GL: I spoke with your co-manager Sharmba Mitchell the other day and he told me that if Sultan Ibragimov wanted to fight for an interim WBO title you would have been the guy to make that happen. Can you elaborate on that any? "Well he's looking for an opponent he's not looking for a fight. He's looking for someone that he could beat easy to make him look good, but not someone HBO would approve. He's not actually looking for a crowd pleasing guy or a deserving guy to be in the ring with him. He wanted to fight for the interim title, but he didn't want to fight a ranked contender so what does that tell you?"

GL: You've been on a hot streak lately, are you hoping HBO or Showtime step up and give you an opportunity to fight on their respective networks?

Tony Thompson: "It's definitely a goal to not only get on HBO, but get on HBO with worthy fighters. I want to get on HBO against worthy fighters or guys they might think could beat me. In other words, I want to do the opposite of what Ibragimov is doing. I want to run towards the tough fights, not run away from them. My managers have already told HBO and Showtime that we're to fight whoever they want us to fight."

GL: Who are some of the heavyweights out there that you feel you can make your mark against?

TT: "Calvin Brock, Sultan, Krasniqi, any one of them out there would be fine with me."

GL: I speak with Monte Barrett on a regular basis and I know he's looking for a fight, is that a fight that interests you?

TT: "I don't think it really does much for me other than keeps me busy. I want to fight guys that will make me work. Monte Barrett has had a lot of chances and he's yet to come through. That's not to say he isn't a good fighter, but that's not the type of fight I'm looking for. If I can't fight for a title, I want to fight the next tier of guys that will get me to the title. I've fought enough of the Dominic Guinn types already."

M

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