people don't know the rough moments because I poker
face it or we don't let it out. But you know,
you ain't gonna get you you Boxing is a bunch
of landmines.

Speaker 2 (01:32:16):
It's not if you're gonna step on one is win.

Speaker 3 (01:32:18):
And how many you know, so we've had I've done
a lot of He used to work on my my
my psyche and my mind even.

Speaker 2 (01:32:23):
As a kid. But even seeing y'all rebuilding, I learned
that from him. You know that it's not about giving
him ten ten new things.

Speaker 3 (01:32:32):
Like you said, like, we gotta first we gotta be
real about what happened.

Speaker 2 (01:32:36):
Facts.

Speaker 3 (01:32:37):
Yeah, that's the first thing, you know, Verge is like that,
hold on, nah, this is what happened. Then we gotta
figure out, Okay, what did you do something wrong? Was
you ready in camp? Can we can we point to
something like that? We gotta be real about what happened?
How did you prepare? And then and then I got
to take them one or two things to bring you
up here, But then most of my time is.

Speaker 2 (01:32:56):
Reminding you of who you are. Whether listen, you didn't
get here by not knowing how to fight.

Speaker 1 (01:33:02):
Hold On, Just because you got here with that shot
and you went down, don't mean you can't take a punt.

Speaker 2 (01:33:05):
You gotta be able to get this.

Speaker 3 (01:33:06):
And if you got a fighter that got a good
mind and they got an engine, they'll take most of
that stuff and they'll be able to rise up out
of that heat and do what they need to do. Man,
I want to jump to Floyd real quick. You know
you and Floyda been rumored for years.

Speaker 1 (01:33:19):
Right, but y'all had y'all had cross paths la Miami,
different places.

Speaker 2 (01:33:24):
Bruh.

Speaker 3 (01:33:25):
You know you got a lot of Floyd Mayweather stories
and y'all just being in the vicinity of each other,
having having mutual people being at the same parties. And
what was his vibe around you? What was your vibe
around him? Was he looking at you like.

Speaker 2 (01:33:39):
The little homie I think Floyd?

Speaker 1 (01:33:42):
You know the funny thing about me and Floyd. I
know Floyd's Open sixteen when I won the when I
want to, I want to go to qualifiers in Vegas
and I want to Golden boy.

Speaker 2 (01:33:52):
That's why I fought Tim Bradley. I'll be Tim Bradley
in the finals. Floyd was there.

Speaker 1 (01:33:56):
I guess I don't know if he was a scout
and I guess what's what it was. But everybody that
want and they wanted to take out. He want to
take out for death.

Speaker 2 (01:34:02):
Y'all come with me? Come on, yeah, So you know, hey,
hey man, you know, come on man. You know I'm
going to dinner with man. So you know, you know
what's Floyd?

Speaker 1 (01:34:11):
So we you know, we're young kids. We want to
go and uh we don't want to go. Try to
enjoy Floyd. Come out in the valet, hey man, get
a yeah, get the wrong rud get in it.

Speaker 2 (01:34:20):
Amen, you but then you don't want you to ride
with me. So I'm in the back of Floyd. You
know what I mean.

Speaker 1 (01:34:26):
We go to the steakhouse. Ain't know Floyd, Me and Floyd. Man,
you know, he ain't around the back room. All the kids,
you know, all the other fighters. They and I'm sitting
right over there. I'm sitting right over man. You know
him he can't sit down.

Speaker 2 (01:34:39):
Yeah, yep, yeah, you know what I mean. He got
all the other guys. Yeah, Champ, yeah, Champ, yeah, Champ. Yeah.
You know, I don't want this about four or five times?
What's my record? How much chump is I beat? I be?
Oh yeah, I want this about three point time. Floyd.
We got you. We got you down, Floyd. We've been
watching you for a long time. Floor we can im

(01:35:00):
take you know what I'm saying, Floyd gonna give it
to you. You know. I just brought the new Rolls
Roy Side. Yeah you know, oh yeah, that's mine.

Speaker 1 (01:35:05):
That's my This cast a life fifty, this cause a
life fifty, This coust a life fifty, Life fifty.

Speaker 2 (01:35:12):
So you know, so I'm in that big so you know,
I can.

Speaker 1 (01:35:14):
I mean, of course I enjoyed the night, but uh
uh after I turned pro, you know what I mean,
you know, for some reason, man, I mean, I mean
I said I was just I was the type that
I guess I just, I mean, you know, just end
up being in certain situations where a lot of celebrities, Yeah,
you kind of a start, you know what I mean,

(01:35:35):
the rock you're a celebrity man rocking with me?

Speaker 2 (01:35:38):
Heavy man, you know what I'm saying.

Speaker 1 (01:35:40):
I was in the mix up a lot of you know,
just known celebrities. Man. They yeah, mean they definitely, uh
definitely was.

Speaker 2 (01:35:46):
Drawn to me.

Speaker 1 (01:35:48):
And and and you know, I think I was doing
a lot of big things very soon that he didn't expect,
you know what I'm saying. So I was in a
lot of parties. I'm next to a lot of you know,
big people. I'm with Lebron, I'm with j I'm a
dangn know what I mean, early in my career everywhere,
and these he'll see like burning up.

Speaker 2 (01:36:07):
Yeah, so y'all all be in the same room all
the time, all the time, you know what I mean.

Speaker 1 (01:36:11):
We used to be at certain parties and you know,
he'll send somebody he this is somebody come in. Uh uh,
you know, come holler at me. Hey man, you know,
Champ want you to come up to his table and
see him. Now, you know, tell a Champ man, I'm
good man, I'm feeling me. I got my own situation
going on over h I'm good man, you know what
I mean.

Speaker 2 (01:36:27):
Tell me I appreciate it. Though, you know what I'm saying.
That he'll see it. He be like really.

Speaker 1 (01:36:31):
Okay, or the one hundred bottles be looking like this.

Speaker 2 (01:36:35):
Make sure I see him like I see the hip
mannig thing. You know what I mean. But I I'm good.
I'm knowing my thing over here. So you know, we
used to always just run into each other and a
lot of God leave man, a lot of crazy situations.

Speaker 1 (01:36:48):
Man, if it was you know, if it was females,
if it was if it was you know, people that
he was beefing with that I was cool with. Now
I met the t I's the nellis you know what
I mean, All these guys with my guys and you know, yeah,
they don't have situations, and it will be all in
the same city at times, and yeah, we got some

(01:37:08):
crazy stories when comes a lot of those, but uh,
you know, was.

Speaker 3 (01:37:12):
You around him at all around when you're in the
rumors start getting real thick about y'all fighting, you know,
But when you lived in l A and you was older,
and you was like, man, you know, yeah, you know,
you know, I mean, but he never really you know,
every time I seen him, you know, I mean, it
wasn't never.

Speaker 2 (01:37:31):
No static to be honest, you know what I'm saying.

Speaker 1 (01:37:34):
And you know, I mean, like I said, we knew
so many of the same people as well, so.

Speaker 2 (01:37:39):
You know that's why I kind of knew it. Like
I don't Floyd.

Speaker 1 (01:37:42):
I ain't no Floyd, and you said that a lot,
so you know, in a build up of y'all fight,
I don't know him. So it's like it's just like
I've never was in a situation for Floyd nervous just
because I know you, like you see the type of
people I'm around. You see how you know a lot
of my guys that get down as well. You see
a lot of people that you respect that were affect
me even on the street level, even on you know

(01:38:03):
what I mean and different other situations.

Speaker 2 (01:38:05):
You understand what I'm saying.

Speaker 1 (01:38:07):
So you know, like if I I mean, like if
I'm in La. I'm throwing a big I'm throwing a
big party. Yeah, I mean I think it was uh
you know also weekend. You know it was so big,
it was so crazy. Every celebrity that he can think
about was up in there. And then he popped up
in there.

Speaker 2 (01:38:22):
You know what I'm saying, Who doing this? Uh no?
This me brouh oh this yeah. Man, So it's crazy.
I mean, coming a little over here, fab over here,
the man. You know, maybe we need to do something
like this in Vegas.

Speaker 1 (01:38:36):
And you know what I mean, he just seeing a
young cat with all his motion. You understand what I'm saying.
So it's one thing that either he that he respected
or he was threatened by a little bit.

Speaker 2 (01:38:45):
You know what I'm saying.

Speaker 1 (01:38:46):
I think so because like I said, he used to
always try to get close to me. But I always
was you know, I always had a mindset with like, nah,
I want what you got.

Speaker 2 (01:38:55):
You see what I'm saying. You cool? You know what
I'm saying, You cool? But I want that. You know
what I'm saying. I wasn't never in one of these
kids they just want to get Yeah, No.

Speaker 1 (01:39:06):
I didn't do that. You know what I'm saying I
never did. And I think that's one thing that used
to frustrate them a little bit, Like, bro, like I'm
trying to bring you in, but I wasn't.

Speaker 2 (01:39:13):
I wasn't. I wasn't doing that. Like we was cool.

Speaker 1 (01:39:16):
Every time I see you, every time we kick d
we was cool. You know what I'm saying, Like I'll
rock with you. But that's where it's going to stand.
Like I'm I'm finna try to build my own situation.

Speaker 2 (01:39:27):
So man, y'all finally did fight.

Speaker 3 (01:39:29):
And you know, it was the negotiations hard because you know,
Floyd in a strong position, so.

Speaker 2 (01:39:33):
He could take everything and give you a little bit. Man,
Was it like that? Nah, it was.

Speaker 3 (01:39:38):
I was in a tough situation though. I was in
a tough situation though you don't think so.

Speaker 2 (01:39:44):
A lot of people think you our baby, like.

Speaker 3 (01:39:46):
You one of the first ones, and he gonna always
take care of birth. But then Floyd was as massive
as he was, So how you split?

Speaker 2 (01:39:52):
How you do that? You know?

Speaker 1 (01:39:53):
I mean, I mean one thing I was always gonna
you know, he got a little tit. I mean he
got a big little tita out of Florid as well. Yeah,
because they made so much money together. But you know,
I mean the funny. I mean, it's funny how he
can say whatever he want to say.

Speaker 2 (01:40:09):
You know what I'm saying.

Speaker 1 (01:40:09):
It's funny how that you know, how the fight got you.
I mean it kind of it kind of came about.
But they have the they had to pack you on
Floyd fight. We all go up there, you know, I
mean we checked the fight out, you know, good situation,
and and then.

Speaker 2 (01:40:23):
Just me and my lady walking through the casino. Uh,
wasn't it. Rodney Jerkins? You know what I mean.

Speaker 1 (01:40:30):
You know Rodney Jerkins, big music producer. Y'all, y'all talk
to him and ask him, Rodney Jerkins. Well, he runs
upon me, Hey, Berto, I mean, not even three hours
after the fight, bro, not even two to three hours
after the fight, Roddy Jerkins, he run up on me.

Speaker 2 (01:40:48):
Hey, Bert Man, hey man, you better get ready. I said,
get ready for what? Man, Floyd's ain't gonna fight you next.

Speaker 1 (01:40:55):
I said, Floyd's ain't gonna fight me next. I said,
I said, what are you talking about? I said, I
just live. I just left the champ House. And he said,
he fight you next, Bert Bern, he fight you next,
I said, this man just got finished making a hundred
million in his hand, guaranteed fighting a big fight in
his life.

Speaker 2 (01:41:15):
He say, wanna fight me at the house right now?
After that big fight? Yeah? Yeah, yeah. The only thing
he kept um saying, yeah, I'm fight Berto Knicks. I'm
fighting Berto Knicks. Me walking around, I'm fighting Berto Knicks.

Speaker 1 (01:41:26):
Months go by, I'm in camp, getting ready for I'm
getting ready for.

Speaker 2 (01:41:31):
Uh, wasn't it for Demna Alexander training.

Speaker 1 (01:41:34):
I'm in camp probably five weeks in, six weeks in
and get a cough boun.

Speaker 2 (01:41:42):
Yo, Bert. I just got the craziest phone call, like, Wow,
what's up? Said you training? I said, yeah, of course,
I'm in camp. Now what's going on? And No Floyd
called me.

Speaker 1 (01:41:54):
No Floyd say we want to fight you next. I
look at the phone, I said, smiling. I'm looking at
the phone.

Speaker 2 (01:42:02):
I'm like.

Speaker 1 (01:42:04):
You say what, yeah, man, Floyd say want to fight you.
I don't know what's happening. I don't know what's going on.

Speaker 2 (01:42:11):
He just insists he's fighting you next. So call me back,
let me know if you I mean, if you're down
with it.

Speaker 1 (01:42:19):
I mean, I don't know what's happening. I don't know
what's happening. But you know, if you don't want it,
and I let him know, you know, we'll just keep moving.
I said, what I call my pops up. I was like, yeah, yeah,
let's go.

Speaker 3 (01:42:30):
You gotta take the boom one the you gotta stop camp,
like you can't fight this fight next.

Speaker 1 (01:42:36):
Yeah, we had to stop camp. We had to stop camp.
So I called him back. I said, man, let's roll.

Speaker 2 (01:42:40):
He said, you sure you're was saying you sure you're ready?
I said, yeah, man, let's get it.

Speaker 1 (01:42:45):
The only thing I kept doing is just smiling, like, yes,
it's crazy.

Speaker 2 (01:42:47):
That's the one you've been wanting. That's the one I've
been wanting.

Speaker 1 (01:42:50):
But the fact that but the way it came across,
I know why it happened. You know what I'm saying.
Out of nowhere, I'm like, all right, I said, let's go.
I just gonna make it happen.

Speaker 2 (01:43:01):
Take me to the fight. Brouh you you you walk
into the ring? Well, keep it real with me. You scared? No?
Are you nervous? I do you Let me ask you this?
Let me ask you this way. Does the moment feel
as big as it was? I think it's a different situation.

Speaker 1 (01:43:14):
You know what I mean, Cause, like I said, I've
I've known Froud for so long, and I've and I've
watched you fight for so much. Me going through that
camp really was just me preparing myself mentally for the
circus that came, you know what I'm saying.

Speaker 2 (01:43:28):
With all the circus that came with him.

Speaker 1 (01:43:30):
You know, of course, you know he didn't make he
didn't make training camp. You know easy.

Speaker 2 (01:43:36):
You know of course they dictated all the terms. Uh mean,
here you gotta prome ute, you gotta go fly here
and do.

Speaker 1 (01:43:41):
All that stuff, you know what I mean, Like the
drug testing came whenever, three o'clock in the morning, six
o'clock in the morning.

Speaker 2 (01:43:49):
You know what I'm saying.

Speaker 1 (01:43:49):
I mean sometimes they'll come back to back three days
in a row, like he Really I can tell they
really kind of you know, put it on me just
to make it uncomfortable. But like I said, they you
know what I mean, with them, what they continue to say, Listen,
you got an opportunity to make history, so deal with
you gotta deal with all the terms to come with it.
So so that's.

Speaker 2 (01:44:09):
What it was.

Speaker 1 (01:44:10):
Man, It wasn't really getting so mentally prepared to see
him because I've seen him so many times, you know
what I mean, I've watched so many of his I mean,
of his fights. I knew his punch patterns, I knew everything.
It was really me just getting ready for the circus
that came.

Speaker 3 (01:44:28):
Did the circus did did everything that you had to
go through the work, Like, did you feel drained at
all mentally physically?

Speaker 2 (01:44:33):
I don't feel like not. There was.

Speaker 1 (01:44:35):
I feel like the weather that I felt like I
was in great shape. And just me just seeing him
across the ring, I think, I think. I think that's
what a lot of people, you know, they fall, they
fall victim to right. You see you see a pack yead,
you see you see all these different people with with
very high you know what I mean, work rates. They
going there and get to it. But with Floyd, it

(01:44:58):
continues to be a pattern. They he just stay in
front of him, they looking like they just looking like,
oh my god, I get I can't believe in fighting
floor and they I mean they're and they're stuck, you know.
I mean, that's why it's so I came out. I'm
just in his face. I'm trying to just I'm just
trying to just I mean, just try to stay on him,
try to get it in his face, you know what
I mean.

Speaker 2 (01:45:16):
But but like I said, he's slick man.

Speaker 1 (01:45:18):
He's Slicky's sharp, you know, for him being as old
as he is, you know, the sharpness.

Speaker 2 (01:45:25):
That was diggest takeaway was the defense of the offense.

Speaker 1 (01:45:29):
I think, I think I think a little bit of both,
but I think the biggest takeaway was just still awareness
that he had, you know what I mean. I was
very you know, surprised, how aware that he was with
everything bron was coming before he knows I mean, I mean,
and just the.

Speaker 2 (01:45:45):
Comfortability that he had in the ring. You know, you
can just tell this.

Speaker 1 (01:45:49):
Every where he moved, he knew every placement of the ring.
You know, he'll grab me, tie me up, looking look
at the clock. He gonna push you back. He gonna
take these deep. I mean, I mean, you can hear
it when he pulls you in.

Speaker 2 (01:46:02):
He gonna pull it in. He's gonna turn you around
towards the referee.

Speaker 1 (01:46:06):
He gonna do just enough to win these rounds. You
he ain't gonna do nothing crazy, He ain't gonna do
nothing extreme jabs.

Speaker 2 (01:46:18):
You know what I mean.

Speaker 1 (01:46:19):
He gonnajab you down low. You're gonna try to check
hook you. I mean he gonna, he gonna, he's gonna.

Speaker 2 (01:46:23):
Try to stall you, stall you star you.

Speaker 1 (01:46:26):
You gonna see overhead right come jack down load check
hook stall stall stall, get too close, grab you, turn
you around, talk to you while you're in now, all
these different little things and little tactics. Man, Like even
in between rounds and he's sitting on the store, he
looking looking at you.

Speaker 2 (01:46:47):
Looking at you. See if you're breathing. I'm hopping straight
up like tired. Let's go. You know what I'm saying.

Speaker 1 (01:46:52):
All this stuff can drain you though, because you know
I can't. I can't go to sleep in during the round.
Yeah uh, in between.

Speaker 3 (01:46:58):
Round because he's sharp on he put in his ten
thousand hours, Yeah, ten thousand.

Speaker 2 (01:47:03):
Definitely sharp man.

Speaker 1 (01:47:04):
It definitely very defensive minded to a point that I
just try.

Speaker 2 (01:47:08):
To go, go, go, go.

Speaker 1 (01:47:09):
Go, throw as many punches as possible, and it's like
you can easily find yourself just hanging out there.

Speaker 2 (01:47:16):
Well, he just it got to a point that you
throwing like this, you see him looking at you, like God,
I can't do that.

Speaker 1 (01:47:24):
He gonna hurt me. He might give me next time.
That That's the thing is. Punches ain't hard, but they
sharp though, but it's sharp. And you know, if you're
out there hanging too long, you know, one of them
shots getting Yeah, they can, I can, buzh you you
know what I'm saying.

Speaker 2 (01:47:38):
So man, So you you get through that fight.

Speaker 3 (01:47:40):
Man, I ain't gonna ask you how much you made, man,
but you know, you know after that fight, man, you know,
how do things change.

Speaker 2 (01:47:50):
For you if they did it? All? Of course? Wise personally,
I mean, of course, you know a lot of I mean,
like a different type of notoriety if people respect how
you perform that night, even though you didn't come here.
I mean, you know, I think, I think.

Speaker 1 (01:48:03):
And the crazy thing about it, man, a lot of people,
like especially people in Haiti, like it's stopped. The whole
country is to watch the show, you know what I'm saying.
And for them, of course, they don't understand the boxing
logistics to a point. They're like, man, I don't know
how you lost. You kept coming, you kept coming, throwing
on a bunch of punches.

Speaker 2 (01:48:18):
You know what I'm saying. He didn't hardly throw no punches.
So you know, so you won. Yeah, you know I
was getting that a lot. But uh, you know.

Speaker 1 (01:48:27):
You want that fun rent all night.

Speaker 2 (01:48:32):
You know that's what it is.

Speaker 1 (01:48:35):
You want, you want that, So you know what I mean.

Speaker 2 (01:48:39):
You know, by the end of the day, man.

Speaker 1 (01:48:41):
I'm talking about like it was just a It's a
lot more notoriety when it comes to people that probably
just didn't know me. That's pretty much it, man, because
I didn't. I don't think I tried to get sucked
too much into it because because I got a chance
to go through the things that I went through in
the game, you know, and he just opened up other
doors man, you know, went ahead and got you know,

(01:49:02):
Victor T's again.

Speaker 2 (01:49:03):
After that, I was at that fight, you got your
revn Yeah, man, then got that off your back.

Speaker 1 (01:49:08):
Ain't just a lot of different you know, just like
business opportunities, that's where I work. I'm saying what I'm saying,
like all this other stuff is cool, but.

Speaker 2 (01:49:16):
But you know I'm a business man at the end
of the day. You know that. You know what I mean.

Speaker 1 (01:49:19):
You know what I mean when it comes to your
name being attached with Floyd in the fight, you know,
believe it or not, you know, a lot of these guys,
A lot of these suits they want to bring win
like y'a no Floyd, you know what I mean, all
that type of stuff. So so I just tried to,
you know, continue just capitalize on it. I'm still I'm
still capitalizing on it to this day, with a.

Speaker 2 (01:49:39):
Lot of different you know what I mean, like business
pictures that I'm man.

Speaker 3 (01:49:42):
Now, tell me about your wife, man, and what what
what she's meant to you.

Speaker 1 (01:49:45):
I was around when you start turning in the corner.
I ain't going to detail when I was around.

Speaker 3 (01:49:50):
You start, you start turning the corner. You start saying, Now,
I think I want to set it down, man. I said,
oh yeah, I think it sounds right.

Speaker 2 (01:49:58):
And man, I'm tired of this. I'm trying to get
my life here.

Speaker 1 (01:50:01):
I said, okay, hey, and you did that and you
ain't look back.

Speaker 2 (01:50:07):
So tell me, tell me.

Speaker 3 (01:50:08):
Tell me about Porsche Man and just what she brought
to your life.

Speaker 2 (01:50:12):
Oh, she don't like this? You yes, her.

Speaker 1 (01:50:16):
Time now, man, you know Porsche Man, Poorsche You know
she she a souldier for sure, you know what I'm saying.
She been with me and been rocking with me. Women,
and I definitely probably just didn't deserve it. You know
what I'm saying me like I'm you know, I'm living
this high life. You know, plenty of you know women
at my disposal. Like I said, living a fast life.

(01:50:40):
I think just everything just came into play man. Not
just you know, of course her, but just me, you know, changing,
I mean, just as a man, just trying to evolve. Yeah,
I mean definitely give my relationship with God. You know,
I'm a lot more uh, you know, together and and
and you know, a stout just as a man. You
see what I'm saying. And I just know, you know,
with time, you know, I say, people need to understand

(01:51:01):
what time things change. And and until you accept that,
you know, you're gonna find yourself in a real, you know,
tough situation.

Speaker 2 (01:51:11):
I got tired of going out of club.

Speaker 1 (01:51:13):
I get tired of I got tired of chasing all
these women around that you know, after they leave my
house next morning, it's nothing there. And see what I'm saying.
Get tired of just running around with all these guys,
you know, I mean, all the homies and and just
all the conversations are always the same. I'm seeing what
I'm saying, I really, you know, got into a space
of of of a different side of maturity, and I'm

(01:51:37):
saying and you know, like I said that, she definitely
ate it in that and she was one of the
ones that I know I just had to turn back
and get right because at the time, of course you
was there. You know, I was acting up and we
broke up for some time.

Speaker 2 (01:51:52):
We broke up with some time. You know, you work
hard to get it back. You put your work in
to get it back.

Speaker 1 (01:51:58):
Saying it man, I was, I was, yeah, well, you've
seen me in a in a really you know, rare,
rare position, and me trying to go get somebody that
boy really loves, he chasing. I was in there like listen,
I gotta you know, I'm making this turn any one
thing too.

Speaker 2 (01:52:18):
Man. My pastor at the time, it was my partner. Now, man,
you know what I mean.

Speaker 1 (01:52:22):
Pastor Torray, you know, he started seeing this evolution that
I was going through, you know, coming to church and
you know, you know, me and he used to have
a lot of different Yeah, We're sitting down for lunch
and then I just had these conversations, you know, just
walking into you know, my maturity as a man, just
walking into like He used to always say, man, you
just got.

Speaker 2 (01:52:41):
This presence about you. You got this like dis annoying about.

Speaker 1 (01:52:43):
You, you know, and we have real conversations. So he'd
been like, yeah, you know you're doing everything dope, man,
but you need to stop that.

Speaker 2 (01:52:53):
What you mean, like, you need to stop that?

Speaker 1 (01:52:56):
And they already know, like you know what I mean
sometimes as a as a man, especially me, you know
what I mean, I couldn't you know, I couldn't you know.
I'm lay down in the bed by myself at night
at times, you know what I mean. I just just
I mean, just bringing people in, just bring people in
just to just for that comfort, I guess. And I

(01:53:18):
see what I'm saying. So it's one thing that he
tossed though, false com Yeah, it's false comfort. So you know,
you still feel empty after they leave. So he was
just like, you just gotta stop that, you know what
I'm saying, And you know what I mean? He said,
what you mean?

Speaker 2 (01:53:30):
You know what I mean? He's like, you know what
I mean?

Speaker 1 (01:53:32):
Say what time he was saying, and you know I
mean and after that, man, you know, I really knowing.

Speaker 2 (01:53:38):
My heart never she was the one for me, locked
it down. I had to do something. I had to
do some chasing. Man, you was wrong me over for
a minute. Boy, he was pulling off some stuff.

Speaker 1 (01:53:50):
I was like, oh, that's that's smart.

Speaker 2 (01:53:53):
Love notes and roses on cars. The plane now, I said, hey,
that's good. Yeah, I know the plane. Now, I know
how to make it happen. Man, she don't accept this, bro,
and you ain't got no shot. That was good, bro.
I was getting frustrated. Why is it taking this long?
You know what I mean? I was a little spoiled
because he was acting up. Yeah, why are taking it
this long? Look what I'm doing? Like, you need tightened up?

(01:54:15):
Come on, come on back home, you know what I mean.
But it took some time, man, it took I locked
it in. So we locked it in.

Speaker 4 (01:54:21):
Man.

Speaker 2 (01:54:21):
She was nervous.

Speaker 1 (01:54:22):
She was scared because I put her through a lot
through the last few years.

Speaker 2 (01:54:25):
Or of course I had that. I had to understand that.

Speaker 1 (01:54:28):
And once we locked it in, man, you know she's seen,
you know, just within myself too.

Speaker 2 (01:54:33):
I'm like, yeah, I know I can't hurt it like
that again. You know what I mean?

Speaker 1 (01:54:36):
I know I can't because I know if I do,
and I'm gonna damage somebody. Really damage somebody. I really can't.
That's right, you know what I'm saying.

Speaker 2 (01:54:43):
So so you know, you know hung them up. Man.
I like you on this side. Man, they seemed calmer.
You know what I'm saying.

Speaker 1 (01:54:50):
You get agitated sometimes, but you still see you get
calm real quick, and you just seem more thoughtful, seem
like you're making more deliberate moves. Just you just seem
better than God working on me, man. I mean it's
still you know you quote scriptures.

Speaker 2 (01:55:02):
Now like, hey man, I've been in that word. Man,
I've been.

Speaker 1 (01:55:05):
Hey, you got a family. Man used to teach me
about all the kids I had, But they can't so fast, bro,
it's commizing me.

Speaker 2 (01:55:11):
Yeah. So what I'm saying, you used to teach me
like all these kids. I ain't got no kid. Brother,
You about to catch me? That's crazy. And you got
a new born, yeah, my little man, and you got
a new born. Yeah.

Speaker 1 (01:55:22):
Life will change on your quick, kids, you know what
I mean, change for the better. Make should to be prepared.
Make sure you're ready, though, Make sure you're ready. I
tell all my boys all the time.

Speaker 2 (01:55:32):
Made it look good man, look good on you. Man.

Speaker 1 (01:55:34):
Man, I can't wait to makes you ready, makes you
ready because you know what I mean, ain't for the
fate of the heart.

Speaker 2 (01:55:40):
It's amazing, but it's not.

Speaker 3 (01:55:42):
It's not always easy, definitely not. But it's worth it, man,
Definitely if you choose the right one, and the right
one choose.

Speaker 2 (01:55:47):
You, that's a fact. Definitely gotta choose the right one. Man.
I got two more for you, bro.

Speaker 3 (01:55:51):
So you know your father, man, you know, the patriarch
of the family. You know, got diagnosed with cancer and
then he eventually died.

Speaker 2 (01:56:00):
Yeah, what did you.

Speaker 3 (01:56:03):
Learn about him during his fight with cancer? What did
you learn about yourself?

Speaker 1 (01:56:10):
You know, that was a big blow for us, Yes,
as a family, because like you said, he was such
a big patriarch, not just for our family, but for
a lot of others around the family, cousins, just a
lot like that.

Speaker 2 (01:56:22):
You don't think he gonna die exactly. He's just always strong,
I'm saying.

Speaker 1 (01:56:27):
His presence and his aura was so big, you know,
all the time, and he was so strong. And of
course I say, through the years, I've lost a lot
of your homeboys this and that.

Speaker 2 (01:56:37):
I didn't really think.

Speaker 1 (01:56:38):
Nothing about it, but but for me to lose him
and to see it in real time, you know, every
day in that hospital bed, seeing everything just deteriorate, and
and and and it wasn't it was nothing we can
do about it. You know, it hurt me to a

(01:57:00):
since too. And then I say, I remember being there
in the and the doctor was pretty much letting me know,
like listen, you know, just what's gonna be. You know,
you know we're giving him, you know, two months, three months,
and he's looking at.

Speaker 2 (01:57:14):
The doctor like he heard it.

Speaker 1 (01:57:16):
Yeah he heard it, but he I guess he always
thinks as a solution, like.

Speaker 2 (01:57:20):
Okay, so what can we do about it? You know
what I'm saying.

Speaker 1 (01:57:22):
So when it hurt me to see, you know, to
be able to see his face, you know, somebody's so
strong just looks so helpless.

Speaker 2 (01:57:30):
Now it's nothing he can do about it.

Speaker 1 (01:57:33):
And you know, you know, so it was damaging man,
because you know I had to you know, I've always
been kind of like, you know, his second hand. I
was kind of always like the second this second go
through in the family, you know, but me just I
mean just having to step up as as a new
patriarch of the.

Speaker 2 (01:57:52):
Family and and and.

Speaker 1 (01:57:57):
You know, it's just hard to process, you know, to
see somebody like that that's been so strong for so long.
Now you know, life has been taken out of him. Bruh,
and and and and you know had me, you know,
it got a chance to really just like I say, man,
and I mean just went back to scripture for me.
He just really just confirmed a lot of things for

(01:58:17):
me to to see that. You know that so much
in this I mean this life, m you know, I
mean so much in this life it's fleeting, you know
what I mean? Right, So, so you know you just
got the whole type Yeah, you know what I mean

(01:58:38):
to everything that you have. Just understand that.

Speaker 2 (01:58:42):
You gonna hit them storms. Man, you gonna hit them sometimes.
And sometimes you know you're not gonna see him coming.

Speaker 1 (01:58:48):
Yeah, he don't see come bu you know, but he
just he just really just tightened up my whole situation,
you know, for my family.

Speaker 2 (01:58:58):
I mean, you know, it just really.

Speaker 1 (01:59:02):
You know what I mean, just taking time and just
love them and just and just like I said, man,
just just see I mean, just let me know everything else,
you know what I mean.

Speaker 2 (01:59:11):
It's kind of just.

Speaker 1 (01:59:14):
You know, like I said, it's fleeting, bro, It's fleeting
in and and and and just everything and and just
everything here. You know what I mean that you idolize,
you know, besides you know what I mean, like besides God,
it's always gonna be I mean, it's always gonna betray you.

Speaker 2 (01:59:31):
You know, does a matter if.

Speaker 1 (01:59:32):
It's your health, It doesn't matter if it's if it's
the fancy calls that you like.

Speaker 2 (01:59:37):
It don't matter if it's if it's this or is that.
Like I said, you have to stick grounded. You know
what I mean.

Speaker 1 (01:59:43):
It's something more solid, you know what I mean, something
more solid, and you know what I mean, and that's
Christ and that's God. And you know that was just
a confirmation, like I say, for me, like it does
matter how sure you are. I mean, like I said,
it's go top for me. I mean, like I say,
it's go top everybody. So you gotta preparing for that,
you know what I mean. Of course you want to
enjoy yourself here, but but I understand it's it's it's

(02:00:06):
gonna be a time when they close doing you. So
you know it, just put it just so, I mean,
just a lot of different things in perspective.

Speaker 2 (02:00:12):
Bro Niggas got God lead God, Yes, this guy here, yes, Herd.
So you know.

Speaker 1 (02:00:20):
I mean, let me come back, let me shake back,
let me let me I hate that.

Speaker 3 (02:00:27):
No, gotta let that flow because that's real and that
and that's that's that's real. And uh, if you don't
never cry, I I got concerned, you know, if a
person don't never cry, like I got some concern.

Speaker 2 (02:00:38):
That's that's my first time crying, brother, since he passed.

Speaker 1 (02:00:41):
That's crazy, really, yeah, really, because it's always been.

Speaker 2 (02:00:46):
I just been chined.

Speaker 1 (02:00:46):
My first time just holding it together for everybody else. Man,
it's crazy. Man, I gotta commend you broke.

Speaker 3 (02:00:55):
You know, I lost my father at the young ages,
you know, And it's what it's what you do.

Speaker 2 (02:01:00):
It's what you do after that. Your father would be.

Speaker 3 (02:01:02):
Proud, dog like like you didn't the thing that he Yeah,
he wants you to be a champion and all that stuff,
but the family name that that that thing that he
was talking about. Since you've been a kid, you held
strong to that. And I've only seen you grow. I've
seen you elevate and from the way you treat your wife,

(02:01:23):
you take care of your mama, you move back home
to Florida, you got a family dog, and you were
walking in his footsteps. It looked different than what he did.
But you got that same spirit on you man, and
and you're representing your father and the family name. Well,
I just want to commend you, Bro. I appreciate that.

Speaker 2 (02:01:40):
I commend you my brother. Appreciate that we got to
end on that, not with thee. I can't ask you
no more questions. Hey, that's he thought. He was here
with the chain on and you know, just do his
birdo thing. But we got to ask the right questions
so you can.

Speaker 3 (02:01:59):
Get the right answer. I appreciate y'all tuning in. That's
another episode of.

Speaker 2 (02:02:03):
The Art Awards is Crazy. Yes, I heard m hm
hm