8CN’s Domingo Mejia caught up with WBC super middleweight champ Badou Jack (19-1-1, 12 KOs). The 31-year-old “Money Team” member will defend his title against hard-hitting British contender George Groves (21-2, 16 KOs) Sept. 12 on the undercard of Floyd Mayweather-Andre Berto at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas.
8CN: How has training camp been?
BJ: Training is going very good. It’s going to be an exciting fight.
8CN: Being this is your first title defense, was there something you and your trainer Eddie Mustafa Muhammad did differently in training now that you’re the world champion?
BJ: Basically it’s been the same as the last one. I work hard with Eddie Mustafa and Lou Del Valle, my strength coach, and Angel Heredia. We’re ready for him.
8CN: Both you and Groves are predicting knockouts. Do you expect a war?
BJ: It’s definitely going to be a war. I predict a knockout. I go in to win the fight. I’m not going to load up and look for the knockout. The knockout will come if I listen to my corner and be smart. It will definitely be an explosive fight. He wants to win the title. I want to defend it.
8CN: How do you like being a part of the Mayweather camp? Has being with the Money Team exceeded the expectations you had for your career at this point?
BJ: Absolutely. All glory to Floyd, he changed my life. I had a setback a few fights back then I fought for the world title and won it. Floyd is looking after me. It’s great to have the best fighter in the world as a good friend.
8CN: Did coming back from that loss to beat Anthony Dirrell for the world title change the way you feel about yourself as a fighter?
BJ: It made me a stronger, better fighter. We corrected mistakes, worked harder, and got the title.
8CN: How do you feel about the middleweight division?
BJ: It’s a very good division. There are a lot of big money fights out there. I’m probably going to move up at some point but there are some big money fights to be made.
8CN: Boxing fans are crazy about Gennady Golovkin. How do you feel about the hype surrounding GGG?
BJ: A lot of people criticize him. I like GGG. I like the way he fights. You’ve got to fight a top guy to see how good he is. He has tremendous power and he’s a very good fighter. I think he should fight Andre Ward. I would like to see that fight.
8CN: How do you feel about maybe stepping into the ring with Andre Ward?
BJ: Yeah, I gotta fight [Groves] first then we’ll see. To be known as the best fighter you’ve got to fight the best. I’ll definitely fight him and GGG. Absolutely.