by Suge Green | Sat. Jan. 22, 2010

Former Heavyweight Champion of the World joined the world's number one boxing podcast, ONTHEGRiND BOXiNG recently for an in-depth interview encompassing his entire Hall-of Fame career. The champ lived up to his candid reputation on an array of topics including; his humble beginning, his time with Muhammad Ali, Gerry Cooney, George Foreman, the Klitschko brothers, Floyd Mayweather and much more. Check out the excerpt below to learn what one of the sport's true elder statesmen has to say to today's boxing fans.


Most Meaningful Fight...

The Gerry Cooney fight meant the most to me because I got the most money. A lot of people try to make it out into something different than what it was...it was a black/white fight, but you know what Gerry would say, 'It wasn't the black man, it wasn't the white man. It was the right man.'

As long as you have a good left, a good right you know, that's the one who is going to come out victorious - and that was me. Gerry and I, we see how people wanted to make it out to be a certain thing...but they did it because of money. They succeeded at it, but I want everybody to know around the world Gerry Cooney and I are the best of friends. So whatever game they played that day it didn't work.


Revising History...

After that fight one of the things that hurt me the most was the way the people turned on Gerry Cooney. They said that he wasn't nothing, he couldn't fight. Just because I beat him, they took all the credit away. But before I fought him, Gerry Cooney was God. Then after I beat him, he was nothing. That's the part I don't like.

I think Gerry Cooney was one of the great fighters man. I think if Gerry Cooney would have fought anybody else that night he would have been the Heavyweight Boxing Champion of the World. I told him that. He hurt me a couple of times in the fight and didn't realize it, maybe because of lack of experience. If we had went the following year he probably would've beat me, but he caught me right there when I was right and I let him know that. I never tried to take any credit from him. because he was a great fighter man. I wish people would give Gerry Cooney his credit because he certainly did deserve it.

Look what he did to Kenny Norton. Everybody said, 'Well Kenny Norton was washed up.' Kenny Norton wasn't washed up. He took Ken Norton out in one round or two rounds, whatever it was. Look what he did to Ron Lyle, he broke his ribs man. Look what he did to Jimmy Young. These are good fighters, great fighters. and he didn't just go out there and let them guys beat him up, and he didn't lay down. He went out there fighting. Gerry Cooney fought every fight that I remember him fighting with everything he had, and that's what made him a good fighter...and I hate people who always try to take credit away from not only Gerry Cooney, but from myself.

If they say Gerry Cooney was nothing, then I beat a nothing, and I don't like that. If they say Kenny Norton was nothing, then I was nothing. Anybody that I fought, if they say he was nothing then that makes me nothing.


George Foreman Nice Guy?

Even to this day you mention my name and George Foreman...people think George Foreman is the nicest guy out there. 'I mean he's so nice.' But you got to prove it to me. I don't see that niceness. I been around George Foreman for an awful long time; for many, many, many years back in the 70s...and he ain't ever impressed me as being a nice guy, because I've seen him do so many bad things to people. And I've seen him how he tell people 'Get out!'

He won't sign autographs or take a picture, and that don't make him a nice guy. So you know, they can say how nice he is all they want. They can say I'm not a good guy because I talk bad about him, I tell the truth about anybody. Just like I said about Gerry Cooney, that the people didn't give him his credit that he deserved...and he deserved it. Just like I'm telling you about George Foreman. He was a punk as far as I was concerned.

They say he was a great fighter and I just can't see it.


The Klitschkos...

The Klitschkos you know...they're nice guys. I met with them the other day for the first time in New York City, we did a think up there with a movie, and they're nice guys.

I have to tell you like I always tell everybody, and I'm being honest with the way I feel. If those guys were fighting when Muhammad Ali, Joe Frazier, Larry Holmes, Ken Norton, Ron Lyle or Jerry Quarry (were fighting)...you would not have heard of those guys!

These guys are born...lucky that the American fighters don't have the desire anymore. They want the $4 or $5 they are making and that's it. I think the Klitschko brothers are good fighters but they'd make good contenders and not good champions because they don't show me any charisma in their style.

They're just ordinary stand-up boxers. You gotta make moves, you gotta circle, you gotta dance, you gotta jab, you gotta hit right-hand you gotta throw combinations...and they don't throw combinations. They might throw two punches maybe three punches.

And they're very slow. So I'm not a big fan of those guys, but I respect what they do and how they do it because they are winning. But I know that the competition level is not there, that we had when I was out there fighting back in the 70s and the 80s. So it's a whole different story today the way these guys are fighting.


Today's Heavyweights...

They aren't giving us anything to look at. At least one name stands out because he fought so many great guys, and he's still hanging in there, and he's past his prime is Evander Holyfield. Mike Tyson don't want anything else to do with it. I had a chance to meet the Klitschko brothers the other day up there in New York, but they don't bring no interest. So boxing as far as I'm concerned in the heavyweight division, is kind of dead.

Check out part III Sunday ONTHEGRiND to read what Holmes has to say about Floyd Mayweather and the fighters of today...or listen to ONTHEGRiND BOXiNG episode 235 in it's entirety, featuring 40 historic minutes with Larry Holmes!