"I found out that Gary Shaw was the one that expedited the whole situation. He expedited the whole situation. Maybe Gary Shaw got something against me; I don't know...One fighter does not define my career as a boxing teacher...like I said before, I wish Chad Dawson and his family all of the luck in the world. I have no animosity towards him. I don't roll like that. It's just something where Gary Shaw, who doesn't know a left hook from a fish hook, supposedly knows it all. Why would you make Chad Dawson fight Adrian Diaconu in Canada? Gary Shaw said that he was taking Chad into a new direction. I think Gary Shaw should wake up and take himself into another direction. Having Chad fight back to back Canadians in Canada, he's gotta be out of his mind or he's just plain dumb," stated world-class trainer Eddie Mustafa Muhammad, who shared his thoughts on Chad Dawson's upcoming clash with Adrian Diaconu and much more, including Bernard Hopkins' rematch with Jean Pascal, Andre Berto's clash with Victor Ortiz, Roy Jones Jr.'s return to the ring, and of course Manny Pacquiao's showdown with Shane Mosley. Check it out!
PC: How is everything going my man?
EMM: Everything is lovely. You know, the show must go on no matter how it winds up.
PC: You released a statement wishing Chad Dawson the best right after he let you go, but I really haven't seen you speak about it too much. What happened with that situation?
EMM: Well, you know, as calls kept coming in to me, I found out that Gary Shaw was the one that expedited the whole situation. He expedited the whole situation. Maybe Gary Shaw got something against me; I don't know and really, I don't give a fuck. One fighter does not define my career as a boxing teacher.
PC: Floyd Mayweather Sr. told me that he felt you were the fall guy. He said anytime you see a fighter perform as poorly as Chad did in the Pascal fight, there has to be a fall guy and he feels you took the fall.
EMM: And he's 100% right.
PC: I understand you have some great young fighters coming out of your camp.
EMM: Ah man, I got this kid named Badou Jack from Sweden. He's 5-0 with 4 knockouts and he's doing real good. I'm keeping it moving. One fighter does not define who Eddie Mustafa Muhammad is.
PC: Roy Jones paid you a great compliment when he was doing commentary for the Saul Alvarez/Matthew Hatton fight. He said he believed that you two are two of the best body punchers of all time. How does it feel to get a compliment like that from Jones?
EMM: For a guy that I consider up there as one of the greatest fighters of all time, that's a true compliment. I was humbled by it and I thank him for thinking about me and putting me in that category. Roy is a real boxing aficionado. He knows the game inside and out. Say what you want to say about Roy Jones, but he lives, drinks and breathes boxing.
PC: I agree. People can feel a certain way about him continuing to fight, but he can talk boxing with the best of them.
EMM: He may have lost a step or two, but he still got that heart and determination. And sometimes, that can take you a long way.
PC: And you told me awhile back that you can never tell a guy when to stop. They have to find out on their own.
EMM: Exactly! That is 100% the truth. Everybody loves Roy and they want to see him call it a career, but you're not in the ring feeling what he feels. You never know, he could come back and win another world title and then all of the naysayers will start hopping on the Roy Jones bandwagon again. Let the man do his thing; let him do what he gotta do until it's out of his system.
PC: What are your thoughts on Sergio Martinez?
EMM: I think Sergio is a great fighter. He's good for boxing and he shows that he has a ton of heart. He is a real technical fighter. He's a very good technical fighter. Sergio can do it all. He has very good head movement, great jab, and he's starting to develop his punch now.
PC: Do you think he can maintain this level of success being that he got into the sport so late? He hasn't been in too many grueling fights, but he is 36.
EMM: Let me explain something to you, you have to realize where he comes from and his background. Sergio was a soccer player and a cyclist, and that built up his stamina and his legs and everything else. He hasn't been in any punishing fights that are going to hurt him. His body is well preserved.
PC: Can James Kirkland take center stage again at 154 pounds after his stint in prison? They are keeping him very busy.
EMM: He had a great trainer in Ann Wolfe, who I considered a great trainer. I don't know what happened, but he has a great trainer now in Kenny Adams and Kenny will take him to that same level that Ann Wolfe was taking him too.
PC: I want to get your opinion on Yuriorkis Gamboa. What did you think of his performance over Solis and his future in the sport?
EMM: He put on the show that he had to put on and he gave the people what they expected to see of him. Everybody wants to see the flashy knockout artist and he did that. Now the doors will start opening up for Gamboa. He looked spectacular in knocking out Solis.
PC: I want to switch from fights that happened to upcoming fights. Andre Berto will be facing Victor Ortiz in a couple of weeks. How do you see that fight going?
EMM: Andre Berto is starting to step to the plate and show everybody he is a legitimate world champion. Victor was the man before that mishap with Maidana. Now he gotta step to the plate again. It's gonna be a hard step, but I give him a lot of credit for even accepting the fight against a fighter like Andre Berto, who is still not even in his prime yet.
PC: You've told me in the past sometimes these older fighters have one last good one in them. Shane Mosley will be fighting Manny Pacquiao on May 7th in Vegas. Does the old dog have one more trick?
EMM: Never underestimate a puncher. We all know as good as Manny Pacquiao is, he's been hit already. He's been hit and he's been stopped. But he's never been hit the way Shane Mosley can hit. Shane may have lost a step or two, but that power remains. He has a great teacher in Naazim Richardson.
PC: Bernard Hopkins is set to go back to Canada to face Jean Pascal again. Can he walk away from Canada with a win this time?
EMM: Listen, Bernard beat him fair and square the first fight. That just gave Bernard more confidence to go over there because he figures, "I beat him once, I can beat him again." He don't care where it's at. Bernard is a true icon of the sport and he knows how to fight. Pascal doesn't know how to fight yet. When he fights a real fighter...and he may be past his prime, but he still knows how to get out of the way of punches, how to roll, when to turn the heat up and when not to turn the heat up. Bernard is definitely old school.
PC: You are old school as well because you are always honest and shoot from the hip and it's a pleasure every time I get a chance to speak to you. Give me some closing thoughts Eddie.
EMM: Listen, it is my pleasure, and like I said before, I wish Chad Dawson and his family all of the luck in the world. I have no animosity towards him. I don't roll like that. It's just something where Gary Shaw, who doesn't know a left hook from a fish hook, supposedly knows it all. Why would you make Chad Dawson fight Adrian Diaconu in Canada? Gary Shaw said that he was taking Chad into a new direction. I think Gary Shaw should wake up and take himself into another direction. Having Chad fight back to back Canadians in Canada, he's gotta be out of his mind or he's just plain dumb. I was really dumbfounded when I heard Gary Shaw was trying to make Dawson/Diaconu in Canada. Chad can beat this guy from pillar to post and they will give it to Diaconu. Gary either doesn't know how to protect his fighters or maybe he got hit in the head; I don't know, but if this is taking your fighter in another direction, you're about to accomplish that buddy...and it's not the right direction.
[ Follow Percy Crawford on Twitter @MrLouis1ana ]