Johnathon Banks: “The way Wladimir Klitschko is listening to me, I really believe that from here on out you will see exciting fights”

The heavyweight era of today is dominated by one man, IBO/RING/WBA/IBF champion, Wladimir Klitschko. He has recorded 17 straight defenses, and is now only three defenses shy of tying boxing legend Larry Holmes for second all-time at the weight. Trainer and heavyweight contender, Johnathon Banks, has guided Klitschko over the last few years after the passing of the legendary Emanuel Steward, and hopes to continue their success towards Joe Lewis’ record.

In this special “On The Ropes” boxing radio interview with Johnathon Banks, I get his thoughts on Klitschko’s most recent win over Kubrat Pulev and what direction he would like to see his fighter go next. Banks also talks about Shannon Briggs and the chances Wladimir will wants to pursue that fight. Additionally Johnathon shares his views on this weekends Pacquiao-Algieri bout, and his thoughts on carrying on Emanuel Steward’s legacy. Here is what Johnathon Banks had to say.

Jenna J: Your fighter, Wladimir Klitschko, had a very impressive performance this past weekend. What were your thoughts on the fight?

Johnathon Banks: The fight actually went exactly how I thought it was gonna go. Even doing the camp and talking to Wladimir, telling him my assessment of how the fight may go.

People don’t realize that Pulev was an undefeated guy, who is really difficult to fight because he’s got very long arms — his arms are longer than Wladimir’s. He has really long arms, he throws a really good jab and the dude knows how to win and Wladimir really had to be on his A-game so he could step and also make the fight a faster pace than what Pulev is used to.

I felt if you make it a faster pace, you will catch him with shots he will not see coming. That was the whole strategy to it and it worked just like I told him it would.

Jenna J: Wladimir was very exciting in the fight and we used to see that a lot when he was a younger fighter. You said the gameplan was to go after Kubrat Pulev, to go right at him. Is this something that we’ll see a little bit more of from Wladimir?

Johnathon Banks: I believe so, in a certain manner. I don’t want him just running after somebody, just fighting just to fight. There has to be a strategy to it and the way we are working right now, the way he’s listening to me, I really believe that from here on out you will see exciting fights. That’s what I told him, as long as he keeps listening, it’s gonna be the type of fights.

Jenna J: Now the big question is, what’s next for Wladimir Klitschko? They’re talking about him maybe making a return in March. Ideally as his trainer, who would you like him to step in the ring with?

Johnathon Banks: Ideally as his trainer, I would like to see Wladimir fight whoever he can fight for that WBC crown. That would be either Deontay Wilder or Bermane Stiverne. Since they have a fight scheduled, I would like to see Wladimir fight the winner of them two for the WBC crown.

Jenna J: Do you think the winner will even want to fight Wladimir? If Deontay Wilder gets the belt, Golden Boy’s not gonna want to stick him in there with Klitschko, they would want to sell him as an undefeated champion.

Johnathon Banks: You mentioned Golden Boy who are promoters, and now you got to deal with Don King, the promoter for Stiverne. Let’s say Wilder wins the fight, let’s say Wilder gets caught by Stiverne and gets wobbled really bad but he survives and ends up winning the fight on a decision, I believe Golden Boy would definitely look to fight Klitschko because if they see Stiverne hurt him — and he’s not a big puncher — how many other big punchers do we have in the division that can hurt this guy? should we get our money now and say we did a good job? Or should we press our luck to see if some no class guy would beat him?

I guarantee you, a promoter, if they’re gonna lose, they would rater lose at a high end instead of a low end because you can always come back from a high end but you can’t really come back from a low end. I think it depends on how the fight goes.

Jenna J: I must ask you about Shannon Briggs. Shannon has been following Wladimir around for a while, meeting him in the gym and even going out into the water to find him. What are your thoughts on Briggs and his tactics to try to get a fight with Wladimir?

Johnathon Banks: I love the sport of boxing, I love it. I was taught a different level boxing by the late legend, Emanuel Steward. The way Shannon is going about this, it doesn’t have anything to do with boxing.

Guys talks their talk, that’s a part of boxing to me but when you put the gloves on, you’re supposed to show everybody why you’re talking like this and that hasn’t happened at all. I really believe Shannon can fight really well, I think Shannon is a good fighter, but what has he done lately? He hasn’t fought anybody. Can you really fight for the world championship without beating one top ten contender in ten years?

Jenna J: Do you think Wladimir is getting irritated and despite Shannon’s credentials, despite what he’s been doing to these lower level opponents that he will say, “Hey I just want to hurt this guy, I want to get him in the ring.” Do you think Wladimir will get to that point?

Johnathon Banks: I hope not and I’ll tell you why. If you look back at the history books, every guy that taunted their opponent for so long just to get a fight, it didn’t turn out for the champion. Go back to the way Cassius Clay taunted Sonny Liston, taunting him bad. He drove a tour bus outside his house and threw a bear trap, that’s how bad he wanted to fight him. He taunted him really bad, he followed him everywhere, he went to his gym.

Look at recent times, look at the way Antonio Tarver taunted Roy Jones, he taunted him, showed up everywhere. He talked him into the fight and it never worked out good for the champion. That’s one of the main reasons why I don’t like it.

If the same guy worked his way up to the top five or top ten and actually beat quality guys, no problem, take the fight. But to do nothing and get a title shot, that means to me that you have nothing to lose and the world to gain.

Jenna J: This upcoming weekend there’s a fight between Manny Pacquiao and Chris Algieri. From a trainer’s perspective, what do you see going down there? How do you expect the fight to play out from the opening bell to the finish?

Johnathon Banks: I’m not one hundred percent fully updated on Chris Algieri but I know he’s a young, strong fighter and he’s in great condition. You already know everybody in his camp is studying that Marquez fight, they’re trying to see just how Marquez did what he did. Keep in mind that Marquez fought Pacquiao four times before that happened. If I was the, I would look at the first three fights with Marquez because something Pacquiao kept doing that led up to that fourth fight where he got caught by that shot.

I think from the opening bell, Pacquiao is gonna come out aggressive, that’s all he knows. Pacquiao knows aggression, I don’t think he knows how to simmer down and just box and take it easy. Depending on Chris Algieri’s gameplan, if he comes forward and starts letting his hands go, I really believe Pacquiao will be in trouble. I think Pacquiao would be in more trouble than what people think he will be in. He’s supposed to fight a young, fast, strong, hungry guy.

Jenna J: How good for the sport would it be if Pacquiao wins this fight and ends up fighting Floyd Mayweather?

Johnathon Banks: I don’t see the fight happening and depending on how Pacquiao wins this fight will be more of a bargaining tool to fight Floyd but I don’t think it matters what Pacquiao does honestly. I think it doesn’t matter what he does, I just don’t see that fight with him and Floyd happening.

Jenna J: How proud do you think Emanuel Steward would be of the fact that you’re continuing his tradition and training Wladimir?

Johnathon Banks: I think he’s very happy, I think he’s smiling down right now. His last words to me were, “Johnathon, just keep winning. You train Wladimir and just keep winning,” and I told him, “Okay.” That’s the main thing he wants, is just to keep winning, that’s all.

I’m doing everything I can to just stay relevant with Wladimir. I want him at a point where the world is like, “Wow, where did he come from? We know the name but where did this guy come from?” That’s my goal and HBO made me happy Saturday night because they put a headline on Sunday that said, “This is the Klitschko we’ve been waiting for.” That’s what I wanted to hear, that’s what I wanted to see.