"I got some great offers from MMA organizations; big organizations too. I'm going to leave that door open. And boxing is my love too. The thing is, for me to make money in MMA now is more realistic than in boxing. I will find a solution and figure something out. As far as boxing, I hear a lot of kickboxers right now talking about they want to box, but to be honest, they don't know what they are talking about. It's a whole different game. I can talk about it because I have done that already. I have the experience. I trained with the best and sparred with the best boxers and trainers here. I can say for myself that I can do it if I dedicate myself to it. I know I can become one of the top boxers....I will just speak facts, and the facts is I did what no other kickboxer has ever did. I moved up from 70 kilos to heavyweight and I was the undisputed champion in all different weight classes. I climbed that ladder because I didn't have much competition," stated K-1 knockout artist and Muay Thai standout Tyrone Spong, who talked about his move to the United States to make the transition to mixed martial arts, or even boxing, in the near future. You don't want to miss what else he had to say. Check it out!
PC: How is everything going, man?
TS: I'm good, Percy. I'm good. I'm down here in Florida. I just moved down here. I've been here for about 3 or 4 months, but I made the decision to move down and the transformation is going on right now.
PC: What prompted you to make the move? I know a lot of guys have been seeking your service and want to train with you. Was that one of the key factors?
TS: Yeah, that helped me make the decision. A lot of guys hit me up because they wanted to work with me. I have been over here a few times and why I did that, I saw some opportunities for myself. I was approached by some people in different sports, both boxing and MMA. I'm an open-minded guy and I saw some opportunities right here and I made the decision to move over here and bring my family over here too.
PC: King Mo loved going to Holland to work with you. A lot of people feel you were a big impact in why Rashad Evans looked so good against Tito Ortiz. What do you feel you give these guys that maybe they were lacking or needing work on?
TS: I think the main thing that I bring in is positive and good energy. I use my skills and my talents to motivate these guys. I'm pulling them along with me. It's like preparing a marathon runner. I am just guiding them throughout camp. I'm the guy running up front and I gotta get them next to me. But another thing is I want to feel a connection. You called two of my very good friends. King Mo has been my nigga from day one. He helped me a lot here in the States, helping me build contacts and introducing me to you Percy. He introduced me to Rashad too and look what grew out of that. I moved over there and built more good contacts, so I owe a lot to Mo. He came to me for help with standing up and now, I might knock on his door to help me with my ground game. It's fun.
PC: You can go MMA or boxing. What is your mindset right now? Are you still just juggling the two ideas right now?
TS: As of now, I got some great offers from MMA organizations; big organizations too. I'm going to leave that door open. And boxing is my love too. The thing is, for me to make money in MMA now is more realistic than in boxing. I will find a solution and figure something out. As far as boxing, I hear a lot of kickboxers right now talking about they want to box, but to be honest, they don't know what they are talking about. It's a whole different game. I can talk about it because I have done that already. I have the experience. I trained with the best and sparred with the best boxers and trainers here. I can say for myself that I can do it if I dedicate myself to it. I know I can become one of the top boxers. I know that. But for me, I have to thank God for my God-given talent because I can adjust to whatever fighting discipline there is if I just stick to it and dedicate myself. So I have to find a solution and we will see what happens.
PC: We can't have you on and not talk about the thing that you do best and that is kickboxing. You have a big fight coming up on this crazy card that "It's Showtime" is putting on in January. This is one of the best kickboxing cards I've ever seen and you will be fighting Melvin Manhoef. I know it's awhile away, but when will you begin training for Manhoef?
TS: I'm going to start soon because I want to be well prepared and I want to show everybody that it's still me. I didn't do it in a very long time, but it's like I feel a little disrespected because people talk about other cats in the sport and I am going to show everybody that I am the real deal and I am the man. I did what none of the other kickboxers ever did. I'm an easy going guy and I don't usually talk a lot of shit. Now is the time and I will open up my mouth and I will talk. And I still won't trash talk; I will just speak facts, and the facts is I did what no other kickboxer has ever did. I moved up from 70 kilos to heavyweight and I was the undisputed champion in all different weight classes. I climbed that ladder because I didn't have much competition, and when I got up to heavyweight, I had some mixed results, but nobody ever just whooped me ever. It was all just lack of motivation at that time. I wasn't motivated because I wasn't getting a few of the fights that I wanted and I moved up to heavyweight and I had to get used to the big bodies. I just wasn't motivated to train like I had to train. I was training at the same pace. I still was winning fights. I made it to the K-1 finals against Overeem and everyone saw that fight and saw it was a close fight. it could have gone either way, but now I'm motivated and I will start speaking up and speaking the facts and stating what it is.
PC: I'm glad to have you here in the States. We will have you on the site a lot and let people get more familiar with Tyrone Spong. Is there anything you want to say in closing?
TS: I think American fans have been mistreated for a long time because I wasn't here. They held me too long in Europe and Amsterdam. Now I'm fighting here and I'm here to entertain y'all, so don't worry because I will be here for a long time. I will make things happen here, whether it's in MMA or boxing, so just watch me and follow me and you won't be disappointed. You will see everything. FightHype is #1 and I will be on as much as you guys want me on. Thanks Percy.
[ Follow Percy Crawford on Twitter @MrLouis1ana ]