Braithwaite targets big names …
WBC champ calls out Jirov, Mesi, Toney, Jones, and Tarver
By Richard Thomas
Guyana Chronicle
March 25, 2004
WBC cruiserweight champion Wayne 'Big Truck' Braithwaite (20-0, 17 KOs) is training for his second outing against Louis Azille (18-2-2, 15 KOs) on the April 17th DKP pay-per-view event.
He says he is ready to knockout Azille and anyone else. "Azille is preparing for a beating and it will be more severe than the first," Braithwaite told Fightnews.
"I’ll knockout anybody. I have been calling out Vassiliy Jirov for a year, and there has been no reply. I’ll beat Joe Mesi in his hometown of Buffalo, and the fight won’t go the distance. I’ll also break James Toney’s other leg and send him into retirement."
Braithwaite’s trainer Colin Morgan added, "We need more fights because we’re knocking everybody out. We need a fight every month. Wayne had a fight in February 2003 against Ravea Springs (25-3, 19KOs) and he knocked him out in four rounds. Then his next fight was in December 2003, where he knocked out Luis Pineda (18-4, 16KOs) in 1:27 of the first round, and now he’s fighting four months later. If we knock out a guy tonight then we need a fight tomorrow night. With this fight, if we knock out Azille early then we want to fight as soon as possible because Wayne wouldn’t get any work with Azille and Wayne is in shape. Wayne will be willing to fight on Don King’s Showtime card on May 1 or on DKP's Jones-Tarver pay-per-view event on May 15."
Fourteen out of Braithwaite’s 17 kayos (in a total of 20 fights) have come in four rounds or less, and the ‘Big Truck’ has rolled over 15 foes in a row via the knockout route.
Fightnews had the opportunity to speak with the Guyanese-born Braithwaite at Crunch Gym in New York City.
What do you think about the Jirov/Mesi fight?
If the fight went 12 rounds, Jirov would have knocked out Mesi.
Would you fight Mesi?
I'd like to fight Mesi. I'd beat him in his hometown. The fight won’t go the distance.
What about a showdown with Jirov?
I’ve been calling out Jirov for the longest while, since last year, and there has been no reply.
Who else would you like to fight?
James Toney, Roy Jones, and Antonio Tarver. I’m calling out all of them. I’ll fight anybody.
Even the big heavyweights?
I’ll fight any heavyweight. Anybody.
How about the Klitschkos?
Why not?
So what do you have to say about James Toney?
I’ll break his other leg, and send him into retirement. He was commenting on my fight when I fought Ravea Springs and he said that he doesn’t like me. Well I don’t like him. Toney is scared of me. He fought Jirov, and then he moved up to the heavyweight division. If he called me out why didn’t he fight me? He’s scared of me.
Now what about your fight coming up with Azille?
Azille is preparing for a beating, and it will be more severe than the first. The last time he made an excuse of his loss, but he got knocked out. I dropped him and he took a knee, and he quit. The referee counted to 10 and he didn’t get up. The referee could have counted to 200, and he would never have gotten up.
So what will the outcome of the fight be?
I guarantee that the fight won’t go 12 rounds.
What are your goals for the future?
I’m going to be the undisputed cruiserweight champion of the world, and I’m going to remain undefeated in my entire career. If I fight someone that is not a real good fighter, I’ll just beat them up. I want to fight the best fighters out there because that will bring the best out of me. The only person that can beat me is myself. I just have to keep doing the right things.
So you’re planning on breaking Rocky Marciano’s record of 49-0?
I’m going to break everybody’s record.
Is there anything that you would like to say to the boxing world?
I just want to encourage the Guyanese people and others in Brooklyn and America to come out and watch the fights. And you don’t have to come to only see my fight because it will be a good card (Oquendo/Ruiz, Byrd/Golota, Mayorga/Rivera, Mormeck/Hill, Braithwaite/Azille, and probably more).
I am working hard from Monday through Saturday at Crunch Gym. And I would like to invite the public to an open workout. I am here in the afternoons around 3pm. (Crunch is located on 38th Street at the corner of Broadway in Manhattan, New York).