"People might not think I'm the most deserving challenger and that's fine, but I know they think Wladimir Klitschko is the top champion at heavyweight, I just hope they feel the same way about me after I bring his chin back home in a box."

GL: What's good Ray? How is everything? "I'm cool. I'm just over here looking forward to my next fight with Wladimir Klitschko and making it happen. This is the opportunity that I've been waiting for my whole career and I'm going to make the most of it. I'm definitely a proud fighter and I've worked hard to get here, so I'm going to make sure I'm here to stay."

GL: How do you feel about having to fight Klitschko in Germany?

Ray Austin: "I don't have no problem going overseas to fight him and I don't feel any real pressure to have to go in there to knock this guy out. The judges will be fair and I know my promoter Don King is going to be working to make sure that they appoint fair judges, so we're going to have a good fight."

GL: There were talks of a Klitschko-Maskaev unification bout, but obviously that's not going to happen with both the WBC and you the IBF mandatory getting enforced. How do you feel about that situation and do you believe the sanctioning bodies are making the right decision to enforce the mandatories?

Ray Austin: "Look, I know that everyone wants to see one unified champion, but at the same time I've worked my whole career to put myself into this position. I want to be the one to put Klitschko's chin in a box and bring it home, why would I want to risk missing my opportunity to do that by stepping aside for anything?  I respect what people think, but I think it was a good them for them to enforce the mandatories."

GL: When you fought Owen Beck in Cleveland you didn't appear to be in very good shape, but when you fought Sultan Ibragimov you appeared to be in much better condition, what happened?

RA: "What happened was I took the Owen Beck fight on one week notice. For the Sultan fight I had five weeks to train so I looked different. In this fight I got more than that to train and I'm going to let the record speak for itself."

GL: How do you see the fight with Klitschko playing out? Are you looking for the knockout?

RA: "Definitely, I'm definitely anticipating it, but I'll take it how it comes, a win is a win."

GL: How do you feel about your draw with Ibragimov, if the two of you win your upcoming fights the rematch could be a unification bout...

RA: (cutting in) "To be honest with you, that's a fight that I know I won in my mind, heart and soul. I know that I knocked him down in the seventh round, but the way they had the decks stacked against me, I guess I should be thankful I was able to get out of there with a draw. But that fight wasn't fought on a level playing out...But I'm definitely planning on bringing Wladimir Klitschko's chin home in a box."

GL: I take it you weren't too impressed with his showing against Calvin Brock.

RA: "I haven't been impressed with any of his performances for quite some time. We were supposed to fight years ago, but it never happened and he fought Corrie Sanders and we all saw how that turned out and this fight won't be much different."

GL: A lot of people out there look at you as a mis-mandatory and they don't feel you're the most deserving challenger out there. Does that motivate you and further motivate you to show the world what you're all about?

RA: "Definitely. I wish some boxing fans and press would know the things that I've had to go through and things I been through to get to this point. In the early part of my career, I never fought a bum, all the guys I fought were prospects and I knocked them all out, I've done what I needed to do to get into this position and I'm going to make the most of it now that I'm here. People might not think I'm the most deserving challenger and that's fine, but I know they think Wladimir Klitschko is the top champion at heavyweight, I just hope they feel the same way about me after I bring his chin back home in a box."

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

RA: "Like I said, I'm going over there to work my Magic and bring his chin home in a box."

M

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