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WILLIE MONROE JR. RESPONDS TO "COMPLIMENT" FROM CANELO'S TRAINER; EXPLAINS WHY HE FEELS BAD FOR ROSADO
By Percy Crawford | September 21, 2016
"I would love that fight, but I got another compliment from his team...what they are going to put out to the media is we don't want to chase Willie Monroe. But what they are really saying is we don't want to deal with a guy that's going to make it difficult for us. They want a guy that's going to stand right there in front of them and let them punch on them...If they put me in front of Canelo, I think he would do what he gotta do to try and beat me and try to find a way. It's more of his team, not Canelo," stated middleweight contender Willie Monroe Jr., who talked about his recent win over Gabriel Rosado, a potential clash with Canelo Alvarez, and much more. Check it out!
PC: Congratulations on the win and capturing the [WBO Inter-Continental middleweight] title. How does it feel?
WMJ: Thank you. It feels great. It feels great to be back in that top. It seems like I never left, but when you lose a big fight, you feel like you gotta get back. But I'm blessed. It's been a little over a year, I had a nice comeback win over John Thompson, and now we'll be back at the top of that middleweight picture.
PC: A lot was said leading up to the fight with Gabe Rosado. Is there bad blood there or was it hashed out after the fight?
WMJ: Nah! Like I told you before, it was never anything personal on my behalf. Afterwards, I tried to say a couple of words to him. He wasn't really trying to hear it, so I just said God bless to him, Fernando [Vargas], and his team and thanked them for the opportunity. A lot of them was saying a lot of reckless stuff and I just held my tongue. You know me, I've never been the type of guy to act all crazy in interviews or call people out or talk about people. I let my hands do the talking. That's how I was raised.
PC: Were you shocked when he shoved you at the weigh-ins or did you think it may be some jockeying?
WMJ: Well, I mean, Vargas used to do stuff like that, so you got "Bully Jr." being trained by "Bully Sr." So it didn't surprise me to see him use some of them tactics. I told him that was the last time he was going to touch me, so I hope he enjoyed it.
PC: A lot goes into being a fighter and the product that we watch on Saturday night. Is it bittersweet to do the work, go and fight your fight, and still be met with heavy criticism?
WMJ: It's actually quite flattering. When you're so many light years ahead of people mentally and psychologically, they can't comprehend, so the first thing they do is shoot it down. Nas said, "People fear what they don't understand, hate what they can't conquer." I do what I was supposed to do. I did the whole machismo thing against Triple G and ultimately, I lost. Can I fight? Yes, but my style is to box and out-think guys. I went in there with the whole machismo thing against Triple G and nobody gave me props. They said I was a bum and I got stopped. My thing is it's already hard to lose a fight, but to not get props fighting the way that people say you can't fight...I just stuck to what I do. It's sad because you see what reporters think of fighters. I won't say his name, but we saw the reporter that after Felix Verdejo got into that motorcycle accident, a reporter made the comment, "That's the most exciting thing Verdejo has been involved with in a year or so." That's someone's life. That kid could have gotten hurt more serious than he did or he could have died. That's his life, so when these news reporters make comments like that, it shows that they don't care. We are objects to them, not humans. Why would I even ruffle my feathers for these writers that don't care if you live or die?
I feel like a lot of guys in the media don't love this sport like they say they do. When you love something, you're in a relationship; you love it unconditionally. Boxing has its ups and downs, it's good fights and it's bad fights, and it's not to say that you can't criticize the bad fights, but when do you ever see anything positive from some of these guys? I think that's why Floyd Mayweather is so successful in the sport and he was able to be on top for so long because that love never died; that hunger never died. These guys start to get a few hits or accolades and then that's it for them. It's like Gabe Rosado kept saying, you can't teach heart and I fought this guy and that guy. It's like Floyd Mayweather always say, it's not cool taking punishment. You think it's cool that you get your face split open and all that stuff? I feel bad for him because after the fight, a lot of his fans were on social media calling him a journeyman and saying he got his butt kicked and he should quit. Them same fans that were saying all of that good stuff about him and calling him a warrior done turned on him. As far as criticizing me about the fight, the fans can't criticize me because I wasn't the one jumping on the podium saying I'm going to knock this guy out and I'm going to kill him and I don't like him. Gabe Rosado was saying that. So if they are mad at anybody, it should be Gabe Rosado for jumping up there talking about what he was going to do and then get in there the night of the fight and not do 25% of the stuff he said he was going to do. He called me an ESPN fighter and I'm proud of that because ESPN helped my career tremendously.
PC: You obviously want the Canelo fight next. Do you think that's possible?
WMJ: I would love that fight, but I got another compliment from his team. They said, "We would never fight Monroe. He doesn't engage in a fight and he won't fight us." So basically what Canelo's team is saying...well, what they are going to put out to the media is we don't want to chase Willie Monroe. But what they are really saying is we don't want to deal with a guy that's going to make it difficult for us. They want a guy that's going to stand right there in front of them and let them punch on them. Boxing is a sport of offense and defense. That's like going to an NBA game and saying you can only slam dunk. What about the 3-point shooters? They are very smart about the way they word things and put things out. Canelo is actually a nice person. I met him and we didn't have many words because his English isn't 100% and my Spanish isn't 100%. We had a few words and I could tell he's a genuinely nice guy. If they put me in front of Canelo, I think he would do what he gotta do to try and beat me and try to find a way. It's more of his team, not Canelo.
By Percy Crawford | September 21, 2016
"I would love that fight, but I got another compliment from his team...what they are going to put out to the media is we don't want to chase Willie Monroe. But what they are really saying is we don't want to deal with a guy that's going to make it difficult for us. They want a guy that's going to stand right there in front of them and let them punch on them...If they put me in front of Canelo, I think he would do what he gotta do to try and beat me and try to find a way. It's more of his team, not Canelo," stated middleweight contender Willie Monroe Jr., who talked about his recent win over Gabriel Rosado, a potential clash with Canelo Alvarez, and much more. Check it out!
PC: Congratulations on the win and capturing the [WBO Inter-Continental middleweight] title. How does it feel?
WMJ: Thank you. It feels great. It feels great to be back in that top. It seems like I never left, but when you lose a big fight, you feel like you gotta get back. But I'm blessed. It's been a little over a year, I had a nice comeback win over John Thompson, and now we'll be back at the top of that middleweight picture.
PC: A lot was said leading up to the fight with Gabe Rosado. Is there bad blood there or was it hashed out after the fight?
WMJ: Nah! Like I told you before, it was never anything personal on my behalf. Afterwards, I tried to say a couple of words to him. He wasn't really trying to hear it, so I just said God bless to him, Fernando [Vargas], and his team and thanked them for the opportunity. A lot of them was saying a lot of reckless stuff and I just held my tongue. You know me, I've never been the type of guy to act all crazy in interviews or call people out or talk about people. I let my hands do the talking. That's how I was raised.
PC: Were you shocked when he shoved you at the weigh-ins or did you think it may be some jockeying?
WMJ: Well, I mean, Vargas used to do stuff like that, so you got "Bully Jr." being trained by "Bully Sr." So it didn't surprise me to see him use some of them tactics. I told him that was the last time he was going to touch me, so I hope he enjoyed it.
PC: A lot goes into being a fighter and the product that we watch on Saturday night. Is it bittersweet to do the work, go and fight your fight, and still be met with heavy criticism?
WMJ: It's actually quite flattering. When you're so many light years ahead of people mentally and psychologically, they can't comprehend, so the first thing they do is shoot it down. Nas said, "People fear what they don't understand, hate what they can't conquer." I do what I was supposed to do. I did the whole machismo thing against Triple G and ultimately, I lost. Can I fight? Yes, but my style is to box and out-think guys. I went in there with the whole machismo thing against Triple G and nobody gave me props. They said I was a bum and I got stopped. My thing is it's already hard to lose a fight, but to not get props fighting the way that people say you can't fight...I just stuck to what I do. It's sad because you see what reporters think of fighters. I won't say his name, but we saw the reporter that after Felix Verdejo got into that motorcycle accident, a reporter made the comment, "That's the most exciting thing Verdejo has been involved with in a year or so." That's someone's life. That kid could have gotten hurt more serious than he did or he could have died. That's his life, so when these news reporters make comments like that, it shows that they don't care. We are objects to them, not humans. Why would I even ruffle my feathers for these writers that don't care if you live or die?
I feel like a lot of guys in the media don't love this sport like they say they do. When you love something, you're in a relationship; you love it unconditionally. Boxing has its ups and downs, it's good fights and it's bad fights, and it's not to say that you can't criticize the bad fights, but when do you ever see anything positive from some of these guys? I think that's why Floyd Mayweather is so successful in the sport and he was able to be on top for so long because that love never died; that hunger never died. These guys start to get a few hits or accolades and then that's it for them. It's like Gabe Rosado kept saying, you can't teach heart and I fought this guy and that guy. It's like Floyd Mayweather always say, it's not cool taking punishment. You think it's cool that you get your face split open and all that stuff? I feel bad for him because after the fight, a lot of his fans were on social media calling him a journeyman and saying he got his butt kicked and he should quit. Them same fans that were saying all of that good stuff about him and calling him a warrior done turned on him. As far as criticizing me about the fight, the fans can't criticize me because I wasn't the one jumping on the podium saying I'm going to knock this guy out and I'm going to kill him and I don't like him. Gabe Rosado was saying that. So if they are mad at anybody, it should be Gabe Rosado for jumping up there talking about what he was going to do and then get in there the night of the fight and not do 25% of the stuff he said he was going to do. He called me an ESPN fighter and I'm proud of that because ESPN helped my career tremendously.
PC: You obviously want the Canelo fight next. Do you think that's possible?
WMJ: I would love that fight, but I got another compliment from his team. They said, "We would never fight Monroe. He doesn't engage in a fight and he won't fight us." So basically what Canelo's team is saying...well, what they are going to put out to the media is we don't want to chase Willie Monroe. But what they are really saying is we don't want to deal with a guy that's going to make it difficult for us. They want a guy that's going to stand right there in front of them and let them punch on them. Boxing is a sport of offense and defense. That's like going to an NBA game and saying you can only slam dunk. What about the 3-point shooters? They are very smart about the way they word things and put things out. Canelo is actually a nice person. I met him and we didn't have many words because his English isn't 100% and my Spanish isn't 100%. We had a few words and I could tell he's a genuinely nice guy. If they put me in front of Canelo, I think he would do what he gotta do to try and beat me and try to find a way. It's more of his team, not Canelo.
