Speaker 1: Well, it's my pleasure to welcome to the show this
week for the podcast, it is the IVF Welterweight Champ
of the World, Jaran Boot Senta's Boots. Thanks for doing this.
You've got a very big fight coming up, I would
I would say we'll talk about this, the biggest of
your career.
Speaker 2: Go square off.
Speaker 1: Against a Monta stanionis they unify your IBF title with
his WBA Wealthair White Table April twelf It's the Mattroom
Boxing main event alive on the Zones at the Boardwalk
Call in Atlantic City, not too far from your hometown
in Philadelphia. So welcome to the show. Uh, and answer
that question, is this Do you think this is by
far the biggest fight of your career?
Speaker 2: Honestly, we don't know. We'll you know, we'll see you
on you know, all finite. But what's you know, citations wise, Yeah,
you know, because you got a bet, I got a bill,
but you know, Star Wars don't know.
Speaker 1: You know, well, you have been calling out for unification
fight for quite some time, ever since you uh uh
picked up the title that you have at the moment,
is this uh? Is it a It's been a long
trek to get there. How are you feeling now that
you finally have at least one of these unification fights
that you've been asking for for such a while.
Speaker 2: I feel great, you know, to be able to have,
you know, finally get what I want, you know, and
that's unifications and not fighting these these are other guys
and things like that. So I mean, you know, I'm
excited to be able to to fight for unification. And
like I said, short, the world, well, I'm the best
in the world.
Speaker 1: When you and your team, when you and your father
and everybody looks over stanionas checks out the video. Maybe
you've seen him fight, you know, in person in the past. However,
it may be what do you see in his style
that that makes him appealing for your style?
Speaker 2: I mean, I mean we see we see a lot,
you know, and he you know, he hit a good
fighter and things like that, but there's nothing we've never
seen before. He come forward, no pressure, he comes forward
with pressure, Try Jim, try throw a lot of punches.
You know, we've seen all that before. Ain't no fing
we've never seen before. So you know, I'm we're excited
and uh, we can't wait. You know, I'm ready, ready
to make a big statement on all the next editent.
Speaker 1: You're coming off of your of your last fight in
the mandatory rematch against current Chakazi in which was a
fight that I don't think you wanted. I don't think
anybody wanted, but because of the IBF situation, he wound
up as the fight you kind of had to take,
and you had you had beat him so easily in
your first fight, which was for an interim title back
in twenty twenty three. How annoyed? How annoyed were you
that you were sort of forced into that fight if
you wanted to maintain your title. It's one thing boats
to have a mandatory, it's an other thing to have
a mandatory not that long after you already kicked the
guys who are in not that long ago.
Speaker 2: Yeah, I mean it's very hard. You know, it's frustrating,
but you know, in the day is boxing, you gotta
do what you gotta do. You know, you put him
in front of me, I gotta fight him, and I
gotta beat him. So That's what I'm gonna do.
Speaker 1: He seemed to give you at least a little bit
of a more competition in the second fight, changed things
up a little bit dinner run the way he did
the first time, actually did stand for for for a time.
For times during that match and fight, you you yourself
kind of were critical of your own performance when it
was over. Were you were you a little disappointed in
that particular? Are not the result because you won the fight,
but just in the way that you boxed?
Speaker 2: Uh yeah, I mean, uh, you know it's it's definitely
not not disappointed, but I know better than things like that.
And uh, it's it's it's hard to fight guys like that,
you know. You know, like like you just said, I
beat him already, and you know I already kind of
like didn't want to want to fight. I was forced
to fight him. So you know, today is a boxing
you live and you learn, you got you gotta you
gotta push through it, you know, and uh, you know
it made me actually a better better fighter and and
uh and take you know two things differently in camp.
Speaker 1: You know, well before you had the rematch, I mean,
the one way that you could have not had to
fight him at least right away to keep your title
was under ib f roles because the mandatory was due.
You could have done the unification fight. And obviously you guys,
Eddie Hearn and your team at Matt Troom and your
your side of the of the Alleger had conversations about
the possibility of a unification with Brian Norman and it
did not come about because you guys were a little
part on the money. I wonder were how disappointed were
you about that? That here on the one hand, you're like, well,
maybe I'm gonna get the unification I've wanted, and then
obviously it fell apart and the alternative was you having
to fight the mandatory again.
Speaker 2: Yeah, I mean it's very it's very disappointing. But at
the end of the day, we're here now, I got
my unification, you know, and I'm ready to put it
over next year. I'm ready. I'm ready show the rule
round the best in the world. I guess I'm not
to stay honest.
Speaker 1: Brian Norman did come back from his own injury that
he had and he did fight just recently against Derek Kavis.
He got a third round knockout, you know, look really good,
you know, blowing him away. Obviously not a top level
opponent like if he was fighting one of the other champions.
But if you if you take care of your business,
like I know you expect to do against Danielis and
you unify. Is that a fight you want to revisit
before you go to one fifty four and try to
continue to unify the welterweight division.
Speaker 2: My many phobies right now is a manches day owness.
You know. Once I handle business next day and uh
showed the world around the best in the world, we'll
figure it out and wilfare what we're going to do
from there, you know. But like my main phocus right now,
I ain't really learning about nobody else outside of mantstain Huns.
I'm locked in on him, and uh, once i'm Victoria's
you know next here to day, you know, we'll take
it from there. You know, we'll see there.
Speaker 1: Well. I certainly understand that attitude of being locked in,
especially on an undefeated champion that you got to fight,
But I do want to ask you about all the
things that went into before this got done, which was
the conversations you know, you know what happened with the
you know, you were tied to the fight potentially going
over to Saudi Arabia that would have been this past
February against Virgil Ortiz that had been a heck of
a fight, be a great fight, you know in the future,
I would imagine. I just like to hear from your
perspective what exactly happened in your mind, because it seemed
like that fight was the deal made. Everybody seemed to
be excited. Turkey Alshkh was into the fight. H And
then it came time to get it done done, and
it was a difference over what the weight was. Where
he was at fifty four, you were at forty seven.
You had said maybe I'll move up to fifty four
after the Chikazian fight, and then when he got the paperwork,
it said forty seven, No, no go for him. What
what was your what was your side of that situation?
Speaker 2: Don't good? It was, Uh, I'm a one forty one
forty something hundred, you know, and that's that's the weight
that I'm at right now. So yeah, well, you know,
there was a lot of confusion and misshands going on,
but it's out of my control, you know. And uh,
at end of the day, I'm at one free man.
I'm I'm like, you know, I'm freezing right now at
the moment, and I'm I'm getting to collect these boats,
unify and uh, uh, you know, attract at the other
chamberge as well, So you know I'm done here.
Speaker 1: For them, Okay, I mean I just was asking that
because it always seemed to me anyway that it was
contemplated at one fifty four all long, because of his
weight and because of your comments after the uh the
recent fight.
Speaker 2: Yeah, if I that's like, that's like me telling you
I might come to a party if I don't show up,
I said, I said, Mike, might you know, like I
said before, I feel like I got unfinished business at
one forty seven. I can't I can't just leader division
without without no compassion what I want to complish, you know,
and things like that. And I said, like I said,
I never I never fought for a ward title. I'm
a one forty seven penal champion. I got the ivy
of but I never fought for the boat. The boat
was given to me. So you know, I feel like
I feel like I'm finally getting what I want and
now everything like roll, everything like perfect timing, you know,
and things like that.
Speaker 1: So I was I was going to ask you about
that because you know, obviously you've already shown yourself to
uh to be maybe already people. Some people think you're
number one at war and forty seven. There are other champions.
But like you said, you won the interim belt when
you fought to Chikazian, but not the full belt. That was,
you know, not your fault because the champion was Terrence Craford.
He was moving up to another way class and vacated,
so you took over that mantle. Uh So this, this
would be the first time to win real, a real
full title if you will in the ring exactly.
Speaker 2: And I'm and I'm gonna be able to take it
from a champion. So I'm just first time fight for
about doubt. You know, like I said, I'm excited this,
I'll finally getting what I want. And like I said,
I can't leave one forty seven and go go to
fifty four and and by what I and I can't
leave forty seven without you know, handling my business. And
then once I handle my business at forty seven, then
I'll go to fifty four.
Speaker 1: And right now seven, well, it seems like if you
do take out of your business that you're talking about,
that the future is immensely bright, whether you're fighting at
forty seven or at one fifty four. I wanted to
ask you about this, and it's not it's lots of
fans talk about this, but it was Turkey al Chic
that put this out there and posted to a social
media not that long ago, where obviously you have this
fight coming up, but he has a big show he's
doing in Times Square in May. Ryan Garcia and Devin
Haney are on that card. Tiafimo Lopez is on that card,
and we all know the deal. If tia Fimo wins,
and if if Garcia and Haini both win, they're going
to have a rematch in the fall. He would like
to have you fight tia Fimo on that same card
if ta Fimo also wins. Uh. I just wondered your
thoughts about that.
Speaker 2: I mean, he he a good fighters, you know, you
know all the great fighters you know, and that's a
good card. Yeah. Well, like I said before, you I'm
I'm like, I'm doubting on one one goal right now,
and that's becoming unified the word bringing a thirty B
built home and then uh the ring magazine Bill Hayes,
I'm believe, believe, not worried about nobody else ouse Saturday.
Oh you know, like we could talk about dam right
now then almost hand.
Speaker 1: Let me ask you then about standing on us in
terms of the way the schedules have gone. Uh, I
wonder if you know you you have fought, you know,
as boxing goes today regularly. You fought two times in
twenty twenty three, you fought two times in twenty twenty four,
and so you've been you know, act what what goes
for active these days? He has been very inactive though
he's just had one fight. It's coming off of your
layoff when he fights you for the unification, but he's
only had one fight in three years. When he gets
in the ring with you, I wonder if you think
that that is a significant advantage for you, and just
in terms of the you know, the roster, the the
timing and all the things that are going to preparing
for a significant fight. It's hard enough to fight Boutsenes
no matter what Boutsennis that's been active, and you're coming
off a long way off. That seems to be a
kind of a tough hill to climb.
Speaker 2: Yeah, I mean, that's a lot of things that's gonna
play the part. You know, this fight is gonna be
It's gonna be me, you know, doing what I'm gonna
do to him. It's gonna be the crowd, you know.
Like I said before, he he fought on big cars,
but he never was like the meaning it every time
he thought it was no crowds and stuff and things
like that. I said. He a great fighter, but a
lot of things are gonna play a ficker, uh into this.
The crowd, you know, fight week, the media, all the
you know, cameras and a that stuff being around. All
the stuff gonna hit the tool. And then once he
finally get in the ring with he gonna be like,
I think that's switch gonna hit like I dam, I'm
finally in the ring with which Boutsen is like, and
see what it feel like, you know. And I heard
I heard them talking and things like that, saying this
is saying that. But you know, we I can't wait.
I'm excited, I'm prepared, I'm ready to handle business.
Speaker 1: Well, I want to wrap up with this. You mentioned
about the crowd. The fight's taking place at Boardwalk Hall.
It's a very hallowed, very famous arena for lots of things.
But boxing has hosted some huge fights over the years,
big mega fights. Mike Tyson, Arturo Gotti, Bernard Hopkins of
Vladimir Klitschko, Miguel Coto, Kelly Pavlck, and Jermaine Taylor. I mean,
I've covered so many of those fights that could go
on and on, but this is as crazy as it sounds.
And I actually had to go look this up because
just to make sure. This is going to be the
first fight they've had in the main arena at Boardwalk
all they've had so I'm in the upstairs arena over
the last several years. But it's the first really big
championship fight card in the main arena since Bernard Hopkins
and Sergey Koval have fought in a light heavyweight unification
fight back in twenty fourteen. That is a long time ago, Boots,
I saw. I wondered, just from your point of view,
how does it feel to be like the main guy
bring in boxing, big time boxing back to this great
old arena that is so close to your hometown of Philly.
Speaker 2: Uh, It's it's it's phenomenal, you know. Like I say,
I actually for at the border in the little room
for Roman builda you know, so this is like this
is gonna be you know. I had a couple of
legendary you know, fights, you know, in La City, and
I'm excited to be able to do it in a
big arena, a bigger arena, you know, and uh Floyd
Ford deer Be for Goutti. There a lot of I
think Mickey Ward and Garrity for dere you know, a
lot of a lot of legendary fights been you know,
been held at this arena. And I'm I'm ready to
right depend on the legendary performance, you know, come come
next Saturday. So I think it's it's my turn. Everything
like I'm saying, I feel like everything just fall right
in the place, perfect time, and uh, I feel like
we're gonna have a legendary night, you know, next Surday.
I'm ready to show up.
Speaker 1: Did you ever, as a younger guy go to any
of those fights at border Wal Calls young as a kid? Maybe?
Speaker 2: Uh, every fight that I went as a kid was
at the smaller one, the smaller venume.
Speaker 1: So you're going to be in Boardwalk Calls Maine Arena
for the first time as a as as a fighter
in the ring, as even though you've been there as
a spectator went upstairs.
Speaker 2: Yeah, Yeah, it's my first time being in a bigger
the bigger room, you know. And uh, I'm excited. Like
I said before, a lot of legends came through, you know,
and I'm ready to I'm ready to stand my uh
my legacy, my my legendary performance on on April, so
you know, I'm ready for my my legendary performance in
the in the Borough Golf.
Speaker 1: Well, I certainly wish you the best of luck in
doing so. It's gonna be a big night for you,
a big knight for boxing, a big night for standing
on us as well. So, Boots, I wish you the
best of luck and I really appreciate you doing this today.
Thank you so much.
Speaker 2: Thank you appreciate it.