"We have dotted our I's and crossed our T's, so we're not too concerned with what John Molina is going to bring on Saturday night...We are all focused as a team and when it's time to go, we have to put certain things aside...We are focused and we are ready for December 10th...we know what flaws he needs to work on and in between fights, we are working on them to make him a better fighter and even more of a pure boxer and limit some of those mistakes that he has," stated Red Spikes, assistant trainer for unified jr. welterweight champion Terence Crawford, who talked about the upcoming clash with John Molina Jr. and their future plans. Check it out!
PC: All of the hard work is done and it's fight week. How do you feel about the way camp played out?
RS: Everything is good, man. Everything on right, on time, and he peaked at the right time. We are in a good situation right now.
PC: Much like Viktor Postol, John Molina is a big guy for the division. Is that where the comparisons stop for you guys?
RS: Its' different because Postol boxed a little bit; he has a better jab and better footwork than Molina does. The only comparison would be the height and maybe the reach, I'm not sure, but as far as styles go, I think they are different style fighters.
PC: Molina is a dangerous guy because he is a strong fighter. What do you have to do to offset his strength and size?
RS: Terence is a box first guy. That's our coaching style; we box first and we are careful and then however the chips may fall, that's where they fall. But as far as being reckless or taking any kind of major chances, we're not going to do that. As you see in each fight, Terence systematically breaks his opponents down. As far as getting into a slugfest or anything like that, that's not going to happen because that's his only chance to beat us is to catch us with a punch. We're aware of his power and Terence has a great chin too if he does happen to get touched a little bit. We have dotted our I's and crossed our T's, so we're not too concerned with what John Molina is going to bring on Saturday night.
PC: For a fighter that is at Terence's level, three fights in a year is about what you can expect. Is that the expectation for you guys; you happy to be getting this third fight in before the year's end?
RS: Yeah! This year panned out right. We are happy we got the opportunity. We were kind of down that we wasn't going to fight 3 times this year and we thought we were going to have to wait until next year and get a little rusty, and it's the holiday's and all of that against you. So we all excited that we get another one in against a good opponent and it's at home. So that gives our fans back in Omaha something to look forward to before Christmas. We are happy that it worked out the way it did and we were always ready. Terence don't take too much time out of the gym, so for us to get right back in and get into camp mode, it worked out pretty good.
PC: We have already had Thanksgiving and we're heading into Christmas. Is it tough for Terence to train through the holidays or is that not a factor at all?
RS: It's his job and he's focused when it's time to go. We are all focused as a team and when it's time to go, we have to put certain things aside; family, friends, requests, partying and holidays. Whatever people are normally doing, that's cut out right now for us because we are all focused on the task at hand because at any time, this could all be over. So we gotta take each opponent serious and we all have to take our jobs serious. We are focused and we are ready for December 10th.
PC: When you have a fighter who is perceived to almost be the perfect fighter and at the very least a fighter with few flaws, what do you look for in terms of improvement? How do you add to flawlessness?
RS: Bo-Mac been with him since he was a kid and I was his teammate when he was a junior and I was a senior, so it's all a family type of situation; it's professional and it's personal. So to have that comraderie after all of these years, we don't pull any punches with each other. We study previous fights and things of that nature. It's not hard to improve on mistakes and things like that. And we're going to have the closest view because we're in camp with him for 6 weeks at a time and year round, so we know what flaws he needs to work on and in between fights, we are working on them to make him a better fighter and even more of a pure boxer and limit some of those mistakes that he has.
PC: This is truly an opportunity to close the year out with a bang fighting in the last month of the year and I'm sure you guys are expecting just that.
RS: Absolutely! It's a good leap into 2017. We take one fight at a time, but 2017 looks like it can be an even bigger breakout year for us. He's on the list for "Fighter of the Year!" You guys still haven't seen the best of Terence Crawford and in the future, you will see that because we are very hopeful that we get some of these bigger names next year.
PC: You and I spoke about the endless possibilities if Al Haymon and Bob Arum worked together. This Crawford-Molina fight is an example of that. That has to be encouraging my man.
RS: I hope this is the start of something great. This is what boxing needs. Boxing needs the best fighting the best, regardless of whatever promotional company a person is with; just like a couple of weeks ago with Ward and Kovalev. That's what boxing needed. They needed two guys in the top 5 pound-for-pound to get it on and for Andre Ward to take that leap up and take that kind of challenge. Hopefully in the future we could see more of that. Around Terence's weight class, there are a lot of desirable names that Al Haymon has in his stable and we can make some big fights in the near future. I hope to see it as a boxing fan, even if it's not us in these events. I just want to see some of these bigger names putting it all on the line. That is what we are in boxing for and I hope to see more of that.
PC: I actually like what Terence and Danny and Angel Garcia are engaging in. There is nothing wrong, and I actually think it's great for boxing, to do a little verbal sparring in hopes of potentially seeing them in there for real one day. Angel Garcia doesn't mince words when it comes to any fighter and that doesn't exclude Terence.
RS: (Laughing) It's entertaining. Angel Garcia is funny. Terence don't get mad about any of the little silly things that he says. Shit, we actually watched the videos and we laugh at 'em. I think Angel Garcia is hilarious. That's his job, to build his son up and do some of the things that he's doing. We alright with that shit; it doesn't do nothing but make us work harder. Any kind of little motivation just fuels us and gets Terence working harder and more focused on what he's doing than he already is. That's all it is and we had a little fun with it too. We put out a little video and a little poster that Terence put up. He said something and we clapped right back. It's just part of the game.
PC: I hope to get some of these intriguing matchups that we always discuss in the near future. I look forward to Crawford-Molina on Saturday night and best of luck to you guys. Is there anything else you want to add before I let you go?
RS: I just want everyone to know to tune-in this Saturday night live on HBO. It's going to be an exciting fight because Molina is one of those opponents that's going to keep coming and keep fighting until it's over. It's going to be an exciting fight and a good way to end the year against an opponent like that and springboard us up into next year!
[ Follow Percy Crawford on Twitter @MrLouis1ana ]