Heading
into last year, Willie Nelson was coming off a nine-month hiatus following a
majority decision loss to Vincent Arroyo and only really known because he
shares the same name as the famous country singer. However, when he could no
longer fit his 6’3” frame into the 147 pound division, Rumble Time Promotions elected to have him step up to light middleweight
where, after shedding his initial ring rust, he took out journeyman Brad
Jackson in two rounds in the exotic locale of Key West, FL, dually earning him
a headline bout against then-unbeaten Cuban and former Olympian Yudel Jhonson
on “ShoBox.” Though he wasn’t expected to, he shocked Jhonson, posting a unanimous
decision. The 25-year-old, who trains out of Youngstown, OH with Jack Loew (famed
for his work with former World Middleweight Champion Kelly Pavlik), parlayed
the Jhonson victory into a spot on the Sergio Martinez -v- Julio Cesar Chavez
Jr. undercard last September. Again, Nelson was the prohibitive B-side against
another unbeaten fighter, John Jackson, son of the legendary Julian Jackson. Not
one to listen for the second time, he turned the odds upside down, outscoring
Jackson over 10 rounds to claim the vacant NABF crown. Nelson returns to the
ring on Friday against Michael Medina on ESPN2. He’s
currently 19-1-1 (11) and ranked at number five by the WBC.
Anson Wainwright - You've
enjoyed a strong 2012 with wins over two unbeaten fighters in fights where you were
the underdog. Can you tell us about the fight with Yudel Jhonson?
Willie Nelson - I was preparing for
another fight and had been training for two months when the call came to fight
Jhonson. It was 11 days before the fight. He was one fighter I wanted to fight
since he turned pro because there was a lot of hype about him and I wanted to
beat him. At the beginning of the fight, I felt that I had too much for him. I
was hitting him with easy jabs because I was being cautious. I had gone up to
junior middleweight and he was coming down to 154 from 160. He was a one-trick
pony with a left hand and right uppercut. I got confident and dropped him in
the third round. Later in the fight, I got caught with a big left and went
down. The only thing I could think of was the Arroyo fight and I wasn’t going
to let that happen again. I dug deep in that fight. I didn't have a choice.
AW - How about your most
recent win over John Jackson in Las Vegas on the Martinez-Chavez Jr. undercard?
WN - I was prepared for this
fight. John was young and a little green. He was another Olympian [like the
Cuban Olympian Jhonson]…from the Virgin Islands. He was overconfident and
cocky. He was supposed to have so much power but I used that against him. I
pushed him back; usually, he did the pushing. The game plan was to box him but
I was eager to show him how strong I was. The pressure I put on him wore him
down. He came out in the first round throwing a lot of punches and looking for
a knockout. He was worn down in the later rounds.
AW - What are your plans
for 2013?
WN - I'm looking for name fights;
no more prospects. Big moves, fighting name opponents rather than unbeaten
prospects who I‘m expected to beat. I’m after more
seasoned fighters.
AW - Tell us about your
team. Who are the key members, your trainer, manager and promoter? Also where do
you regularly train?
WN - My promoters are Steve Smith [of Rumble Time Promotions]
and Lou DiBella [of DiBella Entertainment]. Sam Shapiro and Jeff Simon are my advisers; Jack Loew is my trainer and
my strength-and-conditioning coach is Mike Bartos. I train at Southside Boxing
Club in Youngstown, Ohio.
AW
- Could you tell us about your younger days growing up in Ohio? Were things
tough for you?
WN - It was very tough [in
Cleveland]. I was the youngest of seven. We moved around a lot. My mother and
father had drug habits and I was raised growing up by my sisters. My sister was
17 and said she was babysitting me and when she turned 18, she got legal custody of me and my brother. My
other sister helped her take care of us but she had children of her own.
AW - How did you first become interested
in boxing?
WN - My mailman was a boxing
coach. I got interested watching the [Evander] Holyfield-[George] Foreman fight
and “Rocky” movies. I said back then that one day, I would be champion of the
world.
AW - Can you tell us about your
amateur career, what titles/tournaments you won, what current pros you fought
and what your final record was?
WN - I had more than 200
amateur fights. I beat [current World Junior Welterweight Champion] Danny
Garcia and Vernon Paris in the amateurs. I won a lot of local tournaments and
won the National PALs twice, Under-19 and Silver Gloves [tournaments].
AW - What are your thoughts on
the light middleweight division currently including the champions, the WBC’s
Saul Alvarez, WBA “super” champion Floyd Mayweather Jr., WBA “regular” champ Austin
Trout, the IBF’s Cornelius
Bundrage (champion at the time this interview was conducted) and the WBO’s Zaurbek Baysangurov?
WN - I don't know too much about Baysangurov. Cornelius, I don’t think too much of him. He doesn’t have many skills. He’s older, rough and durable. He’s very beatable and the easiest of these
champions for me to beat. [Editor’s note: Bundrage indeed lost his
belt to Ishe Smith last Saturday night.] I grew up with Trout. We
were on the U.S. National team together; I fought at 140 and he was 152. I
respect him. He came a long way from the amateurs to pros. We sparred. He’s cool. He taught me a lot. He was on
the National team first and he taught me about scoring. Eventually, I’ll have to fight him someday. I grew up
watching Mayweather. I don’t think
I have much of a chance to fight him because
I don’t have a big name or generate a lot of
money yet. I’d love to fight him if the opportunity
presents itself. He’s a
legend and future Hall-of-Famer, hands down. I definitely want to fight
Alvarez. He’s young and exciting but he seems to be at
his peak at 22 or 23. Once he peaks, everything will go downhill. He’s well protected and has fought aging
names. I’m not impressed. He’s just with the right people at the
right time.
AW - Your last two wins really
pushed your career forward. How far do you think you are from fighting for a
world title?
WN - I can't really say. I could say two
or three more fights but that depends on how the rest of the division goes.
Maybe the best way for me is to get to be the mandatory. Being 6’3" and fighting in the 154-pound division, my
height and size is a problem for a lot of guys who I don’t think will risk fighting me. They’re not going to take a chance.
AW - Tell us about yourself as
a person and the things you enjoy doing away from boxing.
WN - I'm mellow, quiet and down
to Earth. I like being around my kids, family and friends. I play a little
basketball but other than that, it’s all boxing for me.
AW - Growing up, what fighters did you look up to and what fighters do you
admire today?
WN - Growing up, I looked up to Holyfield,
[Bernard] Hopkins, [Marvelous Marvin] Hagler and Meldrick Taylor. Today, I
admire guys I grew up with in the amateurs, Andre Ward, Andre and Anthony Dirrell,
Danny Garcia, Danny Jacobs, Trout and Demetrius Andrade. And I admire Victor
Ortiz too.
AW - In closing, do you have a
message for the light middleweight division?
WN - Watch out for me.
.
