GL: How has everything been going in preparation for your big fight with Joe Calzaghe? "Everything has been going great. This has been the best camp I've had since I've been here with Roach. He just left today to work with De La Hoya, but everything's going great. I'm really strong right now, I'm sharp and I'm ready to take the title from this guy."

GL: People are expecting Calzaghe to win this fight, does that serve as extra motivation?

Peter Manfredo Jr: "I think so. They're not just saying he's going to beat me, they're saying he's going to whip me so I've got nothing to lose. I'm going in there this guy is 42-0, he's never lost and he crushed Jeff Lacy and he's going for his twentieth title defense in his hometown, but I'm hungry and I'm going over there to show people that I'm the real deal and I think Joe Calzaghe is the perfect guy to do that with because I don't think he's anything special. The only guy he beat was Lacy and that was just the perfect style for him. Against Bika he didn't look that good, against Robin Reid he didn't look that good, he just had a guy in front of him to make him look spectacular. I'm going in there to do my thing and I have the style to beat him."

GL: What flaws do you see in him that leads you to believe you're hand is going to get raised on April 7?

PMJ: "He gets hit a lot because he committs and throws a lot of punches so he's there to be hit. He's not a boxer like a Chad Dawson, someone who's big and going to box you to take you apart. That's not him, he comes in and he throws punches so it's going to be a war. I know I've got to go through hell to win this title but I'm ready to do it."

GL: When will you be leaving for Wales?

PMJ: "I'm leaving on the 22nd or 23rd and I'll be there two weeks before the fight to finish up my training there."

GL: Can you get a fair shake on the cards over there?

PMJ: "I don't think or worry about that, I'm a fighter and fighters fight. If I worry about that I'm already defeated I'm going in there to work my plan and come out on top."

GL: A victory over Calzaghe makes you the best super middleweight in the world, what does that mean to you?

PMJ: "It means my dream. This is what I've been working for since I was six years old. I've been doing this for 21 years. I'm not looking to be the best, if I win the fight I'm going to be the best that night, not the best. There's always someone out there who can beat you and I have the style to beat him. What style is that? The style of a boxer puncher. We're not going to go straight for him with our hands over our head not doing nothing. This is the best camp I've ever had and I think we're going to have a big upset on April 7."

GL: Is there anything you'd like to say in closing?

PMJ: "You're going to watch a determined fighter on April 7, I'm going to be in there till the end and when I step through those ropes I'm ready to die in there and do whatever it takes to bring the WBO title back to America."

M

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