"That's what they want to see him do. They don't want to see him do all that other stuff he's talking about doing. He ain't got no beef with none of them people. He ain't lost to none of them people. If he wants to prove he's all that, tell him to go back and fight Roy again....that's exactly what I want to hear and I'm so glad because now Bernard's forced to fight a real fight. He can't go out there with all that pacing and trying to take his time; no, no, no, no, now you gotta fight 'cause you won't be able to survive all night long. How he gonna survive 12 rounds? We gonna find that out," stated multi-division champion Roy Jones Jr. as he revealed that light heavyweight king Bernard Hopkins has agreed to a 50/50 split of the purse with the stipulation that if the bout ends before 12 rounds, the winner will receive 60% and the loser will get 40%. Check out what else he had to say as Jones talks more about a potential clash with Hopkins in February, his upcoming clash with Danny Green in December and much more.
BT: What's the good word champ?
RJ: Waddup Ben?
BT: Nada. Chillin. I see your boy is ready to do 50/50 now.
RJ: Yeah, all of a sudden.
BT: What do you think changed his mind?
RJ: I guess the power of the people. When people read that interview that you did, I think they probably realized that it wasn't Roy holding up the fight, you know what I mean? Before they were saying Roy this and Roy that, but it ain't Roy. Roy ready to do whatever the people want to see Roy do. Roy ain't got no reason to fight Bernard. Roy ain't chasing Bernard for no reason. Somewhere he had in his head that I'm chasing him. I'm not chasing him. I'm the one that people want to see, I mean, let's just be realistic about it. If it ain't Roy, who else is there? I mean, if he fights Chad Dawson, if he lose, they look at him like he's old. If he fights Adamek, if he lose, people gonna say he's too small and old, you know what I mean? If Bernard wants to try and fight his equal, his equal that he should be dealing with is Roy. That's what they want to see him do. They don't want to see him do all that other stuff he's talking about doing. He ain't got no beef with none of them people. He ain't lost to none of them people. If he wants to prove he's all that, tell him to go back and fight Roy again. Go beat the one that beat him then. Why don't you go try and avenge that loss. That's what it is. I mean, when the people saw the interview, they got a chance to see the truth. Roy ain't duckin' and dodgin' nothing. Roy don't duck and dodge nothing. Roy don't belong to nobody. Roy ain't got no Golden Boy telling him what to do. Roy ain't got nobody telling him what to do. Roy do what Roy want to do when Roy get ready. If you say you want to fight Roy and Roy want to do it, then you fight. If that's what the fans say they want, that's what they should get. If the fans came up to me and said, "Roy, we want to see you fight Klitschko. We think you probably the only one who can go back and win the heavyweight title." Well Klitschko, go ahead and get ready 'cause here I come. I ain't got nothing to hide and I don't run from nobody.
BT: So he's basically agreeing to 50/50, but he's excited about the possibility of doing 60 to the winner and 40 to the loser if the fight doesn't go the distance.
RJ: Yep, if there's a knockout. You exactly right. That's what I really want. See, that interview caused all that, which is superb; that's exactly what I want to hear and I'm so glad because now Bernard's forced to fight a real fight. He can't go out there with all that pacing and trying to take his time; no, no, no, no, now you gotta fight 'cause you won't be able to survive all night long. How he gonna survive 12 rounds? We gonna find that out.
BT: Have they officially made an offer or is this just Bernard talking?
RJ: Oh no, no, no, they sent a bad contract, but of course, my lawyer John Wirt is on top of that. We won't be signing that one, but we'll figure it out. But yeah, they sent a bad contract, but we gonna fix that.
BT: So the Danny Green fight is still a go, right?
RJ: Yeah, that's still a go. Me and Danny Green still gonna do what we do, you know what I mean?
BT: Yeah. I know they're trying to wait until HBO gets that 2010 budget rolling in.
RJ: And that's understandable. And plus, I was already trying to fight Danny Green before he [Hopkins] made up his mind and decided he'd do the 50/50, so I got an obligation I gotta fulfill too so I gotta go ahead and fulfill that.
BT: Did they say how soon they were talking about wanting to do that fight? Are they trying to do that in January?
RJ: I think February, but January is fine with me. Anything from December 5th on is fine with me.
BT: Well, hopefully everything comes through with the contract...
RJ: (Cutting in) Well that's what you got lawyers for. As long as you got lawyers watching lawyers, you ain't gotta worry about all that (laughing). Like I said, for me, any time, December 5th on, I'm ready.
BT: Well I don't want to keep you Champ. Did you get a chance to see that Floyd fight this weekend?
RJ: Nah, I didn't see that, but I heard about it. You knew Floyd was going to outclass him because he's too light for Floyd. That was an easy call for me.
BT: Outclass? I think you're being too kind (laughing).
RJ: Yeah, well, I mean, he's too slow for Floyd so, you know?
BT: Yeah, it was pretty bad. I take it you're planning a performance like that for Danny Green.
RJ: No, no, no, no, you know I gotta give you more than that. That's not enough for me. I gotta give you more than that.
BT: (Laughing) Actually, you're right. I take that back. Hopefully you give us a lot more than that.
RJ: I'm going to give you way more than that. I'm the pound-for-pound king. I gotta give you what you pay for.
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