How are you doing? Have you been doing any training since Christmas?
Yeah, I've been back in the gym since Christmas, I had surgery on my shoulder again in November. I fell over my little girl about two-and-a-half weeks after I had surgery 18 months ago and thought I'd pulled the pins out. I also had some arthritis on the AC (acromioclavicular) joint in my shoulder, so the doctor told me to come back when I had some time off and that they'd remove the arthritis, and if I had pulled the pins out that they'd (re-insert them) again. I'd just been coping with the pain since the (initial) surgery, taking painkillers and stuff. It turned out that I had pulled the pins out so I had to have that re-done (in November). I wasn't able to train until the new year, so I've been doing circuits and stuff and having physio, and I've built the strength back up in my shoulder. I've around a week-and-a-half left of not being able to punch anything, then I'll be allowed to punch again. I've been shadow boxing so when the time comes to start punching again I'll be in good shape.
How have you felt since the Ryan Rhodes fight back in October?
Obviously I'm disappointed that I lost but I know the reasons behind it. It makes the loss easier to cope with. It's safe to say in my mind that it wasn't as if I lost to the better fighter, it wasn't like he outclassed me, as far as I was concerned a lot had to do with (me) being so depleted from making weight. Hopefully from now on I'll be able to prove that and make an impact (at the new weight). Even though I was winning the fight, I never felt good. Even before the fight I felt terrible to be honest. It's a horrible feeling to be in such a big fight like that and know that you don't have much in the tank. I felt really drained from making the weight and it's a horrible feeling to have in such a big fight. I'd been struggling at the weight for a couple of years and I always seemed to pull it out so I'd was keeping my fingers crossed (that I could pull it out again), but he fought a clever fight. He knew that I was struggling at the weight and that the longer the fight went on it would turn in his favour. He gritted his teeth when I was putting the pressure on him and I think he always had one eye on dragging me out into the later rounds so that it would turn in his favour, which it did.
It was a great fight, but it seemed pretty clear from early on that your stamina was suffering...
When I watch the fight back, even as early as the second round, to me I look tired. Even three or four years ago, when I was making light middleweight comfortably, as the fight went on I would get better and better. But in the last couple of years, after three or four rounds, I've been, well, s**t to be honest. It's my own fault; everyone was telling me to move up. Frank Maloney and Steve Wood, my nutritionist Kerry Kayes, everyone was telling me to move up but it was just me being stubborn. I'd been waiting for my (title) shot at light middleweight for that long that I wanted to stay there and get the shot. My own stubbornness has been my downfall, but hopefully I can pick up the pieces. I fell off the horse but I've got to jump straight back on. There's no use crying over spilled milk; I lost the fight, it was a good fight and (I lost to) a good fighter but I'm just going to get on with it now.
It sounds like you're looking to move up to middleweight in order to be a bit more comfortable?
Not just a bit, to be honest it'll still be hard to make middle but it means I won't have to get the extra six pounds off which is a massive difference when you're coming down (in weight). I just can't make light middleweight anymore, I made the weight (for the Rhodes fight) but if I told you what I had to go through to make the weight, it's horrendous. I can't possibly make it anymore. I always base my game plan around strength and conditioning and usually as the fight goes on I get stronger but (the weight) has taken away from the way that I fight.
Now that your moving up in weight, do you an opponent in mind who you'd like to fight next?
I definitely don't want to go after someone at British level. I know it's a different weight but I feel like I kept at British level for too long and at this stage of my career I need challenges to keep me motivated. I've got seven British title wins and I loved (holding) the Lonsdale belt but now I need some sort of different motivation. It would have to be at least European (level), or maybe fighting in America against someone decent. I can't do six-or-eight round fights anymore, I need to fight at least a ten-rounder. I've been fighting in championship fights for seven years so I can't go backwards; I need to be facing decent opponents in decent fights. (Matthew) Macklin is the European champion (at middleweight) at the moment so if he can come through this (Dmitry) Pirog fight and he doesn't get a world title fight afterwards then as far as I'm concerned it's a fight that everyone would want to see and it's a fight that I'm confident of winning.
The great Vernon Forrest was tragically killed last year. Is he someone you were looking to face at some point?
He was the WBC champion at the time and it's one of those things where, in my mind, he was a great fighter but he was coming towards the end of his career and I would have been facing him at the right time. But even thinking about fighting those sort of people - I was thinking about fighting Sergio Martinez not long ago, but when I think about what's just happened (the Rhodes defeat), I could have been seriously hurt in those sort of fights. It was probably a blessing in disguise that I never got a world title shot. Even going from European level to world level is a big leap up. The condition I was fighting in, I should never have been fighting in that condition anyway. To go in there with a world-class fighter, I could have got seriously hurt, so it's a blessing in disguise really.
That's a refreshing way of looking at it, if you acknowledge that you were in that kind of condition and fighting someone of that level, then anything could of happened...
The guy that fought straight after me (Jason Rushton, who collapsed in his dressing room after being stopped by Brian Rose), the night I fought Rhodes got swelling on the brain. I don't think it was from making weight, more an accumulation of punches but that could have been me. The state that my body was in at that time, it would have been hard for me to recover from something like that so like I said, it's a blessing in disguise and I need to make sure that I look after my health all the time (from now on).
On the subject of crossing the pond over to the US, is there any opponent over there that you'd like to test yourself against?
Obviously there are the likes of (John) Duddy. (Peter) Manfredo (Jr.) who is now fighting at middleweight, that would be a good fight. Sergio Mora, anyone like that who is a bit of a name over there and is a decent fighter, (Marco Antonio) Rubio, someone like that who is on the fringes of world-class. If I can go over there and make a statement, I think they'd love my style over there. I'm pretty disappointed that I've not been over there and fought already, a few times I have conversations with promoters over there and for some reason it's never happened. I think if I do something now the best place for me to do it would be over there.
The Americans love Ricky Hatton over there and they always seem to enjoy a fighter with that skilled, pressure style...
Yeah exactly, and obviously the Mexican fighters are mostly pressure fighters who throw body punches but they've got a bit of skill as well. Although I'm not a Floyd Mayweather, Jr. I've got a good boxing brain and when you combine that with the pressure style it makes it a good style to watch. I've always been in good fights, I've had three British fights of the year up till now; the Macklin fight, the third (Michael) Jones fight and the Rhodes fight. I'm always in good fights so if I've got more in the tank at middleweight it should make for an interesting next few years.
You won the light middleweight European belt from Michele Picorillo last year. What was it like for you to hold such a prestigious title?
The amount of time I waited to get the shot was ridiculous really, it's just about politics and being messed about. To finally get the shot meant that I was so relaxed in there on the night because I had been waiting for so long; it was like a weight had been lifted from my shoulders. There was no way that Picorillo was going to stop me from taking that title home. When I stopped him with that body shot, the relief was absolutely unbelievable. I'd been waiting for so long that the feeling was fantastic. Obviously I was disappointed to lose the title to Rhodes, but I know the reasons behind it. Picorillo could very well have beaten me if it had gone past five or six rounds, what would I have had in the tank then? Luckily enough I hit him with the right sort of shot and it gave me the chance to keep it that way but after that first defense against Roman Dhzuman I should've moved up because it killed me to make the weight then, but that's history.
When Brits think of great domestic fights, your war with Matthew Macklin is right at the top of most people's lists. What are your memories of the fight, and that night in general?
I knew it would be that type of fight, I knew Matt and I'd seen him in the gym training and sparring, I'd seen his camp and I'm mates with Ricky (Hatton) and Billy Graham so I'd seen him around. I'd seen his style, I knew style-wise that it was going to make for a great fight and I told everyone before (the fight) that it was going to be a fantastic fight. At that stage of my career I didn't need to take the fight as I'd gained the British title and moved on, but he was training in Manchester and I didn't want to give the title up to him so that's why I went through with it. It was one of the hardest things I've ever been through, it was a really tough fight and all credit to him for sticking in there right through to the end. It was back-and-forth, back-and-forth and the ending was really scary to be honest as I thought he was dead. It's a horrible feeling to have because you should be excited that you've won the fight but because he's a mate of mine the first thing I was thinking is that I hope nothing is wrong with him. Thank god he was alright and I went to see him in the hospital as they kept him in to make sure he was OK, and now he's gone up to middleweight and is doing fantastic for himself. It just shows you what a difference it can make to move up in weight.
If you were to move up to middleweight, a rematch with him is a fight that I wouldn't mind seeing...
Everyone is asking the question of whether I'm moving up to middleweight, but I can't possibly make light middleweight any more. The first thing they say is “Are you going to fight Macklin again?”, and my answer to that would be yeah, or course I would. It's kind of role reversal now, he's British champion and I'm the one gunning for his title. It would make for a fantastic rematch and it would make for a great fight, and I'd be happy to put it on for the fans.
Finally, is there anything you'd like to say to your fans?
Well first of all I'm sorry if any of them are disappointed (with the defeat to Rhodes) but it's one of those things and thanks for supporting me and hopefully I can turn it back around and make an impact at middleweight.
I'd like to see that Jamie. Thanks very much for your time.
Not a problem mate, not a problem.
