Bobby Czyz interview on...Pac/Floyd; Merchant; Poor shape/quitting

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By Scoop Malinowski
The former IBF Light Heavyweight, WBA Cruiserweight and Showtime boxing analyst, Bobby Czyz (44-8, 28 KO’s) discusses Pacquiao vs. Mayweather, why 99% of boxers aren’t overly fond of Larry Merchant, and more…


BoxingInsider: Mayweather vs. Pacquiao?


Bobby Czyz: ”They should get it done now. The older they get, they can’t be like Archie Moore and still have a title into your forties. I think Pacquiao has too much for him. He has the power and the speed. Couple that with the complexity of the southpaw form and his experiences is even better. But Mayweather’s speed – the two ultimate equalizers of the game – Tyson’s power and Mayweather’s speed. They’re that fast you can’t even see what’s coming. How are you gonna block it? At the same time, if you hit as hard as Mike, it only takes one to land. Night over.”
BoxingInsider: Were you impressed by Mayweather’s performance against Victor Ortiz?


Bobby Czyz: ”I didn’t get to see the fight, I was doing something else. I saw some clips. All I really got to see was that and the interview with Larry Merchant. I like the interview better than I liked the fight [smiles].”
BoxingInsider: Larry said he would beat him up if he was 50 years younger. Your comment?


Bobby Czyz: ”I said something about him once on the air, that I’m not going to repeat. I’m not a huge fan of Larry Merchant. I’ll tell you what. 99% of all fighters I ever met want to hit him. Mike Tyson doesn’t like him. Holyfield doesn’t like him. Nobody likes him. He was a sportswriter. What fighters have actually gone through to get there, he doesn’t know what that is. He has no idea. One of the reasons I was effective at commentating – I walked that walk every day, for decades. 18 years as a pro, eight as an amateur, for 26 straight years. Getting up and running every morning, knowing what it’s like to run five miles with bleeding feet. Or to fight with a cracked rib or broken nose, dislocated jaw, a broken eardrum. What it is like to come out there when you’re tired. You do it because you have to. Because you have to. That’s what the job calls for. The different thoughts that run through your mind. None of those things does Larry know. But yet 50 years ago he said he would’ve kicked his ass.”
BoxingInsider: Are you impressed by Pacquiao spectacular ascent in boxing?


Bobby Czyz: ”Manny Pacquiao and Mayweather – there’s nothing not to be impressed by. They’re both tremendous fighters. Both tremendous fighters. Pacquiao has come into his own after a couple of losses early on. But he changed up some things. Didn’t just have one side to him. He makes adjustments pretty well. And if you can’t make adjustments, eventually you will run into a style that will beat you.”


BoxingInsider: Are you getting the sense that Mayweather is scared of Pacquiao, he keeps making excuses to avoid the fight while at the same time making negative statements to try to discredit and downplay the achievements of Pacquiao.


Bobby Czyz: ”I don’t think he’s scared of Pacquiao but I think he’s a sensible guy that realizes there is a possibility that on that day, he loses. When I fought Evander Holyfield, I knew flat out going in, he’s a better fighter than I am. But I also knew that he would underestimate me and I trained and if I could get past the fifth or sixth round, he could have a problem. A year after the fight ( TKO loss in 5 rounds at Madison Square Garden in 1996) he said if I would have went one more round he was gonna quit. It was in the paper – those were his words not mine. Because he wasn’t in shape for the fight. But I knew that but it was one of those things.”

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