by David P. Greisman

This past November, heavyweight contender Bermane Stiverne filed a lawsuit against Don King, alleging violations of the Muhammad Ali Boxing Reform Act. That lawsuit was settled in December, with Stiverne remaining in promotional relationship with King.

BoxingScene.com: You recently had a lawsuit against Don King, and now it’s been settled. What kind of distraction had that been in your career beforehand?

Stiverne: “None. I mean, I got a strong mind, so me and Don only had a couple issues, differences. And then we sat down like grown men and talked it out, and we’re good to go.”

BoxingScene.com: But these issues were significant enough that you wanted to get away from him.

Stiverne: “I mean… (laughs). Like I said, you know what I’m saying, whatever happened in the past, man, we good now. Everything good. We’re all family.”

BoxingScene.com: What do you expect to be different in your relationship now that you finally sat down and worked out the issues?

Stiverne: “He’ll be able to do what he does best, and I’ll be able to do what I do best.”

BoxingScene.com: And does that mean fighting more often than you were under him?

Stiverne: “That’s one of the major ones.”

BoxingScene.com: How difficult is it for you as a fighter, wanting to work toward these goals but to be on the shelf, to be waiting, to be inactive like you had been?

Stiverne: “You know what, I feel whatever I’ve been through or whatever happened in my career was for this moment to happen right now.”

Pick up a copy of David’s new book, “Fighting Words: The Heart and Heartbreak of Boxing,” at http://bit.ly/fightingwordsamazon or internationally at http://bit.ly/fightingwordsworldwide. Send questions/comments via email at fightingwords1@gmail.com