JA: How is training camp going for your fight on July 9? "Training camp is going great; we are winding it down right now. I think that this fight will put me in contention in the middleweight division."

JA: I am curious to know why you took the two year layoff after the Jermain Taylor fight.

RM: I was an Olympian and had a lot of amateur fights, when I fought Jermain Taylor I knew that I shouldn’t have taken the fight, I was desperate at the time and there was no big fights for me at 154 so I decided to take the fight with Jermain at 160. At that point I wasn’t a solid middleweight as I am now. When I fought Jermain that was my first big fight in the division at 160, after the fight I knew that he was going to be a world champion because of how big and strong he was for a middleweight. At that point in my career I shouldn’t have taken the fight, HBO had offered me other fights to take, I don’t want to name any fighters but they didn’t want to fight me, so that is when I decided to move up to 160 pounds and fight Jermain Taylor.  After the fight I decided that I wasn’t going to fight any longer. After calling it quits I decided to do color commentary with HBO Latino, last year when Jermain beat Hopkins the second time I decided that I am going to come back and fight. I started training to lose a lot of the weight that I put on off. I had my first come back fight April 29th against Miguel Hernandez, he came to win the fight, that was my first fight in two years and it was a big test for me, I ended up stopping Miguel in the 9th round. The Coushatta Casino and Resorts, Kinder, LA, the venue was sold out and it was one of the best shows that they had there in a long time. I will be fighting back there again next week and I am excited about getting back in the ring.

JA: What do you think the two year layoff has done for you, do you think that it helped you get you refocused about fighting?

RM: I really believe so, I believe that I have matured a lot more since the layoff, I have been doing a lot of things that I didn’t do in the past like the strength and conditioning part of my training. I think that being a commentator and being able to see all the different types of styles, I believe that really helped me to learn more about boxing. For instance I sparred 10 rounds with 4 different guys. I sparred a heavyweight fighter, I sparred an amateur, I sparred an up and coming prospect, everyone had there own different styles and that really helped me. When I fight the younger guys, they are fast and full of energy. I think that since I become a commentator I began to learn more and more about the sport of boxing, you are always learning something about the sport that you didn’t know before.

JA: What do you know about your opponent Sergio Rios and what type of strengths does he bring the fight?

RM: He is a tough Mexican fighter who comes to fight. He has 18 wins with 16 knockouts and only 4 losses, I don’t care who he has fought, if you can knock out 16 guys you definitely have some kind of power. I know that he is going to be motivated just like the last guy that I fought because he knows that he is going to be fighting Raul Marquez. With a win over me can lead to bigger and better things, so I expect to see the very best Sergio Rios. I am sure that this guy is going to be tough, but I don’t think that he is in my league so I am expecting to win by Knockout and move on to bigger and better things in the future. After this fight hopefully I get back in the mix in the middleweight division, I don’t think that I should be wasting my time fighting these kinds of fighters anymore.

JA: Do you think that you have worked out all the kinks that develop over a two year layoff?

RM: I think that the rest really helped me out and like I said earlier, I feel motivated to be world champion once again. I look forward to running, training, everything that I do I look forward to. I feel like I am re born again, the rest really helped me.

JA: Is the goal to fight every other month?

RM: If I can’t get anything big after this fight, of course the goal is to fight every other month. I am trying to make some big fights in the middleweight division after I get through this fight with Sergio Rios. I don’t want to look ahead but that is the plan that I have.

JA: I know that you’re a big fan favorite so is one of the goals is to get on HBO before the year is out?

RM: Oh yeah most definitely. HBO is aware of everything that is going on, if I can get on HBO before the year is out, they know that I can fight and they know that I have a big following over here in Louisiana. I come to fight, I don’t run nor hold and I give the people what they want to see and that is a good fight.

JA: Give me your expert opinion on the Jermain Taylor-Winky Wright fight?

RM: I thought that the fight was close, Jermain was big at the beginning of the fight, he was moving Winky around but Winky with his defense did a tremendous job. I have to give it to Winky because he was in tremendous shape, it was a great fight and he definitely deserves a rematch. It’s hard because it seemed like he took the 12th round off, but Jermain didn’t do anything in the 12th neither. I was happy with a draw; I think that they should fight again. Winky really surprised me in the fight, had not Jermain been the champion I think that they might have given the fight to Winky.

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

RM: Be sure to check out www.raulmarquez.net, right now it is under construction but we will be having the website up shortly. I hope that everyone can make out it out to my fight next at the Coushatta Casino and Resorts, Kinder, LA.

M

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