SAME SKILLS, NEW THRILLS
training will take over when it happens … if it happens.
Crawford. I know that’s a special individual; that’s somebody like I’ve never seen in my lifetime. I’m around normal people on an everyday basis, and it just doesn’t feel like he’s a normal person. Everybody’s human, but his mentality is in a whole different atmosphere. I’m like, “Dawg, you good at everything!” I’ve been doing this for years, and that’s a special individual right there.
the Usyks. I’m watching these guys because their IQs are levels above. Going back to Zepeda, he expected that Tom and Jerry fight. If you listen to his interviews, he expected me to move around and said he’d have to cut the ring off. Everyone was telling me to start slow. But with me, I like to do the unexpected. Coming out to mix it up with him and see who punched the hardest threw him off guard, and he was the one that died [stamina- wise] late in the fight.
The Ring: I’m going to read a quote and I want you to guess who said it: “I honestly believe that anything I do in the ring will not be appreciated. I’ve been dealing with this for too long to think otherwise.” SS: Maybe Floyd [Mayweather]?
The Ring: No, it’s someone else you know very well. SS: Bud Crawford? The Ring: Yes, I spoke to Terence Crawford, who is a great friend of yours. I got the impression that Bud is almost obsessed with proving himself and proving other people wrong. Can you relate? SS: Yeah … I ain’t gonna say that I got it from him, because I’ve always been that kind of person
“If you tell us that something can’t happen or there’s
The Ring: When I mention Gervonta Davis to you now, what goes through your mind? SS: It’s the best fight in boxing. The dude don’t give me no credit, and I like that because I like to earn my respect. When we fight, he’s gonna respect me in that ring. But I’m not gonna be that guy who tells you he’s not good or
something we can’t do, we have to try and do it just because y’all say we can’t. We just want to prove you wrong.”
The Ring: Your style switch with Zepeda, was that permanent or was that what was required on fight night? SS: I do whatever it takes to win a fight, whether I gotta dig down deep and dog it out or whether I gotta outbox a guy. I think my special attribute is my IQ, so whatever it takes to win. Like, I’m not going to fight Gervonta Davis the same way I fought William Zepeda. I knew Zepeda was gonna come at me and throw a million punches a round, so I had to fight him a certain way to make sure I was victorious. We’ll see [what style I use in the future]. I love being exciting for the fans, but I won’t sacrifice winning the fight, because my priority is coming home victorious. The Ring: That ability to adapt is the hallmark of a truly great fighter, right? SS: Yeah, that’s what makes me who I am. I came up studying these guys. I watched the Sugar Ray Leonards. I watched the Roy Joneses. I watched the Floyd Mayweathers. The people that I gravitate towards. The Lomachenkos,
who likes to prove people wrong, but I came up under Bud Crawford. I’m gonna be real with you. A lot of the years that I came up under him, I was watching the things he would do. I’m not saying we’re the same type of person – we’re a lot different – but in that aspect, we are the same. If you tell us that something can’t happen or there’s something we can’t do, we have to try and do it just because y’all say we can’t. We just want to prove you wrong. Even when me and him talk, there’s times when he’ll tell me I can’t do certain things, or I can’t beat him at something. We’re both like, ‘OK, let’s go do it right now.’ We are the same that way, but we’re different, too. I still aspire to be as great as Bud Crawford. The Ring: And that’s the same with great champions from the past, right? Sugar Ray Leonard being told that he couldn’t beat Marvin Hagler, or Roy Jones being told that he couldn’t compete at heavyweight? SS: Yeah, for sure, but I don’t know those guys. I’ve seen their careers and they’re great fighters, but I know Bud
that he only knocks out bums. I mean, I could mention weight clauses. There’s a hundred different things that I could say about him, but I know that he’s the truth. With or without weight restrictions, he got real skill, he got real power, he got real IQ. Honestly, I feel as though it’s one of the best fights in boxing. It’s two guys with the highest IQ versus each other, and let’s see who’s victorious. I promise I’ll be the one who comes out victorious, though. The Ring: Did Lamont Roach expose Tank? (Their March 1 bout was declared a 12-round majority draw.) Was it an off night for Tank, or was Roach overlooked to the extreme? SS: (shaking head sternly) Very much, Lamont Roach was overlooked. I made so much money that night. I knew exactly how the fight was gonna go, and I knew how Tank looked at that fight.
Zepeda was nailed flush throughout the fast-paced 12-rounder.
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