"The fact is Shane is old. He may not want to admit it, but he's old. Shane can't throw the four to five-punch combinations that he wants to anymore and if you watched the Mayweather fight, it showed. Can Shane win the fight? Crazier things have happened in boxing. Shane will need to get Manny in the early rounds because as the fight goes on, Manny is going to chop Shane up. If Shane goes to the body early, and exclusively to the body, he has a shot because Manny is not the best inside fighter. The consensus going into the fight is that he's not going to win the fight. If he wins the fight, I will be happy for him. I'm not going for him, but I'm also not going against him. All I'm stating is facts, and logic shows its not really his time," stated former middleweight champion John David Jackson as he shared his thoughts on the highly-anticipated May 7th showdown between Manny Pacquiao and Shane Mosley. Currently preparing welterweight Brad Solomon for tonight's clash with Demetrius Hopkins, Jackson took time out of his schedule to discuss Pacquiao, Mosley, Bernard Hopkins and upcoming rematch with Jean Pascal, Sergio Martinez, and much more. Check it out!
JA: How's everything going John?
JDJ: Everything is going well Jimmy. We are just preparing for Brad Solomon's fight against Demetrius Hopkins tonight on ESPN. Brad has been training really well for the fight and I believe that by Brad fighting in guys own backyards and being able to prevail convincingly, I don't see any problems in this fight with Demetrius. Brad is a very hard working man in the gym and it will show tomorrow night.
JA: Do you think Demetrius has piggybacked off of Bernard's name. Do you see any killer instinct in Demetrius that you would see in Bernard?
JDJ: No. Like you said, he's piggybacked off his last name and the difference is Bernard had to fight his way up to become number one contender. He fought Roy Jones in 1993 and came up short, but it wasn't his time. He had to fight more and more to work his way back up to the number one ranking in the IBF, ultimately winning the IBF title and then going on to have a great career. Demetrius doesn't have the same background that Bernard had. Bernard did right by Demetrius and took him on at Golden Boy where they picked and chose his fights carefully. Now that he no longer has that umbrella to cover him, he has to fight. Top Rank had him and they dropped him, so that must tell you that they didn't see a future with him. Having said that, he has to fight and coming into to this fight, he needs to have his bread buttered well and I don't see how he wins the fight against Brad Solomon.
JA: You train Marcus Upshaw and he has a fight against Osumanu Adama. How's preparations going for that fight.
JDJ: Osumanu is a tough, durable kid who will be coming down in weight to fight Marcus. Marcus, early on his career, didn't fight at the right weight, but now he's fighting at 160 and he's on the right track.
JA: Marcus is 13-4 with 1 draw. Did his losses come before he started working with you?
JDJ: All before me.
JA: Did you have to build up his confidence at all? I'm sure his career wasn't going the way he wanted it to go.
JDJ: Over time, but most of all it's the teaching and the learning; he needed to realize that he could become a great fighter, not just a good fighter. I will be honest, it's been a rough road for me because he's been stubborn in his ways at times, but for the most part, he listens. With his build and body makeup, he would be better suited for boxing; I'm not talking about him moving all over the ring, but him staying on the outside using his long reach and height to his advantage. Marcus likes to go toe-to-toe and brawl, but he's not made for that. He's getting there and he's more comfortable boxing, so I'm not getting upset at him too much.
JA: Last time we talked, you said a lot of nice things about Shane Mosley and gave him some advice. Did Shane or anyone from his camp reach out to you?
JDJ: Shane stuck with Naazim Richardson. Shane is a grown man and he does what he wants to do and sticks with who he feels comfortable with. You can't put all the blame on the trainers, but the fact is Shane is old. He may not want to admit it, but he's old. Shane can't throw the four to five-punch combinations that he wants to anymore and if you watched the Mayweather fight, it showed. Can Shane win the fight? Crazier things have happened in boxing. Shane will need to get Manny in the early rounds because as the fight goes on, Manny is going to chop Shane up. If Shane goes to the body early, and exclusively to the body, he has a shot because Manny is not the best inside fighter. The consensus going into the fight is that he's not going to win the fight. If he wins the fight, I will be happy for him. I'm not going for him, but I'm also not going against him. All I'm stating is facts, and logic shows its not really his time. Five years ago, it would have been a great fight. Now, it won't be a great fight. All parties involved have done a great job selling the fight. I think Freddie Roach will devise a plan that will make Manny shine best. I don't think Manny will prevail from what Freddie draws up in the fight, but from what Manny brings to the fight and that's his warrior mentality and ring generalship.
JA: Will you be in Bernard's corner for his rematch against Jean Pascal?
JDJ: I won't rule it out and there's a possibility we might work together. To be honest with you, me and Bernard have chemistry together. We fought against each other and he's done well when I've been in his camp and was able to do my thing in the Tarver and the Kelly Pavlik fights. Both fights, I was allowed to do my job and Bernard looked spectacular in both of them. We'll see what happens, but I'm not going to rule it out.
JA: What are your thoughts on the rematch?
JDJ: Like I said before, it's not what Bernard does, because Bernard is going to do what he does. It's up to Pascal how this rematch plays out because Bernard knows that he can beat this kid. Pascal will have to be the one to dictate the pace and tempo of the fight.
JA: Do you think Sergio Martinez is the real deal?
JDJ: I'm not going to knock him. A lot of people will not like what I say, but he's a poor man's version of me. He gives you different angles, different looks, and his style is so difficult. On TV, it may look easy, but once you get in the ring, it's hard to deal with. I like him because he's a good puncher, good boxer, and a lot of guys may sleep on him. I think right now, he's the best middleweight in the world and no one will argue that. I don't think he will fight Manny because there's too much of a weight difference. He won't fight Floyd because he's too big for those guys. I think a great fight would be a fight between Martinez and Andre Ward. Would it be an exciting fight? No, but I think that he has the right tools to make Andre come out of his shell. I think that fight would be a good fight.
JA: I think he reminds me of Calzaghe with the way he draws you in.
JDJ: Somewhat Jimmy. Calzaghe is a little bit busier, but not heavy-handed like Martinez. Calzaghe is more of a slappy puncher, not putting his whole body into the punch. Martinez sits down on his punches and fights with a little bit more authority on his punches. They have a style, to a degree, that's similar. Calzaghe is more herky jerky and Martinez will set traps for you and is a smart defensive fighter.
JA: Is there anything that you want to say in closing to your fans?
JDJ: I want to say this, a lot of times I hear about how trainers are great and how well they're doing. I don't call myself a great trainer because I haven't achieved that yet. Time will only tell how great I am. People who call themselves great trainer are not great trainers. They're barely good. I think that I'm a very good trainer and if a fighter listens to me, they will get better. The problem with me is that I'm not a "ra ra" guy and cheer you on and hold your hand as a fighter because that's not what I did as a fighter. I was a fighter and I loved it. There's an old Marvin Hagler saying, "Love the sport like a boy, but play it like a man," and that's what I did. Boxing was my job. I didn't need a conditioning coach, a strength coach, or a guy to hold the bag because I did all of that myself. What makes a great trainer is the fact that they can develop a guy from the amateurs all the way to the pros. You have to give Emanuel Steward a lot of credit because he developed a lot of guys from the amateur level to become world champions; that's when you've done something.