Talking Boxing with CORY SPINKS
"I'm gonna stay at 147...unless other opportunities come in other weight classes"
by
Coyote Duran
1/24 - "The Next Generation." The name tells you so much yet so little at the same time. It leads you to assume there's something to look forward to in the future, in relation to a previous name or legacy, but good or bad is still unknown.
Such is not the case with one Cory Spinks. Spinks (34-2 with 10 KOs) became the first man in eighteen years to unify the welterweight division on December 13th, 2003 when he defeated heavy-handed Ricardo Mayorga by majority decision. Since then Spinks has been working his so-called jinx, successfully defending against the likes of former two-time 140 pound titlist Zab Judah and former WBC Super lightweight titleholder Miguel Angel Gonzalez.
Since then, the welterweight division has evolved somewhat with the possibility of former 147 pound stars Oscar De La Hoya and Shane Mosley soon returning to join welter dark horses (WBO titlist) Antonio Margarito and (WBO "Interim"/NABF titlist) Kermit Cintron in the hunt for the ultimate welterweight prize.
Throw in potential welter debuts by Sharmba Mitchell and World Junior Welterweight Champion Kostya Tszyu and you've got the makings of a new, exciting division. But before all others get their respective shots at the gold, Spinks will engage once more with the cocky Judah (32-2 with 23 KOs) to attempt to finish, once and for all, the business that began back on April 10, 2004.
SHOWTIME Championship Boxing will televise the undisputed welterweight world championship between Spinks and Judah on Saturday, February 5 at 9 p.m. ET/PT. Don King Productions will present the event, which will take place at the Savvis Center in St. Louis, Missouri. The co-feature will be announced in the near future.
I recently had the opportunity to speak with the funny and very relaxed Spinks during a break in his training and he shared his thoughts on the upcoming rematch, dancing to the ring, what he thinks of Oscar De La Hoya and Antonio Margarito and who'll be accompanying him to the ring on February 5.
WELTERWEIGHT CHAMPION CORY SPINKS
Coyote Duran: How is training coming along for the Judah rematch?
Cory Spinks: It's goin' great! Camp is smooth sailing!
Coyote Duran: Excellent! Will we see a different game plan from you? A different fighter stepping into the ring on February 5?
Cory Spinks: You'll see a different boxer. A different fighter.
Coyote Duran: Curiously, Judah told me that he wasn't changing his style at all for this fight. I felt that judging from the result of the last fight, that statement was too cocky.
Cory Spinks: Uh-huh! Uh-huh! Remember, this is not something I have to work on. This is natural to me! But I can fight in different ways.
Coyote Duran: I think that actually answers my next question. In your last two fights, you diverted your style and took some chances..
Cory Spinks: Uh-huh!
Coyote Duran: It seems that you've been playing in the "adventurous" manner that (IBF Heavyweight titlist) Chris Byrd has been playing with as of late. Do you feel that sometimes you gotta be a little adventurous and colorful to please the fans or is this something you feel that you've always wanted to do and just let loose every once in a while?
You know, after I get past Judah, I'm looking for a big, big fight with Kostya Tszyu or Oscar De La Hoya  |
| Cory Spinks |
Cory Spinks: Well, this is just something I do. Whatever I can do. If I could do this or if I can't.....I try to use different aspects in fighting. I don't worry about it. I only do what I can do.
Coyote Duran: You obviously defeated Judah in the last fight. Did you feel that it was necessary or important to grant him a rematch?
Cory Spinks: No, but sometimes that's the way the ball bounces and you have to do these things.
Coyote Duran: I talked to Zab recently and in our interview, he believes that with the venue selection not being Madison Square Garden and being in St.Louis instead, his opinion was that you wanted to lose in your hometown. What I assumed about St. Louis was that the city hadn't seen a major championship fight in years so I gathered the fight was more important to you history-wise.
Cory Spinks: Oh, yeah!
Coyote Duran: Was this for history's sake or did you have other motivation?
Cory Spinks: Oh, it was for me.
Coyote Duran: Cool.
Cory Spinks: It was for me wanting to come home and defend my title at home and come out on top. I'm not choosing my hometown to lose!!! Come on now!
Coyote Duran: (Laughs) That's Judah! Not that you have the habit of looking past any of your opponents, would you consider defending against some of the returning ex-welters and newcomers in the division like Oscar De La Hoya, Shane Mosely, Sharmba Mitchell and possibly Kostya Tszyu?
Cory Spinks: De La Hoya? I would love that fight.
Coyote Duran: I'm sure a lot of fans would. Let's talk about your pre-fight dancing. Is this a pre-fight prep to loosen up or is this just a Cory Spinks thing?
Cory Spinks: Well, it's just something I do! It's something I enjoy doin' and everything. It just gets me more hyped for the fight and more focused.
Coyote Duran: Sure! When I talked to Zab, I gave him my opinion about the welterweight division being "The New 140" because of the injection of names coming in. Judah's opinion was that he was the reason why. Cory, why do you think the welter division is becoming hot once more?
Cory Spinks: The welterweight division has always been a hot division. So just because Judah....junior welterweight wasn't hot just because Judah was down there. Why would it (the welter division) be if he came up to welterweight?
Coyote Duran: Getting back to the names that are coming back or to the welters, depending on how he does in his next world junior welterweight title defense, Kostya Tszyu's been making rumblings about coming up to the 147 pound division. Could this fight be made for you? Would (Spink's promoter) Don King be willing to put this together? Is it possible that there could be complications due to King's penchant for contractual options that Tszyu might not be willing to commit to?
Cory Spinks: With Kostya Tszyu?
Coyote Duran: Uh-huh.
Cory Spinks: Yeah! You know, after I get past Judah, I'm looking for a big, big fight with Kostya Tszyu or Oscar De La Hoya. To me, Shane Mosley has to earn his way back on top. Like I said before, I would love to fight an Oscar De-La-HOY-YA! I would definitely give him a shot!
Coyote Duran: What about Antonio Margarito? He's a very overlooked titleholder.
Cory Spinks: Nooooo.
Coyote Duran: (Laughs) Now, why is that, Cory?
Cory Spinks: Because, Antonio Margarito,...OK, he's an overlooked champ, right?
Coyote Duran: I think he's overlooked.
Cory Spinks: Names in boxing ring bells. And Antonio Margarito, to the fans, just don't ring a bell. (Both laugh) It ain't that I don't wanna fight him. It's just that he doesn't ring a bell. If I was to beat Antonio Margarito, I wouldn't gain nothing from it, or for the fans, actually.
Coyote Duran: Being that you're the man at the top of the welterweight mountain and all these great names are potentially coming to 147, are you considering staying in the welterweight division to, perhaps, clean it out or would you consider moving up to 154?
Cory Spinks: Well, I'm gonna stay at 147 as long as I can, unless other opportunities come in other weight classes. Then I'll go up.
Coyote Duran: Cory, do you think Judah's decision to stick to the same style he lost with shows that his team is being lazy or could this be covering a strategy that he's not divulging?
Cory Spinks: Well, I think he's gonna switch at me. I think he's gonna take more risks and that's what you don't wanna do with a boxer like Cory Spinks.
Coyote Duran: He's predicting a knockout, you know.
Cory Spinks: That's talk. That's talk. That's the thing. He never talks too much junk. That's why I don't. He comes out to be an ass.
Coyote Duran: Cory, here's my "Nothing-to-do-with-boxing" question: My daughter, Phoenix, loves (Rap/R & B Star) Nelly. Being that you're both from St. Louis, she figured she'd roll the dice and ask if you knew him.
Cory Spinks: I was in his last video and Nelly's bringin' me out in this fight!
Coyote Duran: You serious?
Cory Spinks: He's gonna bring me out this fight.
Coyote Duran: My daughter's gonna shit sideways when she hears this! She's gonna flip.
Cory Spinks: Yeah, if she looks at the "Na-NaNa-na" video (from the Sweat album), she'll see me in it!
Coyote Duran: Excellent! We'll have to scope that out!
Cory Spinks: (Chuckling) Tell her I'm the black guy with the blue sweats in the back.
Coyote Duran: (Laughing) All right! I'll definitely let her know, Cory!. Hey, man, thank you for this opportunity to chat with you. Best of luck on February 5, Champ!
Cory Spinks: Alright, man. thanks.
Talking Boxing would like to thank Cory Spinks for taking the time to chat with us and the very personable Kevin Cunningham for the break in training for the interview.
Coyote Duran can be reached at coyoteduran@talkingboxing.com
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