Before we could get a single question in Peter Manfredo told Boxingtalk.com,  “I want you to get this on tape Jimmy, HBO called the fight a slaughter between me and Joey Spina, that is the reason why they don’t want to put that fight on the air because it is a mismatch. That is why ESPN doesn’t want to put it on the air as well nor does HBO want the fight.”

JA: Do you think the reason why he wants to take a pay cut ions because he knows that you will be fighting on HBO boxing after dark?

Peter Manfredo Jr.: He knows that the fight will be at the Dunkin Donuts Center and that this will be the first time that HBO has ever been to Providence.

JA: How does that make you feel Peter being the first fighter to ever bring HBO to Rhode Island?

Peter Manfredo Jr.: It’s great. When you get on HBO you know that you made especially be the main event on HBO boxing after dark is tremendous. You cant get any better than that.

JA: Is this one of the goals that you can check of being able to fight on HBO and then your next step will be to fight for a world title?

Peter Manfredo Jr.: Exactly. This is something that I always wanted to do and that is to fight on HBO, now that I am getting the opportunity to fight on HBO I can check that off and go on to fight for a world title hopefully on HBO. All I am worried about is winning my next fight on October 14th and looking good doing it.

JA: Now that you have a set date of when you are going to fight again, Peter Sr. when would you like training camp to begin for Jr’s. October 14th matchup?

Peter Manfredo Sr.: Possibly the second week of September and I already talked to Freddie and he is ready to go when we get down there. We are 99% sure of the opponent that HBO gave us, we are just waiting for the contracts to get back and that should be within the next couple of days. Once we get the fight done we will talk to Freddie and start putting together a strategy and start training. No one has been on HBO in the area and it really is a blessing to be fighting on HBO.  Jason Estrada has a fight coming up on Shobox, Matt Godfrey is fighting in September so a lot of things are happening at Manfredo’s gym. We are going to sell the Dunkin Donuts Center out on October 14th, we sold it out the last time and there is no doubt in my mind that we will sell out the Civic Center again.

“The contender people really came through for us and they gave us what we were asking for, they said they were going to do it and they came through with it. You also have to give credit to Jimmy Burchfield and the contender people. I feel bad for Joey Spina but on the other hand his management dropped the ball and they got a little too greedy. We would love to fight Joey Spina; we are not looking to duck him. Anyone can knock him out with a strategy. He isn’t polished and the networks wouldn’t except him. For him to be excepted by the networks he has to beat someone of merit.

JA:  I know that this is a big fight Peter coming back to Providence and the fact that his fight will be on HBO and did you learn your lesson from all the distractions in the first Mora fight?

Peter Manfredo Jr.: I learned my lesson from the Mora fight. This fight will be similar to the fight against Scott Pemberton and just like my second fight with Sergio Mora, I am going to forget the press and forget all the distractions and do what I been doing when I was 21-0 and that is just fight. I know that this fight is going to be on HBO and major TV, but you don’t know that the TV is there once you are in the ring. I am going to go back out there with Freddie and once I am out there with Freddie I feel that I can beat anyone.

JA: Peter Sr. I know that you talked to your son a lot, does it feel that he is anxious to get back in the ring and fight?

Peter Manfredo Sr.: Peter is a fighter and all fighters want to stay busy and they want to keep the momentum going. We had a lot of momentum going after the Pemberton fight. Scotty was an older fighter but he was ranked in the top 10 and he was a very dangerous fighter at the time and Peter did what he had to do. Peter wanted to get back in the ring as soon as possible and the contender people are doing what they promised us and Jeff Wald is taking care of us now. Jimmy Burchfield and Jeff Wald helped make this happen, myself and Peter are extremely happy. We are looking to have a long life with the contender people and there doing what we wanted them to do and that was there job. This is the first time in Rhode Island Jimmy that HBO is coming in, this is big Jimmy. We are going to bring the State an exciting card, the card is going to be stacked with Andre Berto who is a knockout artist. This is going to be great for the State of Rhode Island and I can’t wait for the 14th of October.

JA: I know that you were disappointed with the Contender brass. When did all get worked out?

Peter Manfredo SR.: It took some negotiations and for us to get going and at the end of the day they came up with something big and we accepted it.

JA: Peter I know that you and the contender were on a rocky relationship but how does it feel to be back with the contender?

Peter Manfredo Jr.: I am happy that I can get back in the ring and do my job, my profession is to be a fighter and that is what I do. I been going around the last couple of months feeling like something was missing and now I am excited about getting back in the ring and fighting. I been in the gym sparring with Matt Godfrey the cruiserweight and I been doing fine. I can’t wait to get in the ring on October 14th, it doesn’t matter against who because I am going to shine that night.

JA: Do you think that there might be some ring rust since you been off for 8 months?

Peter Manfredo Jr:. Not at all. There was a time when I didn’t fight for 4 or 5 months and I had one of the best performances of my career against Sherwin Davis. I don’t drink, I don’t smoke and I don’t do anything like that so I treat my body with respect.

JA: Do you feel that the 168 pound division better be on notice because Peter Manfredo Jr. is coming.

Peter Manfredo Jr.: I am not angry at anybody, all I want to do is get in the ring and perform to the best of my ability and I believe that I can do that and will do that. There are a lot of people that talk stuff about if I ever fought Calzaghe it would be a mis-match and they talk about me with other 168 pounders and don’t give me a chance, that gets me mad. I have to fists and two feet just like all the rest of the 168 pounders in the world and this is boxing and anyone can win on any night, the fight isn’t fought on paper, its fought in the ring. That gets me mad more than anything and I can compete with any of the 168 pound fighters in the world, and I will prove it. HBO said that the fight might happen with Giovanni Lorenzo, so if the fight happens it happens. I will fight anybody.

“I wish that I was fighting Joey Spina so I can take his belts and give it to two kids in the crowd because he is a loud mouth punk. After my fight on HBO on the 14th, we can put his ass in the ring next and so I can knock him out.

JA: Did he get under skin?

Peter Manfredo Jr.: He got under my skin because when he is around me or my friends he is nice, but when he does an interview with you he acts like a totally different person. He comes out and says that “ I knock people out, who has Peter fought”. I have fought way better opposition than he has, if you look at his record and you look at my record you can tell who I fought. He doesn’t have no talent.

Peter Manfredo Sr.: He is a very limited fighter.

Peter Manfredo Jr.: Jesse Brinkley was beating him for 11 rounds with a broken rib.

Peter Manfredo Sr.: They knew that Jimmy. Jesse Brinkley was thinking about pulling out of the fight. He got a gift when he fought Carl Daniels, then he got a big gift when he fought Jose Spearman.

Peter Manfredo Jr.: Jose Spearman beat the shit out of him.

Peter Manfredo Sr.: They talk about us fighting Pemberton and how they say that he was an older fighter, well Pemberton just came off fighting for the super middleweight championship of the world. Joey Spina fights Jay Pina who is really 43 years old.

Peter Manfredo Jr.: Scott was ranked number one in the WBC for over a year. They were saying that Jay Pina was 40, but he really is 43.

Peter Manfredo Sr.: I don’t want to bash Joey Spina but I don’t understand why they keep on bringing our name up because they had a couple of times to fight us and they turned the fight down. They had an opportunity to fight us when ESPN brought it to them, we offered him 35,000 dollars to fight us and they turned us down. This is the first time we talked to them and they laughed at us, when Joey fought Jay Pina he made probably 10,000 dollars. The second time they came back and offered him double the amount to fight us and they dropped the ball, plus HBO refused the fight. I don’t want them to go around saying that we don’t want to fight him because we want the fight with him. We want to shut his mouth once and for all. He says that he can knock this guy out, or that guy out, well come and see if you can knock us out.

JA: Do you think that he is jealous?

Peter Manfredo Sr.: Of course he is jealous because the biggest card in Rhode Island history will be on October 14th and he is not going to be apart of it, well he can if he buys himself a ticket. Everyone in my gym has fights coming up and the only fight that Joey Spina has is against his girl, maybe he should put his hands up so he doesn’t get hit by her glasses in the head. He went to a night club and his girl is throwing glasses at him.

JA: He said that he would take a pay cut to fight you guys but does it all come down to HBO?

Peter Manfredo Sr.: HBO already refused him and he said that it wouldn’t be a good fight. He beat Jesse Brinkley with one shot, but for the majority of that fight he was losing the fight, he was getting his ass kicked. He needs to go out and look good in a fight. It is not about winning a fight but you have to look good doing it.

JA: Is there anything that you would like to say in closing Peter?

Peter Manfredo Jr.: I just want to say that Boxingtalk.com is the best site out there. You will be hearing plenty more of the “Pride of Providence” on Boxingtalk.com with your boy James Alden doing the interviews.

Peter Manfredo Sr.: Yeah Jimmy I just want to thank you for all the support that you give to the fighters in New England. Be sure to check out the big fights on the 14th of October. Rhode Island will be rocking, all the businesses will be great. Boxingtalk.com is the best site in the world hands down

M

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