"I just gotta go in there and do what I do; box a little and fight a little. I can't underestimate him. But I believe I will be the better fighter that night...a win against Dharry and looking good while doing so is very important right now because at any time, the Rau'Shee Warren fight can happen or the Jamie McDonnell fight could happen. As long as I'm steadily climbing the ranks, my time is coming. When my time comes, I just gotta be ready," stated bantamweight contender Stephon Young, who talked about his upcoming clash tonight with Elton Dharry, his future plans, and more. Check it out!
PC: You have been anxiously counting down on social media for your January 20th fight against Elton Dharry. How is it going?
SY: It feels good to be fight week. I remember saying we had 2 months left and now it's fight week. I've been grinding, man. I'm ready!
PC: You're out in Miami doing your thing. What has this camp been like for you?
SY: The weather is great. It hasn't been a day where I haven't been able to get outside and run. Back at home in St. Louis, it's pretty cold and a lot of guys slack up when it gets cold. I don't have to worry about that in Miami. I haven't missed a day of running yet. And the work is always good. I'm always working with champions or former world champions. I've been working with Juan Carlos Payano, who put on a great show the other night. And I've been working with a guy who is a former world champion getting ready to fight for the IBF on January 29th. His name is "Torito" [Jose Rodriguez].
PC: And you're back on television, Showtime. You have been televised a lot lately. It has to be a good feeling to have your services requested so much lately.
SY: Oh yeah, most definitely, especially in the bantamweight division. A lot of the smaller guys don't get a lot of TV time and it's like I'm always on TV now.
PC: Dharry is on a 18-fight winning streak and you're undefeated. Something has to give on Friday night; either your unbeaten record or his streak. What do you feel you have to do to assure it's not your unbeaten record?
SY: I just gotta go in there and do what I do; box a little and fight a little. I can't underestimate him. But I believe I will be the better fighter that night.
PC: Have you studied a lot of film for this particular fight?
SY: I seen a few videos. It's not too much out there where I could be like, "Okay, he has this type of opponent in front of him." All of the videos that I see, he's taking guys out, so I can't really learn too much. So I just get myself ready and get myself prepared for everything and on Friday night, I'll be ready. He's on a 18-fight winning streak and I think 13 or 14 of them are by knockout, so if anything, I believe he may be strong.
PC: I guess that's something he could look at; we just mentioned how much you have been televised, so I'm sure he's seen plenty of footage of you, but you can't find much on him other than some quick knockouts.
SY: Right! But even with him being able to look up things on me, I still feel like he won't be able to find the right Stephon Young. I'm different in every fight. None of my opponents were him and I'm not any of his opponents. Regardless of what he sees in the videos of me, I truly believe that he won't be able to adjust with what I come with. That's how I feel.
PC: In your last fight against Juan Lopez, we kind of watched you grow up as a fighter. What did you take away from that fight that you can use moving forward?
SY: I used more punches. I used my jab a lot. I had to get back used to throwing punches instead of trying to throw the one big shot. I had to get back in my zone of using both hands and combinations and my jab. With Juan Lopez, that's what I did. Juan Lopez felt like he was going to be the bigger man and that I was going to run, but what I did was I boxed a little and fought him a little. So when I fought him, he wasn't expecting it. I was able to slow him down with a lot of body shots.
PC: You want the Rau'Shee Warren's and the Jamie McDonnell's of the world. How important is it for you to not only win this fight, but look spectacular in doing it to secure those kind of fights?
SY: This Elton Dharry fight is the biggest fight of my career. One, because I am moving up in the rankings. I'm #5 and the #1 guy is about to fight Rau'Shee, so that automatically puts me at 4. So a win against Dharry and looking good while doing so is very important right now because at any time, the Rau'Shee Warren fight can happen or the Jamie McDonnell fight could happen. As long as I'm steadily climbing the ranks, my time is coming. When my time comes, I just gotta be ready.
PC: You said the Dharry fight is the most important fight of your career. How important is the year 2017 for your career and what you want to accomplish?
SY: 2017 is very important because this is the year to make that statement. Like I said, I'm moving up in the rankings and as long as you're up there in the top 10 or top 5, anything is possible and any fight may come your way. You have to be ready and in 2017, I climb my way into the ranking. So now it's me being ready for whatever type of fighter that they put in front of me. As long as I'm at 4 or 5, I can get that title shot. So 2017 is very important because this is my year to get the title shot.
PC: What do you want to show the fans on Friday night in Atlantic City?
SY: Skills! I'm looking forward to showing people that I have skills. Regardless if you want to say fighting or if you want to say boxing, I have skills. I have both. I have skills. So January 20th, I'm looking forward to get in there with a guy on an 18-fight winning streak and just looking very impressive against him. I want to show hand speed, skills, power, and just skills period.
PC: It's fight week, Friday night on Showtime. I look forward to it and best of luck to you. Is there anything else you want to say before I let you go?
SY: Thanks for the interview and thanks for the support. I want to thank my fans and 2017 is my year. I'm coming for everybody!
[ Follow Percy Crawford on Twitter @MrLouis1ana ]