Manfredo, Jones, Rivera, Spinks, Roach and more....

Interview with ICEMAN John Scully BT: Manfredo-Spina. Give me your thoughts. ICE: I thought Peter really put on a super disciplined performance and his composure under those circumstances, in a fight that big, was really impressive. He became a real contender that night, I think, in the eyes of even his toughest critics. BT: Manfredo looked really good. Do you think that he is starting to reach his full potential as a fighter. ICE: He has definitely made great strides towards reaching that potential, yes. He looks more confident, sharp, relaxed and composed than he ever has and I am sure he isn't even in his prime yet so I think the best is still yet to come BT: How much of an impact do you think Freddie Roach has had on his career? ICE: Well, on the one hand, Peter already knew how to fight and box from when his dad trained him for all those years but sometimes it's a thing where a relationship might get a little stale and you need some new surroundings and fresh ideas to kind of rejuvenate you as a fighter. Obviously Peter has shown great improvement in recent months working with Freddy but I also think there was potential that was there in him for a long time and Freddy was the man who found a way to bring it out. So you have to credit Peter Sr. for bringing up a fighter in the manner that he did because what Junior brought with him to the table out in California was what Freddy really improved on. You have to give credit to both guys in a sense. One thing I really like about Freddy as a trainer is that he is a real boxing person through and through. I watch him and he in no way seems to want to be a part of the show of it all or anything like that. He's all business in there, he stays calm, doesn't make a big show out of anything. Even after the fight in the glow of victory he seems to stay real composed and professional and he lets the fighter have all the spotlight even when he himself certainly deserves some of it. He also seems to have a real grasp on how to talk to a fighter and how to relate to him and because of that I get the impression that anybody that worked under him would find themselves a better fighter at the end of the day. BT: Tell us about some of the sparring sessions that you guys had. ICE: Peter and I have sparred each other more times than I can even remember and I always loved every minute of it. We started when he was a young pro and kept working right up until he became an established member of the TV show so it's a thing where I have kind of been there to see him develop as a pro from the best seat in the house, that being across the ring from him. Seeing him now and the type of composure and professionalism he shows is extra cool for me because he didn't always have that in his game and I even used to tell him so. As good as he was when he was 10-0 and 11-0, I used to tell him how "you will one day be so much better and more composed than you are now and you will look back on these days and laugh at the truth of it." I bet he does, too, because anybody that knows him like that can tell you he is a much, much improved fighter from even when he first finished with season one of the TV show. BT: Roy Jones is a good friend of yours. There is talk that he might be fighting him next, who do you like in the fight? ICE: Well, to be honest, I didn't see Roy's last fight where he beat Prince Badi so I don't know how he looked or anything and I don't have any idea if he improved at all from his previous three performances or not although I heard from good sources that he did. I don't know... let's just say that all things considered, after last Saturday, the prospect of that fight taking place just got a whole lot more interesting. BT: I talked to some one in the industry and he told me that if they fought, it would be reversing roles. Manfredo would only be fighting for the pay day and the fight would be one sided. Agree or disagree? ICE: That is probably the perception but at the same time people need to realize that you are not talking about the Roy Jones that beat James Toney and you are not speaking about the Peter that lost in the Contender final to Mora, either. Win, lose or draw I will tell you one thing you can take to the bank. Peter, just like Vinny Paz before him from Rhode Island, will not come only to get paid and go home. He will try to win with all he's got. BT: The crowds have been stellar at the Dunk. Tell me what you think that fight might do for Rhode Island if the fight was in Providence? ICE: I don't think there is a place in Providence big enough to hold that fight. BT: So you don't think the fight would take place in Rhode Island? ICE: I am not saying that, I am just using a figure of speech. I would have to assume that any venue in Rhode Island would sell out for that fight. At the same time, though, anybody that comes to a young guys city like that comes as the predetermined "opponent" and I don't know for sure but knowing Roy I don't think he would feel he is in a position to have to do that yet. I think he would take it as an insult but, in this game you never know. Money talks loudly sometimes. BT: Who would you like Peter to fight next if you had to choose? ICE: At this point I think he could pretty much have his choice because I expect that other than the reigning champions in the division Peter Manfredo right now is pretty much the one single guy every other super middleweight in the world has in his sights. You take his appearance on the show, the fight with Mora that everybody thought he got robbed in and then add that to these last two performances and you have probably the most marketable guy in the world in that weight class. Now, you have Kessler in Denmark, Librado Andrade, Calzaghe in England, Lucien Bute in Canada, Mundine and Danny Green in Australia, plus Allan Green, Jeff Lacy, Anthony Hanshaw and all these other guys here in America at that weight and you are talking about a world full of big fights just waiting for him. BT: Teddy Atlas was asked this question after the fight by Joe Tessitore. It's easy to get caught up in the exposure of Peter Manfredo. But can he be someone that can be world champion of what is turning out to be one of the most competitive divisions in all of boxing. ICE: To me, in this day and age of boxing, any number of good fighters could be managed and promoted into a certain world title so I think the real question would be could he establish himself as a real and legit champion who has the ability to not only win a world title but also successfully defend it more than once? On that end I have never seen Kessler fight and I only saw Calzaghe once about four years ago, so your guess is as good as mine. BT: Is Jose Rivera going to be fighting Travis Simms? ICE: That's the way it appears right now, yes. I thought it would be the kid from Canada, Joachime Alcine, because he earned the right to the fight by winning an elimination fight but the boxing business is unexplainable sometimes so now we have this fight instead. Jose was really expecting and looking to fight one of the bigger names out there in the division because he felt the money and the glory and exposure and the reward a victory would bring would be something like a dream come true and it would really be a thing where self motivation would be a given. The disappointment in not getting a fight with Oscar, Margarito or Spinks, though, kind of got him down for a minute but he's a real and true professional and he is definitely back on track. He is wise enough to know that any and all fights when you are a world champion are the biggest fights of your life. That's how you have to treat each one and he will do that for this one. Definitely. BT: Do you think that when Spinks called out Jose, it was a publicity stunt? ICE: I think it was actually his trainer/manager that did that and that guy, you know, who knows why he says anything that he does. I kind of took it like they felt they were in the same boat that we were in at the time, no fight set so they were fishing around in every direction possible to see what they could eventually hook onto. BT: Is there anything that you would like to say in closing? ICE: Only that I appreciate all the chances **********.com has given me this year to speak my piece and I hope the future brings more of the same because you know me, I have a lot to say!