Interview by Declan Warrington
BN: How has learning heโll soon be a parent affected Jesse Rodriguez?
RG: When somebodyโs expecting their first baby, it does change the way they think. His mentality has changed; heโs a little bit more focused and serious about life itself; it makes a big change on any human being.
Thereโs situations where a fighter thinks a little more about risking his health and life in the ring; where fighters hold back a little when they start having a family. Itโs something that could work both ways. We wonโt see until fight night, but from what it looks like now in training camp and showing us the hunger that he has during sparring, it looks like itโs motivated him in a positive way, where heโll try even harder. Heโs been in camp for almost three months. Some fighters โย maybe theyโd come to camp a little bit later, or train at home for a few weeks, having a girlfriend thatโs pregnant and wanting to be with her. But no, heโs decided to get here [Oxnard, California] for September, and has been focused. That says a lot.
Talent-wise heโs up there among the best [Iโve trained]. I never include my brother Mikey because heโs my brother and I donโt like to put him at number one โย of course youโll pick your brother โ but Mikeyโs so smart, very technical, and knew when to connect. Skills-wise itโs between โBamโ and Nonito Donaire [as number one]. Nonito Donaire was great โ he had some great talent.
BN: How good is Sunny Edwards?
RG: Great fighter. Great fighter. Very talented; very difficult; fast. Itโs a real challenge for us. Itโs going to be a great fight.
What weโre seeing on social media and what he says in interviews โ heโs good for boxing. Heโs already a champion whoโs defended his title a few times. He backs up what he says, which is good. Iโm happy weโre facing him; heโs the one who says more about the way he feels; the way boxing is.
Heโs gonna listen and heโs gonna fight smart and heโs gonna box [and avoid the ropes]. Heโs gonna try and use his feet to move around; weโre gonna have our moments too, but heโs going to have his moments. Itโs going to be a fight where, round by round, weโre going to figure out little things and heโs going to do the same with his corner. Thatโs what makes this such an interesting fight. Itโs maybe the best fight of the lower weight classes of the year. They deserve a lot of credit for accepting the fight; Sunny for even coming to the country and proving himself. Thatโs what a real warrior โ a real fighter โ does.
I let [Rodriguezโs] father go [on the press tour] instead of me because the dad wanted to spend time with his son โ I had a lot of work anyways โ he was a little surprised because he tells me what weโve seen on social media, [and] it was totally the opposite. [Edwards] was very friendly; they played a few games together. It was very respectful. That tells you heโs a good person, and says what he says to sell a fight. Smaller weights need a fight like this.
Guys like Chocolatito [Roman Gonzalez]; [Carlos] Cuadras; [McWilliams] Arroyo; [Srisaket Sor] Rungvisai made a change. They forced these kids to do the same thing. Itโs something they started โ they fight each other โ and the younger generation needs to continue that so the boxing world keeps those weight classes in mind.
BN: As his former trainer, how risky do you consider Anthony Joshuaโs fight with Otto Wallin?
RG: One thing about Anthony is he could struggle at looking good, like he has in the past couple of fights, where thereโs a little holding back โ but he gets the work done. His last fight [against Robert Helenius in August] he had a really nice knockout, where maybe earlier people were saying, โHeโs afraidโ. In the end, he got the work done.
Heโs an athlete; heโs a very, very talented fighter โ probably the most talented in the heavyweight division. People question his heart; his mentality; his problems. But, it could take four, five, six rounds โย heโll get the work done. One punch could change everything around.
He knows whatโs next. He knows theyโre both fighting on the same card โ [Deontay] Wilder. Most possibly theyโll fight each other next. So heโs gonna be ready. I actually think heโs going to impress โ heโs going to impress to a point where people actually think Anthony Joshua could beat Wilder. I think he could.
There will be plenty of time to prepare [for Wilder, regardless of Wallin being a southpaw]. He just needs to get this fight out of the way, and I think Anthony knows โ thatโs why I believe heโs going to perform. Heโs going to look good and prove everybody that talks negative about him wrong. Itโs going to show the world that he belongs up there with the best. I truly believe Anthony could beat Wilder. Wilder has great power, but, besides that it could even be an easy fight for Anthony.
With Wilder, weโve seen a few of his performances, and he hasnโt looked very well โย especially the last fight against Tyson Fury [in 2021]. If he lands he could hurt Anthony and maybe knock him out, but when it comes to skills, to footwork, I put Anthony way ahead, so I donโt see why people have Wilder so high, thinking heโs gonna beat Anthony so easy. Anthonyโs got better skills; heโs a complete athlete, and when it comes to that fight heโs going to be at his best. Heโs gonna prove a lot of people wrong.
BN: What do you think of him being guided by Ben Davison, and not Derrick James, for this fight?
RG: Honestly, I donโt think thereโs any trainer in the world thatโs gonna make a big difference. Anthonyโs already an athlete; heโs a fighter thatโs been fighting for quite a while. Can somebody change his style? I donโt think so. Heโs himself. It doesnโt matter who heโs training with. Switch the story around โ Ryan Garcia [against Oscar Duarte]. I didnโt see much of a difference in his last fight. He did things I donโt think Derrick James is teaching him. He was dropping his right hand every time he threw his left. When you already have those types of fighters thereโs not much to teach.
Sometimes itโs better for somebody to work with them in a positive way mentally. Maybe Davison is the right guy to do that. Any trainer being strict and doing their job will have Anthony in great shape โย and thatโs what he needs. Most of the people around him are โYesโ men. Itโs very normal when you have a superstar. Derrick James did a good job โย heโs a great trainer.
BNโฆyou think heโs the most talented heavyweight in the world?
RG: I canโt say heโs more talented than [Oleksandr] Usyk because Usykโs coming from the smaller weight classes. Heโs fast; got really good footwork; good angles. But heโs too small. Iโd love to see him beat [Tyson] Fury up, because I was a little disappointed in Fury for what he did in his last fight [against Francis Ngannou]. He disrespected boxing โ I donโt think he even trained for that fight. But if Furyโs in shape, heโs a very dangerous fighter. But, skills-wise? Anthony Joshuaโs much more skilled. Furyโs not as talented, but heโs a better fighter, because he knows how to use his body; he knows how to hold; how to push. Even his gloves โ he has them loose. Heโs a complete fighter. Anthony Joshua wonโt do stuff like that โ heโs too fair. Too honest with himself. โI canโt do that. I donโt want to do that.โ Man, when youโre in trouble, you gotta learn to hit your opponent with a low blow so you get a five-minute break. Fury knows all that. He uses his weight to tire out his opponents. Thatโs what heโll do with Usyk โ use his body; his weight. If Furyโs in great shape I can see him beating Usyk.