‘Iceman’ John Scully is a well respect boxing trainer who works with many up and coming fighters, and has in the past trained the likes of Chad Dawson, among others, to a world championship belt. Scully is also a television personality, having done analyst work for ESPN, and also starring as a coach in the second season of the KNOCKOUT television show.
I recently had a chance to speak to John Scully and I got his views on many of the top stories going on in the sport. Scully discussed the upcoming Klitschko vs. Fury bout and gives his prediction on the heavyweight clash. Scully also breaks down what he saw from the Mayweather vs. Pacquiao fight, and if he thinks there is any reason to have a rematch. Here is what John Scully had to say.
Robert Brown: Tyson Fury will be facing Wladimir Klitschko for the heavyweight title. What do you think Fury needs to do to win this fight?
John Scully: I think his energy and his ability to keep people off balance — he’s kind of unorthodox and I think he should use that, he should magnify that because clearly the basic style that people have — just the basic boxing style — it doesn’t work against Klitschko. He’s too fundamentally sound, and his technique is very good against that style.
I think that you have to give him some angles, you have to give him some movement, something he hasn’t seen before. The basic boxing style that most people have is obviously not working. This guy has been undefeated for a long time and he’s been very effective at combating that style. I just think Tyson being a different look, and an interesting look, and something that I think fans are going to be interested in this time.
Robert Brown: What is your early prediction for that fight?
John Scully: I do think it’s going to be an entertaining fight, more so than any Wladimir fight of recent times. At the end of it all, I still believe in Wladimir, I believe that he knows that and I believe that he’s still in possession of a very good jab and he knows what he needs to do.
Wladimir knows it’s not gonna be a slow paced fight that he may favor. I think he’s gonna use his size and his power and his double jabs a little bit more. He’s gonna have to get a little bit more physical than he normally has been and I think he’ll do that. I think he’ll end up coming away probably with a decision win, very competitive for the most part, but I think he’ll eventually take over and win the fight.
Robert Brown: I want to get your thoughts on Manny Pacquiao’s injury in the Floyd Mayweather fight. Do you think the fight would have played out any differently if Pacquiao was healthy?
John Scully: Not really. On the one hand, I don’t like to doubt any fighter. I don’t personally believe that Manny Pacquiao’s injury was as severe as we are being led to believe. Whether he had an issue or not, I don’t know. To have a rotator injury like that — a tear — there is no way that you’re going to throw hard punches. When dealing with injuries it is important to consider legal precautions because the injuries can be extremely fatal, considering personal injury lawyers is advisable in order to get the best remedy when participating in these contact sports.
If you remember early in that fight, I believe the fourth round, there was a sequence that Manny really let fly, with a group of hard punches. I’ve had a rotator injury before and believe me when I tell you, there’s no way he’s throwing those hard shots with a rotator injury, it’s not even possible. I don’t think the fight would have been different. If he did have an injury, I don’t think it was as severe as they led it to believe, I don’t believe that.
Robert Brown: So you would not be interested in a rematch at all?
John Scully: I’ll be honest, I wasn’t interested in the first fight. I knew it was gonna go that way and I went on record before the fight saying it was gonna go that way. I didn’t even think it was that difficult of a choice.
I honestly lost interest around 2012, so when it happened, I actually went to Las Vegas for it because I had a lot of friends out there and we were hanging out and we just turned it into a vacation, a boxing themed vacation. But I wasn’t surprised at the fight at all, and I certainly wouldn’t be interested in seeing it again.
Robert Brown: I want to talk to you about the fight between Steve Cunningham and Antonio Tarver. What are your thoughts on this heavyweight match?
John Scully: I’ll tell you, I really like Steve a lot because he’s such a gritty guy. He’s got a heart the size of Philadelphia, he doesn’t give up. He fights the big monsters, the big strong guys and he goes toe to toe with them, and he always digs down and fights back. I really like that.
Antonio is tricky and he’s a deceptive guy. He can hurt you when he wants to if he can get the right shot in. I think stylistically it’s a very interesting fight, it’s an intriguing fight because of who these guys are — big names in the sport. I can’t pick against Klitschko just yet, so I wouldn’t necessarily think that the winner would be the next champion or anything like that.
As far as a heavyweight fight with a lot of intrigue because of Tarver being a former light heavyweight and moving up to heavyweight and still looking relatively fresh, I think it’s a very good fight. It’s just as good as any other heavyweight fight out there today.
interview audio here https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kYmtERkD0Ms
Let me ask you this Mr scully…How many weeks did Pacquaio skip sparring session before the Mayweather fight? Why did he rely only on Cardio training and gym work out? usually pacquaio train hard on sparring but was cut short because something wasn’t right…….i don’t know what that is?
Tom: you’re an idiot. We’re you at the Pacquiao camp, or are u just a casual fan whom believes every lie they put out? We already know the answer so shut ur face.
Where you at paciquio’s camp ? So how the hell do you know ? Be quiet !
GGG CAN MAKE HIMSELF 2X BIGGER & GET PAID AS MUCH, OVERNIGHT!!!
if he should make himself the POSTER BOY for all boxers who don’t fight like floyd and andre ward (runner – hugger – pot-shooter). and that represents a whole lot of boxers with their myriad of followers. he should ask ward to come down to 160lbs. & fight him in a RING NO BIGGER THAN 12″ x 12″ and that Queensbury Rule #2 (no wrestling or hugging allowed) shall be strictly implemented . and if ward says, but you would come up to 168 to fight other boxers yet you still want a smaller ring with me? GGG then goes “precisely kuz if i fought them guyz, they’re not going to run & grab whether its on a big or small ring, and i’ll catch them. i only need enough room for ward to show his boxing prowess if it is what “BOXING EXPERTS” purports it to be, and myself to demonstrate clearly that i bring the heavier guns to the fight and that his mastery of “pure boxing” skills is all bullshit and will be at my mercy if his grabbing and hugging is curtailed and penalized and his running diminished.” GGG should be ABLE TO DEMAND THESE TERMS SINCE HE’S IN THE DRIVER’S SEAT AT MIDDLEWEIGHT.
if the floyd vs paq 1 roles were reversed in last may’s fight, and paquiao was the runner grabber “slick master boxer” don’t you think Nevada would be so quick to adjust that ring to no bigger than 10 X 10 and made twice more money because of the added (BIGGER) controversy? yun lang.
if one is truly a “great”, “pure, master boxer” as some are touted to be he should be able to BOX, slip slide block and parry blows in tight quarters without the clinching and grabbing and will be the style people can truly appreciate and celebrate NOT the counter here – potshot there – grab here – run plenty there. you get the picture. yun lang.
THE ISSUE WILL CREATE SO MUCH CONTROVERSY there won’t be any sports analyst or writer all over the globe who would not want to talk about it. and GGG will get all kinds of invitations and interviews and become 10X BIGGER JUST KUZ HE DARED ANOTHER TO FIGHT HIM ON A 12″ X 12″ RING, just like that. yun lang.
THE ISSUE WILL CREATE SO MUCH CONTROVERSY there won’t be any sports analyst or writer all over the globe who would not want to talk about it. and GGG will get all kinds of invitations and interviews and ENDORSEMENTS and become 10X BIGGER JUST KUZ HE DARED ANOTHER TO FIGHT HIM ON A 12″ X 12″ RING, just like that. yun lang.
JUST AS WELL THEY MAKE A FEW MORE MILLIONS
literally from the saved space converted to highly priced $$$$$$$$$ ringside seats. yun lang.
I hate to say this Mr. Scully but you are stupid and does not know who Manny Pacquiao is. And perhaps you have evidence to prove your serious accusation. If you don’t have any just shut up.
shut up scully! pacquiao injury is not an issue. even he has,he beat floydie with one arm.
If the injury to his shoulder was there he would have had a hard time with his speed bag work, he looked as if he was having fun with that, and if it was injured it would of been easy to detect during that workout,
it required surgery after the fight and it was known that he missed plenty of sparring in the buildup. Question you might ask is why if floyd who professed to a spy in mannys camp didnt let the fight be held later. And most of all was a painkilling injection asked for and denied its allowed in the far more rigorously tested amature sports such as the olympic events which ofcourse includes boxing, letting an injured athlete take part in such a dangerous event says a lot, and one final thing how come floyd couldnt hurt an injured fighter is he a pussy or what?
You guys LOL….REEEEE-LAX! Pacman fans are the most die hard crazy, never say die on the planet. Cool but VERYYYYY ANNOYING LOL
Sculley said he was brought to Apple in 1983 to keep the Apple II, introduced in 1977, alive long enough to support development and marketing of the Mac. At the time of the boardroom fight, Sculley believed Macintosh was not yet powerful enough to fulfill the user expectations Jobs was creating.