"Tony Harrison or Austin Trout. Either one of those fights would be a great fight for me to get on that big stage. They already been there and it’s my time. I believe I would beat both of them...I’m in a deep division, but I think I can handle myself against any one of them guys and beat a lot of them guys," stated jr. middleweight Tyrone Brunson, who talked about his future plans and much more. Check it out!
PC: You’re coming off of an impressive win back in December over Manny Woods. How do you feel you performed in that fight?
TB: I feel great about that performance. It was the best that I have looked in a long time. It was great.
PC: You had a great 2017; 3 fights, 3 wins, and 2 knockouts. How do you use that momentum heading into this year?
TB: I’m just going to feed off of it and have a great 2018. I’m going to keep up that energy and just keep working hard and see what’s next for me. The biggest win last year was the [Kermit] Cintron win. That definitely opened up a lot of eyes for me and then to come back and stop Manny Woods, who had never been stopped before, it was a great year. Like you said, I was 3-0 with 2 knockouts and I’m looking forward to a great ’18.
PC: Have you heard anything on your next move?
TB: I was talking to Marshall [Kauffman] and he was telling me it was going to be Jarrett Hurd next, but he is fighting Lara, so I’m just waiting to see what’s next.
PC: You are ranked #15 by the IBF. Looking at their rankings, a name that is ranked ahead of you is Tony Harrison. That seems like it would be an interesting fight for you. Is Harrison someone you would entertain?
TB: Oh yeah! Tony Harrison or Austin Trout. Either one of those fights would be a great fight for me to get on that big stage. They already been there and it’s my time. I believe I would beat both of them.
PC: How would you approach a fight against Tony Harrison? How would that fight play out in your mind?
TB: A win! I would probably do him like Jarrett Hurd done him and stop him. Overall, I know it would be a win.
PC: You took home some Briscoe awards last year, which is a big deal in Philly. I’m sure it was an extreme honor for you to be recognized by your peers to have the “Fight of the Year” and “Performance of the Year.”
TB: That felt great for me to win those two awards. It felt good to me because it shows that the city is acknowledging me and all of my hard work is not going unnoticed. Everybody is seeing me progress. The first 19 fights of my career was all good, but my career really started in 2016 when I signed with Marshall.
PC: Do you plan on fighting 3 times this year as well or would you prefer bigger fights and maybe fight less than what you had last year?
TB: I don’t think I’m getting any small fights. I’ve been talking to my promoter and all of the rest of my fights should be big fights for me. I’m not going backwards. I’m done on the Philly scene; the next fights should be all big fights. I’m in a deep division, but I think I can handle myself against any one of them guys and beat a lot of them guys.
PC: What do you feel you bring to the division and what do you feel the division lacks, if anything?
TB: I think boxing overall lacks heart and will. I don’t see the same determination to win as I did before. I proved that in 2 fights by coming off of the canvas a total of 4 times in 2 fights. In both of those fights, I got back up and knocked my opponents out.
PC: Some people will look at that as a bad thing, having to get up off of the canvas in consecutive fights, but you don’t view it that way at all.
TB: Right! It’s a fight, so it happens, but it’s what you do after you get up that counts. I’m bringing power to the division as well. I’m bringing everything that boxing is lacking now. I’m putting on a show. There are a lot of things going on in boxing right now that I can’t get down with. The best fight the best. Why is everyone ducking Spence? If y'all champions and he’s been calling you out, make it happen. I bet if Floyd called out Thurman right now, I bet Thurman would jump on it. What’s the difference? Why not jump on another champion calling you out?
PC: Is there a particular titleholder at 154-pounds that you are gunning for or do you feel all of the champions are solid and you will gun for either one of them?
TB: I’ll fight any one of them. Everybody thinks the weakest link is Hurd. He is the weakest link and he’s fighting Lara, which I think Lara is going to beat him. Then, I think Lara is going to fight [Jermell] Charlo and if he beats Charlo, he’s going to move up to 160 and the belt is going to be vacant. That’s just my thinking. But I will fight any one of the champions right now if I got a date; any one of them.
PC: Do you view Lara or Charlo as the toughest guy in the division right now?
TB: Charlo! He has power and Lara is more of a boxer.
PC: I wish you the best, look forward to seeing what kind of noise you can make this year, and definitely keep me in the loop. Is there anything else you want to add?
TB: I’m in the gym getting ready. I was told that I should be fighting in April, so we’re sharpening up the tools and staying ready; nothing hard, but staying sharp. And as always, thank you, man.
[ Follow Percy Crawford on Twitter @MrLouis1ana ]