Childhood Heroes:
"I always liked
Muhammad Ali, though
I didn't watch much
boxing growing up."
Nicknames:
"Big John, Night
Train, and now Kid
Natural."
Hobbies/Interests:
"Playing football
with friends, go
fishing, play video
games."
Favorite Movies:
"Bloodsport, The
Program."
Favorite TV
Shows:
"According To Jim."
Musical Tastes: "I like all
kinds, country, rock, heavy metal,
Jason Aldean, Kid Rock, Hank Jr.,
Metallica, AC/DC."
Early Boxing Memory: "When I
was 18, having to go out on every
weekend and we'd go sparring in a
cow pasture every weekend [laughs].
I started out, sure enough, in a
hayfield."
First Job: "Is working at a
saw mill down in Mansfield, Arkansas
(age 14)."
First Car: "Was a red Dodge
pick-up."
Favorite Meal: "Pizza."
Favorite Breakfast Cereal:
"Raisin Bran."
Favorite Ice Cream Flavor:
"Vanilla."
Pre-Fight Feeling: "Thinking
about what I gotta do to win. The
first part of the whole fight is
what you think about. How do I want
it to go. Go over every aspect of
what could happen. That's what you
concentrate on - the start."
Pre-Fight Meal: "Six-inch
Subway tuna sandwich. And then a few
hours closer to the fight a bowl of
fruit."
Greatest Sports Moment (so far):
"Being able to fight ten times in
one year (2006)."
Most Painful Moment:
"Sparring with Ray Austin.
He pretty much flattened my
nose across the side of my
face. It was with a jab of
all things. I walked right
into it."
Worst Injury: "Is I
got cut against Richard
Gutierrez in New York above
my left brow."
Favorite Boxers To Watch:
"Right now, Shannon Briggs,
and I like watching Vitali
Klitschko and Wladimir, both
of them. They intimate how a
tall fighter should fight.
Lennox Lewis is probably the
best at it."
Favorite Fights:
"Michael Moorer used to
train me so I got all of his
fights on tape. Michael
Moorer-George Foreman - he
always preached to me, You
don't ever take a break, you
go bell to bell, he said he
took a break for one second
and he got cracked. Lennox
Lewis-Vitali Klitschko."
Embarrassing Boxing Memory:
"When I was 18 and I was still
trying to learn how to lace up the
gloves, I sparred with a guy who I
have since beaten three times as a
pro (Calvin Miller). He caught me
with a perfect haymaker right and
dropped me in sparring. Calvin's got
like an 8-50 record and he's like a
human punching bag with like one
good arm. But he's as tough as they
come."
Funny Boxing Memory: "I saw a
fight on the computer, a guy got hit
with a punch and he turned around
and took off, running towards the
corner. He tried to jump out of the
ring and his feet got caught up in
the top two ropes. Then the opponent
came over and he haymakered him
right out into the crowd [laughs].
(Pro fight?) I guess it was pro, it
was on the computer and they had no
head gear or shirts on. I also saw a
fight where the one guy beat the
other guy and the one guy's mother
came in the ring and was hitting the
guy with her shoe [smiles]."
Favorite Vacation Spot:
"Probably Hawaii."
Childhood Dream: "NFL all the
way."
Favorite Boxing Movies:
"Gladiator, all the Rocky trilogy."
People Qualities Most Admired:
"I like to visit with everybody, get
to know people. Like at fight
venues, I'll go out of my way to
talk to anybody."
