About two years ago Antonio Mesquita (31-0) was about to break into the lucrative end of the Jr. Welterweight division when a personal tragedy drove him from the ring for about two years.  Prior to the layoff, Mesquita was scheduled to fight Ricky Hatton, among others.  Last February, Mesquita began his comeback toward prominence now in the welterweight division.  Recently Mesquita took the time to let Boxingtalk in on his comeback.

Antonio, you have a fight coming up on May 26 against Gerardo Prieto, what are your feelings towards this upcoming bout?
 
I am ready to fight right now Prieto is good only for a couple rounds he is going to get KO before landing a punch. He is a joke not in my league.

 
Word is that you were brought in to spar with Ricardo Mayorga for his fight with De La Hoya that only lasted one day, can you explain why you were kicked out of Mayorga's camp?
 
Mayorga is another joke he can not take somebody like me, I am way to strong for him.  He have no skill, very slow, very open for any punch, they were looking for easy sparring I spar the way I fight.


Before your layoff fights against top fighters like Ricky Hatton were discussed as well as you being ranked as high as number 2 in a sanctioning body's ratings, how long do you think it will take for you to get back to that level?

Only a couple more fight I will beat King Kong, I be ready soon, you’ll see.
 
Several people who saw your recent fight against de Silvia said you looked like you had some ring rust, is that why you're taking on guys like Prieto who have never fought more than 6 round fights?
 
Yes I looked rust for the Silva fight, my last fight before was about 2 years, I really want to fight better guys, they don't want to fight me.   31-0 scares anybody.
 

Prieto has never been knocked out and he's fought at middleweight and jr. middleweight, do you feel like this fight is going to go the distance?
 
Prieto is going down and he is not getting up.....

How many more tune up fights do you believe you will need before stepping up and challenging the best in the division?
 
2 more fights I will be 100% ready for anybody..
 
Since your return you have been penciled in for a few fights that have not come through, how frustrating is it that you are not getting the fights you expected, especially after your long layoff?

No problem, people does not want to fight me for many, many, years since I got out of the amateurs. I was 131-2.

Thanks to Luiz Tapia for his help and interpreting with this interview.

M

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