411 MMA Interviews: Ricardo Mayorga
Posted by Jeffrey Harris on 05.11.2010
The former boxing champion speaks with 411mania.com for an exclusive interview days before his upcoming MMA debut against Din Thomas at Shine Fights: When World's Collide.
Ricardo Mayorga (28-7-1-1, Boxing) will be throwing his hat into the MMA arena on May 15. The former WBA/WBC champion will face off against MMA veteran, Din Thomas (25-8, MMA) on May 15 at Shine Fights III: Worlds Collide. Thomas has also competed in the UFC where he holds a record of 5-4 and will be entering the fight with 33 more professional MMA bouts than Mayorga. Thomas holds career wins over former UFC Lightweight Champion, Jens Pulver, and former UFC Welterweight Champion, Matt Serra. Mayorga has fought with some of the biggest names in boxing including Felix Trinidad, Oscar De la Hoya, and "Sugar" Shane Mosley. Mayorga is also a multi-division title holder in the boxing world as well. Last week, 411mania.com got the chance to speak with Mayorga via translator to talk about his upcoming MMA battle:
Jeffrey Harris: Why did you want to fight Din Thomas and get into MMA?
Ricardo Mayorga: I want to beat somebody that's good and venture into MMA. But after I beat Din Thomas really quick in the first round, I want to beat someone with a title, with a belt.
Jeffrey Harris: Were you a fan of MMA long before you decided to fight Din Thomas?
Ricardo Mayorga: Yeah, of course. I was looking for an organization to grant me to fight MMA until I met Steven Dennis from Shine Fights and he gave me the opportunity to get into MMA.
Jeffrey Harris: Considering that boxing and throwing punches is just one aspect of MMA, how are you preparing for Mayorga coming at you with kicks, takedowns, and also putting you on the ground?
Ricardo Mayorga: From where I'm from, I've got into fights in the streets, so I've been in fights that have kicking and brawling. I'm a street fighter. I'm ready for any kind of mixed martial arts that comes at me.
Jeffrey Harris: Din Thomas is also a black belt in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, so have you been preparing for defense against that type of technique and things that Din Thomas might do on the ground?
Ricardo Mayorga: I'm going to wipe my shoes with his black belt.
Jeffrey Harris: Don King's company issued a cease and desist order to try and stop the fight. Is there any chance that could happen or is the fight going to go down on May 15?
Ricardo Mayorga: Don King will not do anything. The fight will go on. I have a contract with Don King for boxing, and I have an MMA contract with Shine Fights. It is two different sports. Under the contract I have with Don King, Don King is supposed to give me two or three and it's been a year and six months and my last fight was with Sugar Shane Mosley. Don King hasn't lived up to his part of the agreement.
Jeffrey Harris: Have you been training in an MMA camp with other MMA fighters to prepare for Din Thomas' style?
Ricardo Mayorga: The little that I've trained is more than an enough.
Jeffrey Harris: But who have you been training with for this fight. Who are your sparring partners?
Ricardo Mayorga: Once I win, everyone will know who my instructor is in mixed martial arts.
"I'm going to wipe my shoes with his black belt."
Jeffrey Harris: James Toney has signed with the UFC, and I'm curious what your thoughts are on Toney getting into MMA as well.
Ricardo Mayorga: I'm rooting for James Toney to beat Randy Couture. MMA is stronger and more aggressive than boxing.
Jeffrey Harris: Have you had to change from your usual training regiment for a 3, 5 minute round MMA fight in terms of cardio and conditioning?
Ricardo Mayorga: I'm not going to have an issue with that because when I do boxing its 36 minutes and MMA is only 15 minutes. I've been doing boxing so long it's going to be even easier for me.
Jeffrey Harris: As far as boxing goes, there's been a lot of controversy with regards to making the Pacquiao/Mayweather fight and also having boxers and fighters use Olympic testing and giving blood throughout their training camps. Mayweather has been demanding Olympic testing. Is that something you support for boxing to go in as far as testing goes?
Ricardo Mayorga: There's nothing wrong with that. It's very fundamental, they should check for all that, for HIV, for Hepatitis C, for all that. I agree with that.
Jeffrey Harris: Who would you say was your toughest opponent ever was in the boxing ring?
Ricardo Mayorga: Oscar De la Hoya. He hit me the hardest ever.
Jeffrey Harris: What do you think of Din Thomas' advantage for this fight having been in over 30 MMA fights?
Ricardo Mayorga: The one that has the disadvantage is Din Thomas. I've fought the most famous people in the world. Din Thomas hasn't fought anybody. My experience will show on May 15.
Jeffrey Harris: Din Thomas does have a win over Jens Pulver, the former (and first ever) UFC lightweight champion. Do you think Jens Pulver is not a fighter of stature in the history of MMA?
Ricardo Mayorga: I've got 9 titles. Din Thomas only has one. I've won more championships than he [Thomas] will ever win in his life.
Jeffrey Harris: Do you have any people or sponsors he would like to thank before the fight?
Ricardo Mayorga: I want to thank Din Thomas; he's very courageous to fight me. And he's going to learn that he made a huge mistake signing that contract to fight me on May 15.
This historic boxing vs. MMA battle will go down at Shine Fights III and will be broadcast live on pay-per-view on May 15. Remember to check 411mania.com for the best and quickest coverage of the event. So remember to bookmark 411mania.com to your favorite places. You can also
"Ricardo Mayorga: I'm going to wipe my shoes with his black belt."
That's gold, pure gold.
With that said, it's obvious Mayorga isn't taking this seriously and has barely trained, given some of his answers.
But it was a very entertaining interview nonetheless. Nice work Jeffrey.
Posted By: Samer Kadi (Registered) on May 11, 2010 at 04:00 AM
Prediction:
Thomas by submission 33seconds
Posted By: Adam (Guest) on May 11, 2010 at 12:47 PM
" I've got 9 titles. Din Thomas only has one. I've won more championships than he [Thomas] will ever win in his life."
Well isn't it easy to win titles in a sport where there are nearly three hundred billion of them?
Posted By: Todd Vote (Guest) on May 11, 2010 at 01:41 PM
Mayorga is not an elite boxer.. why is he getting so much attention?
Posted By: ChrisVazquez (Guest) on May 11, 2010 at 01:50 PM
I wonder if Mayorga is just doing this for the money or hoping to get some leverage in negotiating some boxing fights. Because can he really be that delusional as to believe Thomas won't wipe the floor with him?
Posted By: Rageforthemachine (Guest) on May 11, 2010 at 06:10 PM
"I'm going to wipe my shoes with his black belt."
"I want to thank Din Thomas; he's very courageous to fight me."
Awesome.
Posted By: Plunkett (Registered) on May 11, 2010 at 07:45 PM
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