The past few months had been pretty hectic for trainer John David Jackson. At the start of the year his core group of fighters were all preparing for fights as he oversaw the work of Welterweight Contender Damian Frias, Former Champion Randall Bailey, then Lightweight Champion Nate Campbell and Super Middleweight Contender Allan Green simultaneously.
Frias would go on to win a decision again Edwin Algarin in Key West in January, eventually shaking off the rust to control the fight relavitely easily. A month later Campbell would go on to win a competitive decision against Ali Funeka based off of the strength of two knockdowns. In early April Randall Bailey would score one of his finest knockouts as a pro as he starched Francisco ‘El Gato’ Figueroa with a picturesque straight right hand in Memphis, Tennessee. And towards the end of last month Allan Green would go on to score a much needed win with an impressive, albeit expected, knockout over Carlos De Leon Jr. to round things out.
Campbell and Green have returned to their hometowns of Tulsa, Oklahoma and Jacksonville, Florida while Bailey and Frias have taken some time away from Jackson’s Contender’s Gym in Fort Lauderdale. With some of his key fighters not being presently at the gym, Jackson was a little more at ease as opposed to being on his typical grind yet he still had much to say as he talked to 8 Count News this past Wednesday afternoon.
From the next possible opponent for Campbell to some remarks he recently made regarding Manny Pacquiao, Jackson had a lot on his mind and opened up about what’s on his plate at the moment as well as some of his thoughts towards the future. In his own words, this is what Jackson had to say…
Nate Campbell’s Future…
“At this point I really want to see Nate make some money. He’s the type of fighter who has had to fight every dog in the neighborhood just to get his shot. I told Nate that now that he has some money he might want to take a trip and see Bob Arum about the possibility of a Pacquiao fight, but who knows what will happen with that. I think Nate might end up fighting Timothy Bradley next. Bradley showed in his fight against Holt that he has a lot of heart from the way he reacted to that knockdown, so he’s definitely a risky fight. I think Nate can still get him but he has to be at the top of his game.”
The Next Fight for Allan Green…
“We have been trying to make the Lucian Bute fight for Allan and it doesn’t really matter where the fight takes place, because Allan would be ready to go get his belts and his money. If he can’t fight Bute hopefully we can work something out with Froch because I believe Allan is ready right now.” (Note: After this interview it has been revealed that negotiations for a Green-Bute bout have broken down for various reasons…)
Remarks About Manny Pacquiao…
“Recently I said something about Manny Pacquiao that I personally feel was blown out of proportion. I said something along the lines that Manny Pacquiao hadn’t fought all of the elite black fighters near his weight class and I had a lot of Pacquiao’s fans angry at me. It’s kind of silly to me, because I was just stating what I felt. Pacquiao is a hell of fighter and I was impressed with the way he knocked out Ricky Hatton but I’d like to see him in some more big fights at 140 before I crown him like everyone else has.”
Training Richard Gutierrez…
“Right now I’m working with Richard Gutierrez and he has a fight coming up May 22nd against Antwone Smith. It’s a very dangerous fight for Richard because Smith is just an all around solid fighter. Smith has impressed me and he’s a guy you can’t take lightly. I keep telling Richard that he’s going to have to focus on the body in this fight, because all that head-hunting won’t work against Smith.”
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