With Floyd Mayweather and Manny Pacquiao approaching the final few fights of their careers the question of who will carry the torch when those two are gone. In part 2 of my “On The Ropes” boxing radio interview with Tony Harrison, I discuss with him possibly being a future star in this sport and get his thoughts on some of the best fighters in boxing today. Harrison also gives his thoughts on a Mayweather-Pacquiao rematch and Miguel Cotto’s future and how he thinks Mayweather does with Golovkin. In closing Harrison gives his prediction for his fight with Willie Nelson and a message to his fans. Here is what Tony Harrison had to say.
Jenna J: Manny Pacquiao had surgery on his shoulder and he claimed that he injury inhibited his performance against Floyd Mayweather. Do you see anything more he can do in a rematch if he’s fully healthy?
Tony Harrison: I don’t know if it would change the outcome but I will side with Manny Pacquiao saying that wasn’t the best Manny Pacquiao that we’ve seen lately. That wasn’t the more active Manny Pacquiao we’ve seen lately. It could have a lot to do with Floyd Mayweather being the best fighter in the world, but all in all, we definitely didn’t see that tremendous puncher of Manny Pacquiao that we’ve seen lately.
The injury could have played a big part into why we didn’t see it, it could or could not. I think the world deserves another fight. There are still questions that need to be answered. He got surgery and that’s not something you can fake, surgery is definitely not something you can fake.
Whatever happed during the fight, you know that his shoulder was really messed up because he did have surgery on his shoulder right after the fight. There are still questions to be answered. Will Mayweather beat the best Manny Pacquiao? I think that’s still a question that needs to be answered.
Jenna J: There are a lot of people who have gotten behind Gennady Golovkin because he scores knockouts in all his fights. When you look at 160lbs, do you see anybody out there that can challenge him and beat him?
Tony Harrison: I actually like him and Cotto, I think that’s a fight the fans would like to see. I think Golovkin and Canelo is a fight the fans would want to see, just for the danger of Gennady getting hit. We haven’t seen the danger of him getting hit. We know he can punch like a mule but we haven’t seen the mule get spanked yet by somebody else that can punch like a mule.
I actually think those are super fights that can happen in the sport, Canelo and Gennady or Cotto and Gennady. I would rather see Canelo because he’s younger, he has a lot of plus to him. I think that’s when we will see if Gennady is that Gennady that we speak of.
Jenna J: Do you think it’s unfair that people want to see Floyd Mayweather go up in weight and face somebody like Golovkin?
Tony Harrison: Floyd Mayweather is just the best fighter in the world and I think he can go up to 154lbs and beat Gennady as of today. I think he’s a phenomenal fighter, he understands the sport, he understands his craft, he’s mastered his craft.
I do think it would be an amazing fight but I think Floyd does what Floyd wants to do, and if he doesn’t want to do that, then he won’t. If he does do it, you always know that if Floyd takes the fight, he believes he can win it. If the fight ever does happen, know that Floyd thinks he can win the fight, and it would make for an amazing fight.
Jenna J: A guy that a lot of people were thinking was going to be the next star was Adrien Broner. He recently had a loss to Shawn Porter and people are questioning whether he can achieve what many thought he would do. Do you think he can rebound in his career?
Tony Harrison: As far as his career, I don’t think he will go down in history. I don’t think he’s gonna be the most dominant fighter of this era, that’s out of the question. But I do believe Adrien Broner will make a lot of money, and sometimes that’s what it’s about, feeding the family.
I think that the sport hates him so much that they have no other choice than to pay to see him lose. They will pay to see him lose every single time, over and over again, until he leaves this sport o boxing. He’s definitely not gonna be the face of boxing, I don’t think so.
He lost to Shawn Porter who he was 110% more skilled than but Shawn Porter is one of those fighters like Time Bradley, they come in amazing shape, they got the heart of a lion and they’re determined to win. He lost to a fighter that’s just determined and does what it takes to win.
As far as skill for skill, Adrien Broner is one of the most talented fighters in this era. I just think he’s sidetracked by all the rest of this stuff, by making himself the enemy. I do think he will make a lot of money, they will pay to see him fight Maidana again. They will pay to see him fight anyone at 147lbs, just to keep seeing him lose.
Jenna J: You’re 24 years old and you’re considered as part of the new crop of stars out there. Who else do you see out there that you can say is going to be a name that will help carry the sport?
Tony Harrison: I like Terence Crawford, to be honest. I like Andre Ward, I think he put up a good performance. I think Andre Ward is going to be tough to beat if he moves up to light heavyweight. I think he brought a lot more excitement to this last fight because he was a lot more active. He threw a lot more punches than we usually see, he threw a lot more combinations.
There’s a lot of guys from Detroit who I feel just need the opportunity to be a rising star, there’s tons of great fighters out here. I like Terence Crawford, I like that he’s from Nebraska and that he brought boxing back to Nebraska. He’s still a family man, he’s still a humble guy and he’s got a little solidness to him when it’s time to be solid.
Jenna J: Back to your fight on July 11th with Willie Nelson. How do you expect that fight to play out from the opening bell to the finish?
Tony Harrison: I think Willie Nelson is underestimating the power that I have and I think he’s gonna come out and try to fight until he gets hit, then he’ll get on his bicycle and Tony Harrison will pressure the rest of the fight.
I don’t think the fight goes over four rounds. If it does go all the way, Tony Harrison is training to go all the way, but you will see a dominant performance from Tony Harrison from the start of the bell to the end of the bell. You will know who was the better fighter. I will be the better fighter that night, all the way around.
Jenna J: Is there any message you want to pass along to all the ‘Superbad’ fans?
Tony Harrison: Tony ‘Superbad’ is training extra hard. He talks the talk but also walks the walk. I plan on putting Detroit back on the map. Come July 11th, you will see the best Tony Harrison that we’ve seen against the guy who they say is the best opponent Tony Harrison has faced.
I am a Pacquiao fan and I am gonna answer it for you. If the fight held at Las Vagas, with Las Vegas judges and referee… No way Manny is going to beat Floyd. All Floyd gotta do is to stay away from Manny, dance and hug all 12 rounds, the deal in on the basket. As long as Floys stayed up on his feet and not get knocked out, nobody can beat him in Las Vegas.
I agree with you bro,pacman already beat mayweather jr,the only thing that pacman was lost coz the referee and the judges were controlling the fight and mayweather jr’s plan was to stay on his feet and judges will take care the rest. Mayweather jr is one of the fighters that Al Haymon protects from losing,floyd is the prize fighter that everyone can make money out of him, after Floyd, may be some of the undefeated fighters to be build-up like Floyd as a prize fighter in the future.
A) Roach & Pacquiao very easily got outsmarted by SkunkWeather Jr. with his RUN or HUG tactic.
B) Ref. Kenny BrainLess is pro-JailWeather…. Team Pacquiao especially Roach was dumb enuff NOT to object of his selection days or wks b4 the fight.
C) Pacquiao got beat on the MENTAL aspects of the fight.
REMATCH IS THE ANSWER……LIKE WHAT OF ERIC MORALES AND MANNY PACQUIAO but I think FLOYD still afraid of PACQUIAO a 100%.
60% of Floyd could have beaten him if done out of Vegas without his cheating machinery. By now, we all know Floyd/Haymon’s winning formula. Fight in Vegas where NSAC will never question biased judges, ref, compubox, sports commentators and USADA results. Of course the usual catchweight traps, like lightweights going up to welterweight or middleweights dropping to welterweights and then Floyd rehydrates to middleweight on fightnight. Floyd is just a paper champion without substance just like his character.
*60% of Floyd’s past opponents
Maywether is totally scared to pacman..
Manny is the best boxer in the world Floyd is the best boxer only in lasvegas.
Referee Rafael Ramos is the best third man if ever a rematch will take place between Manny and Money. Tony Weeks ia also a good choice.
tony weeks? tony weeks? are you serious?
weeks is a floyd lackey!!! did you even watch the Porter v Broner???
watch it in super-slomo i swear you’ll see weeks elbow Porter in back of his head 3X to help broner win.
that guy is blind to broner’s dirty tricks. go check it out now! GO!!
Floyd beat Manny already. Those of you who still need closure also need treatment for denial. Dreaming up new ways to frame the same question which was answered back in May doesn’t help either. Here is a tip for those of you still in denial. To the degree that you can no longer identify reality (Floyd Won The Fight) , it’s to that degree, you are out of your mind.
I think that they have a group that addresses those issues.. it’s called Asshole Who Refuse To Accept Reality Anonymous or AWRTARA.. you folks can goggle it and get info on where mtgs are held and whether or not it is a open or closed mtg.. You might just bump into pm at one of those mtgs as he’s the founder of that org.
Jenna please retire. Floyd already answered the question manny fake injury isn’t fooling nobody but you an pactards
So many Pacman fanboys here. Mayweather controlled the pace of the entire fight and outlanded Pacman. Pacman didn’t cut off the ring like Freddie said he would and his footwork didn’t phase Mayweather
Mayweather is a Out-Boxing/Counter punching style boxer. The whole point of the Out-Boxing style is to create a gap between you and your opponent and throw long distance punches and that’s exactly what Mayweather did to Pacman. Out-Boxers aren’t known to be power punchers (There are some though) and usually rely on points to win, which is again how Mayweather won.
I suggest all these Pacman fanboys look up Out-Boxing and other styles of boxing before commenting as they obviously know little of the different styles of boxing and boxing in general.
Gaywhether is a joke to much mafia in vegas.
The best way to settle this is a return bout, in a neutral country like Australia with neutral unbiased referee and unbiased judges. If done on las vegas, maywether will surely win. In neutral country like Australia, everuthing will be fair for both protagonist. People in the world will not doubt who is the real winner and champion.
Worlds best FIGHTER?!? Come on!?! A fighter fights and Mayweather does everything BUT fight.
48xs…!!! We’re Rich Bitch..!!!
Cut the bulshit out floyd v khan lets get it on khan will out do floyd thats why floyd is avoiding khan
You all need to remember Floyd is boxing also the best fighter in america go USA
Listen, Floyd “won the fight”. But put all these stupid comments and thoughts of false reality to the side for a moment. He did not out box or out smart Pacquiao for one instant. Boxing was invented as a blood sport and evolved into the pansy sport it is now with all these rules and new age politics that go with it. Floyd will always win in Vegas its a simple fact. He’s not a true champion he’s a joke and has been for the past 5-7 years. He can’t even get a clean fight with Pacquiao without clinching him relentlessly and pushing his head down which is last time I checked should result in point reductions. You can’t keep clinching an opponent every time he attacks that’s cheating and unsportsmanlike and as a boxer myself if you continue to do it you get a point off your tally. Pacquiao was the aggressor and did more damage and in any professional boxers book that’s who usually wins. Floyd barely did anything to Pacquiao. It’s a fact. He even threw low blows throughout the whole fight for which he should also get points off for. Bayless was a joke as a ref, he let Floyd continue to clinch, hug, grab/pull Pacquiaos’ arm, and even put him in a headlock numerous times. This fight was just to generate money and only for that sole reason and to rip people off for their benefit. Floyd is a genius in that aspect I’ll give him that. He was the best boxer at a point of his career I’ll give him that also. But he DID NOT out class anyone you people must be blind. I’m not a huge fan of neither I’m giving a real analysis of the fight and many actual critics think the same way. As for the injury, Pacquiao should have disclosed it weeks before not the not of which was cowardly but its Pacquiao he felt ready but he should have known what the consequences would be fighting against Floyd. Manny stunned, rocked, and landed more punches as well. Not by a whole lot as to landed punches but he did hurt him more and in any logical sense that’s what the winner usually does, not run, clinch, and illegally grab your opponents head. End of story.