"Shane looks good man. We have a few things to work on because we've only worked together once and that was a year agoÂ… Shane has to be smart because a lot of people think he's going to wreck Berto and if you don't wreck him in some eyes, no matter how many rounds you won, Berto won the fight," stated world-class trainer Brother Naazim Richardson, who's currently training Mosley for his upcoming clash with Andre Berto. Check it out!
PC: Brother Naaz. How is it going man?
NR: Holding on with both hands man.
PC: I see you are back to putting in the long nights.
NR: Well, yeah man. I jumped straight from the Hopkins camp and I just finished up with Shane.
PC: Congrats on the Hopkins win over Ornelas. Who would you like to see Hopkins fight next, Danny Green or someone else?
NR: The Danny Green fight is cool as long as X could come in at a weight that he's comfortable at and where he wouldn't lose any speed. The thing is Perc, I think X could still make middleweight. I told him that in this camp. He was 180 with 3 weeks of camp left. Once he starts to train man, the weight just falls off of him. I told you before Perc, I don't know what it is man, I just think that Hopkins and Jones will never fight again. Something always gets in the way, like that fight is cursed.
PC: You said Danny Green could very well knock Roy out and ruin things.
NR: Yeah man. I don't know what it is.
PC: Now that your attention is directed towards Shane, how has he been looking in camp?
NR: Shane looks good man. We have a few things to work on because we've only worked together once and that was a year ago. It's sad when a man who was suspended for cheating will probably be fighting soon after the guy he was trying to cheat against. Shane should have been suspended for a year as well because that's how long it took him to get a fight; nonsense man. But we are fine-tuning some things. Shane was calling me asking when can I be in camp just when they were talking about the Pacquiao fight happening. He was ready to go (laughing). He has his son here and we will be bringing in other guys.
PC: You have been following Andre Berto since the amateur days. That has to help in some manner for this fight?
NR: You never know. That's like when we had the press conference, his trainer Tony was like, "This is more like me against you Naazim." This is all about Shane and Andre. They gotta let that amateur shit go man. But I have seen guys fight harder because a coach that beat them in the amateurs was in the corner of their opponent. See, the thing is, and this is what I have been telling Shane, "People are expecting you to smash Berto, so every round that he's not knocked out, he may be getting on the scorecards." So we can't go in thinking knockout or nothing. We gotta put rounds in the bank too because Berto throws flashy combos and makes a lot of noises when he punches and that means something to some judges.
PC: Stylistically, what challenges do you think Berto poses?
NR: He does have fast hands and Berto done been in some dog fights, so he knows how to dig down. The thing is I keep seeing people saying, "Berto's fast hands and combinations are going to be too much for Shane." And I'm like, "These motherfuckers act like Shane just going to be standing there and letting Berto hit him." It ain't going down like that, but Shane has to be smart because a lot of people think he's going to wreck Berto and if you don't wreck him in some eyes, no matter how many rounds you won, Berto won the fight. I just finished watching some DVDs of Berto.
PC: I won't even ask what flaws or anything that you see in his game. I did want to ask you though, when you get a seasoned vet like Shane, because obviously with a younger guy out of the amateurs, you could impose your strategies on them, but with a guy like Shane, when you first get him, do you watch him for a day and then make your changes?
NR: Well, I watch tapes of him first and then I ask myself what I could do to Shane if I was fighting this Shane Mosley and then I make changes. See, it's not always about what a fighter could do. Sometimes it's about what other fighters could do to them and you correct those mistakes. I told Shane he should mail the belt to Berto and tell him I will get it back on January 30th. I would mail Berto the WBA belt and let him know we'll get it back on the 30th.
PC: What did you think of the Peterson-Bradley fight?
NR: I didn't understand why they put so much muscle on Peterson. Rock called me and said this fight looks just like my fight with Peterson in the amateurs. And it did man. I think Bradley wins on determination and hard work more than skills. Not saying that he doesn't have the skills, but he could beat a fighter that is more skilled than him because he is a determined dude. But I thought Lamont was too bulked up for that fight.
PC: I know you think highly of Paul Williams. Were you that impressed with Sergio Martinez or unimpressed with Williams in that fight?
NR: Man, I'm going to tell you, I don't care who you are, that bouncing back and forth in weight is going to catch up to Paul Williams man. I think it was a hell of a fight, but I just don't see how long he could keep doing that. I don't know if he could still make 147.
PC: He told me that was his most comfortable weight.
NR: It's only comfortable because he's the bully there. Paul Williams feels like even if I am a little drained and sucked in at 147, I'm so much bigger than everybody that I am fighting, it doesn't matter. He's so much bigger than the competition that he can come in a little dehydrated and drained because he's the bully at 147 and that's why it's his most comfortable weight. It's like asking a kid that's 6'8" if they want to stay in high school or go play against the pros. In high school, 9 times out of 10, he's the biggest kid there. If he goes to the NBA, the entire league is that size. I think it's the same with Williams. Those guys at 160 and 168, if they can't match his height, they can match his power. Emmanuel Steward used to do that shit with Tommy Hearns. He was one of the first trainers that started that draining fighters shit. I never understood why they brought him in so light for that first fight against Ray Leonard. Man, Emmanuel used to bring Tommy Hearns to those weigh-ins so drained, that motherfucker's eyes used to look like headlights.
PC: (Laughing) I gotta let you go on that one. It's always good catching up with you my man. I will be in Vegas for the Berto fight, so I will catch up to you then.
NR: Hit me up Perc. We will talk before then, but definitely hit me up out there.
[ Follow Percy Crawford on Twitter @MrLouis1ana ]