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Interview: JEREMY JACKSON
Submitted by: Keith Mills
Posted On 07/15/2003
Fighting out of Team Freedom and trained by Robert Ferguson, Jeremy Jackson has made a big impression on fans that have been able to see him live this past year. Despite already having a reputation as a strong striker Jackson's manager just hired Adam Flores to hone his boxing skills even further. IFC Americas Welterweight Champion Jackson fights in the next IFC on July 19th where he rematches Nick Diaz, the U.S. Welterweight Champion and now word around backstage is Jackson is already set to fight Dennis Hallman in the UFC this fall.
To most fans the King Of The Cage 'Bad Intentions' show is the easiest to acquire. We started out talking about that fight, which Jackson took literally the night before.
KM: Did you learn anything from that fight? JJ: Yeah, I learned not to take fights on such short notice.
KM: That was only about a month or so before IFC last year. Were you already training for the IFC? JJ: Actually yes I was training for IFC to fight Eddy Ellis, which is Dennis Hallman's guy. Robert (Ferguson) gave me a call and said 'hey, do you want to take a fight?' and I said 'how much?'. He told me how much and said it was for the title and I said 'sure, why not?'. That's when Joe Stevenson really changed. His body structure changed, I don't know what was going on. The old Joe Stevenson I know just a few months before that fight was he was a little chubby guy with good wrestling skills and when I saw him coming down the ramp I saw a different Joe Stevenson. I saw a guy who had been up at Big Bear training and he was ready to fight Romi Aram. This guy was ready to go five rounds easy. I was ready to go maybe a round. He knew not to stand so he shot in and took me down and passed my guard.
KM: How did that one end? JJ: My corner guy threw in the towel because he didn't want to see me get hurt because I was training for the fight (in IFC). He actually took the mount and started punching me and dropping bombs and finally the towel got thrown in.
KM: Before I move on is there anything else you want the fans to know about how your game has changed besides you take training more seriously? JJ: I want them to know that night was not Jeremy Jackson. That was just a guy straight off the streets. I was training real hard but I wasn't ready for a fight, I wasn't 100%. I was dead tired. I was a blue belt then, now I'm a purple belt. My technique is good. People don't think my technique isn't that good because they saw what happened with Joe Stevenson but I want my fans to know I have really good ground skills. I'd put them up there with the best guys out there at 170 and I have a strong wrestling background. I just never use it because I want to entertain the people with knockouts.
KM: I think you showed some of that ground skill with Eddy Ellis fight in IFC. My perception was you got rocked with a punch and I think knocked down but then you recovered pretty quickly and went to an armbar. I recall him slamming out of that and returning to the feet and then you got that strong kick to the head and when he went down you pounced. How do you feel that went? JJ: Whenever I had an armbar I wanted it and I could have finished it but that ain't what I wanted and my trainers knew that also. A lot of people see that fight and see how deep I had it and everyone is wondering why didn't I just come out the back door and finish it. I wanted to knock him out. I had the armbar and he was trying to stack me so I just opened up my leg and was trying to act like I was going for a triangle choke to make him posture up so he could get out of it so I could push him away and stand. Most time I'm using my jiu-jitsu skills just to make them think I'm going for a submission so they'll want to get their hips up in the air so I can get away. I've had so many armbars even in my underground fights and I'm winking at the crowd but I always end up pushing away and getting up and knocking them out, even with open-hand palm.
KM: Even in the UA King Of The Mountain in the first round of the tournament again you were going for an armbar on the bottom. As far as people not respecting your jiu-jitsu skills those two in a row prove that wrong, that you do have that comfort, you just choose not to be there. How do you look back on that King Of The Mountain tournament? JJ: The first fight I could have finished Zach Light off in probably thirty seconds also but it was freezing cold and whenever we were getting warmed up we were getting warmed up outside. We never got a chance to get warmed up until my second fight. I had to warm up with my first fight.
KM: You weren't as typically aggressive as I'm used to seeing you. Would it be accurate to say it was because you were warming up? JJ: That's fine. I didn't want to come out throwing too many punches because I wasn't warmed up and I was real slow. If you watch the DVD I'm real slow the first round. I was actually out-boxed by him because he I those heavy gloves. I had IFC gloves and IFC gloves are huge while they had their little Chuck Norris KOTC Ouano gloves.
KM: I didn't notice that. JJ: Watch the second fight. I went up to the promoter and said 'look, I'm not fighting with these gloves. They are too heavy and I'm getting out-boxed by wrestlers.' He said 'okay' so he gave me another guy's gloves and the second or third fight I had a different pair of gloves.
KM: Did that being in a ring instead of a cage mean anything to you?JJ: JJ: Yeah, I like the ring better. The fans can see better.
In part 2 Jackson starts with his first fight with Nick Diaz, covers the Shonie fight, the upcoming IFC, and rumors of his entrance into the UFC.
IFC holds Warriors Challenge XVIII 'Big Valley Brawl' July 19th at Konocti Vista Casino near Clear Lake, CA. Tickets are still available through http://www.highsierratickets.com.
Interview: JEREMY JACKSON
Submitted by: Keith Mills
Posted On 07/15/2003
Fighting out of Team Freedom and trained by Robert Ferguson, Jeremy Jackson has made a big impression on fans that have been able to see him live this past year. Despite already having a reputation as a strong striker Jackson's manager just hired Adam Flores to hone his boxing skills even further. IFC Americas Welterweight Champion Jackson fights in the next IFC on July 19th where he rematches Nick Diaz, the U.S. Welterweight Champion and now word around backstage is Jackson is already set to fight Dennis Hallman in the UFC this fall.
To most fans the King Of The Cage 'Bad Intentions' show is the easiest to acquire. We started out talking about that fight, which Jackson took literally the night before.
KM: Did you learn anything from that fight? JJ: Yeah, I learned not to take fights on such short notice.
KM: That was only about a month or so before IFC last year. Were you already training for the IFC? JJ: Actually yes I was training for IFC to fight Eddy Ellis, which is Dennis Hallman's guy. Robert (Ferguson) gave me a call and said 'hey, do you want to take a fight?' and I said 'how much?'. He told me how much and said it was for the title and I said 'sure, why not?'. That's when Joe Stevenson really changed. His body structure changed, I don't know what was going on. The old Joe Stevenson I know just a few months before that fight was he was a little chubby guy with good wrestling skills and when I saw him coming down the ramp I saw a different Joe Stevenson. I saw a guy who had been up at Big Bear training and he was ready to fight Romi Aram. This guy was ready to go five rounds easy. I was ready to go maybe a round. He knew not to stand so he shot in and took me down and passed my guard.
KM: How did that one end? JJ: My corner guy threw in the towel because he didn't want to see me get hurt because I was training for the fight (in IFC). He actually took the mount and started punching me and dropping bombs and finally the towel got thrown in.
KM: Before I move on is there anything else you want the fans to know about how your game has changed besides you take training more seriously? JJ: I want them to know that night was not Jeremy Jackson. That was just a guy straight off the streets. I was training real hard but I wasn't ready for a fight, I wasn't 100%. I was dead tired. I was a blue belt then, now I'm a purple belt. My technique is good. People don't think my technique isn't that good because they saw what happened with Joe Stevenson but I want my fans to know I have really good ground skills. I'd put them up there with the best guys out there at 170 and I have a strong wrestling background. I just never use it because I want to entertain the people with knockouts.
KM: I think you showed some of that ground skill with Eddy Ellis fight in IFC. My perception was you got rocked with a punch and I think knocked down but then you recovered pretty quickly and went to an armbar. I recall him slamming out of that and returning to the feet and then you got that strong kick to the head and when he went down you pounced. How do you feel that went? JJ: Whenever I had an armbar I wanted it and I could have finished it but that ain't what I wanted and my trainers knew that also. A lot of people see that fight and see how deep I had it and everyone is wondering why didn't I just come out the back door and finish it. I wanted to knock him out. I had the armbar and he was trying to stack me so I just opened up my leg and was trying to act like I was going for a triangle choke to make him posture up so he could get out of it so I could push him away and stand. Most time I'm using my jiu-jitsu skills just to make them think I'm going for a submission so they'll want to get their hips up in the air so I can get away. I've had so many armbars even in my underground fights and I'm winking at the crowd but I always end up pushing away and getting up and knocking them out, even with open-hand palm.
KM: Even in the UA King Of The Mountain in the first round of the tournament again you were going for an armbar on the bottom. As far as people not respecting your jiu-jitsu skills those two in a row prove that wrong, that you do have that comfort, you just choose not to be there. How do you look back on that King Of The Mountain tournament? JJ: The first fight I could have finished Zach Light off in probably thirty seconds also but it was freezing cold and whenever we were getting warmed up we were getting warmed up outside. We never got a chance to get warmed up until my second fight. I had to warm up with my first fight.
KM: You weren't as typically aggressive as I'm used to seeing you. Would it be accurate to say it was because you were warming up? JJ: That's fine. I didn't want to come out throwing too many punches because I wasn't warmed up and I was real slow. If you watch the DVD I'm real slow the first round. I was actually out-boxed by him because he I those heavy gloves. I had IFC gloves and IFC gloves are huge while they had their little Chuck Norris KOTC Ouano gloves.
KM: I didn't notice that. JJ: Watch the second fight. I went up to the promoter and said 'look, I'm not fighting with these gloves. They are too heavy and I'm getting out-boxed by wrestlers.' He said 'okay' so he gave me another guy's gloves and the second or third fight I had a different pair of gloves.
KM: Did that being in a ring instead of a cage mean anything to you?JJ: JJ: Yeah, I like the ring better. The fans can see better.
In part 2 Jackson starts with his first fight with Nick Diaz, covers the Shonie fight, the upcoming IFC, and rumors of his entrance into the UFC.
IFC holds Warriors Challenge XVIII 'Big Valley Brawl' July 19th at Konocti Vista Casino near Clear Lake, CA. Tickets are still available through http://www.highsierratickets.com.
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