Mike Dallas Jr. (19-2(1)-1 8KO) recently made an appearance on Tha Boxing Voice radio show, to discuss the news that he will be fighting, Lucas Matthysse (32- 2 30 KO) on January 26th, in Las Vegas.
The first question posed to Mike was:
What went through your head when you got that call? A win over Matthysse for you, makes Mike Dallas Jr. the next big thing.
Mike Dallas Jr.: “You know, I was happy to get the opportunity, you know, and every guy trying to get that championship, trying to get the title, has to take a huge challenge. When I got the call, I took the fight without even hesitating.”
TBV: Virgil Hunter has made it clear that he plays a big role in the picking of opponents for his fighters, he did so with Khan’s fight against Molina, the next question to you is; did he have any role in you taking this fight? If so, (or not) what are his thoughts on Lucas Matthysse as an opponent for Mike Dallas Jr.?
Dallas: “Yeah, you know, he called me and as like, you know we have this opportunity, this is right up your alley. We all rode with it, we was ready, we been training, so why not, you know. Rather fight somebody who’s at the top, than somebody who’s not worth nothing.”
TBV: So he was totally on board with the decision to fight Lucas?
Dallas: “Yeah, he was on board with it.”
TBV: You’ve already been in, not training per se, but in full force standing shape because you were part of Amir Khan’s training camp for Carlos Molina, correct?
Dallas: “Yeah, right, I was supposed to fight but it fell out at the last minute, so I was there training also.”
TBV: So Mike what exactly is your height? Are you 5’9 or 5’10?
Dallas: “I’m like 5’9 and a half, almost 5’10.”
TBV: Do you know your reach?
Dallas: “It’s something like 73.5”
TBV: Now, those two factors are going to be (in my eyes) a huge advantage for you. Matthysse is a 5’6 guy; he wants to be on the inside, how active do you plan on being? You usually start off slow, have you guys worked on that? Is that something Virgil Hunter wants to change?
Dallas: “I usually start off fast; you probably just go by the flow of the fight. I’m usually a fat starter though.”
TBV: When this fight was made, some of the general consensus comments made were: how can Mike Dallas survive against Lucas Matthysse, when Josesito Lopez stopped him in seven. Let everyone know, what went wrong in the Lopez fight?
Dallas: “Who knows?! I was young and I let him take me out of my game. Before I was winning the fight, but hey, it’s a part of the game, it’s a learning experience. It made me stronger now.”
TBV: Being as though you felt you were taking out of your game in the Lopez fight, what are you going to do to stop that in the Matthysse fight? Matthysse is a rough and tough, come forward, bang ‘em style of guy, how are you going to keep him off of you?
Dallas: “I came a long way since then too, so you know, I be good, learn from experience.”
TBV: Mike, back in 2011, you had back to back losses, this must have been a trying time in your career. Talk about getting over that and that period. How did you will yourself to come back stronger?
Dallas: “You know, it was hard, I lost my first fight and then I felt I was robbed the second fight, it made me stronger and hungrier. It made me a hungrier fighter knowing I had to damn near win all the rounds to win a fight.”
TBV: There are some similarities between Lopez and Matthysse, do you go back and look at the Lopez fight and say this is what I should be doing?
Dallas: “That fight, that fight was a minute ago, and I grew more as a fighter from there to now, so, I ain’t even worried about it.”
TBV: Although he is aggressive, Matthysse does start slow, do you think you can put a lot of these early rounds in the bank, give yourself a cushion by starting fast and then cruise in the later rounds?
Dallas: “Yeah, that could be a plan but, you just got to see how the fight goes. Sometimes you start slow and if you do, you just got to take those rounds.”
TBV: Do you feel that this is a high pressure, make or break fight for you? Are you approaching it as do or die, this is my career right here? Are you just throwing it all out there for this one fight because of the magnitude of this one fight? Is there no tomorrow if you don’t win this?
Dallas: “Yeah, you know, it’s kind of pumped me to fight a fight like this. I’m ready to go. I’m going to fight a good fight and it’s time and I’m ready to step up and get that W.”
TBV: Now that you have such a variety of stable mates, you have Demetrius Andrade working out at the gym, now you have Amir Khan in that gym, you have a young prospect from the Bay Area, Karim Mayfield, a lot of 140 and 154 lbs. fighters, are you going to use any of those 154 lbs fighters?
Dallas: “Yeah, we spar, all of us spar all of the time, so it’s keeping us all tuned up and alert. I was sparring Angulo too, who is a pressure guy, so I will be ready, man. You know, we got a nice, strong stable, I feel we got one of the best stables in the nation. We’re all helping each other out so; I will be ready to go!”
TBV: Mike, before you go, one final question to you; we’ve seen Jackie Kallen in the ring with you is she your promoter?
Dallas: “No, she is my manager.”
TBV: OK, just wanted to clear that up. We wish you good luck on your January 26th fight, if you want to drop any of your social networking sites so your fans can follow you closer.
Dallas: “Yeah, it’s @Mikedalljr on Twitter and tune in for the fight!”
Catch the Mike Dallas Jr. interview in its entirety here: http://www.blogtalkradio.com/thaboxingvoiceradioshow/2013/01/07/friday-night-fights-recap-and-boxing-headlines