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Ross Thompson
Thompson Looking for More! Photo by Ray Bailey
Marco Antonio Barrera, Id say he is probably, as far as for
using all of his ability, the best fighter in the sport. Hes not as
talented as Shane Mosley, or Roy Jones Junior, but he uses his ability
so much, and so good. He boxes when he has to and slugs when he has
to. I respect him so much. He really lives up to his potential.
The Boss doesnt always work enough hours. When he steps into the ring at the Cox Convention Center in Oklahoma City for a Showtime-televised crossroads fight with hot prospect Jeff Lacy, Thompson, a respectable 25-5-1 (17), is hoping all that will change. Ive got too much talent to lose to the guys Ive lost to, said the 29-year-old Buffalo, NY native during a break in training at the Red Brick Gym in Newark, New Jersey. Its about putting it all together for me. I can go real far in the game, but Ive always been an underachiever. Ive never lived up to my ability. I dont know if its a combination of maturity, working harder, training harder and doing extra little things to put everything together, but when I fight to my ability, I surprise a lot of people. Another surprise is the high regard Thompson has for his opponent Lacy. For a fighter with a claim to fame of having punched Gary Shaw and Fernando Vargas at a press conference, there is certainly no animosity hiding behind this matchup. Hes a good little fighter, a young up-and-coming guy, but hes an easy fight for me, said Thompson. Hes a good prospect, but theyre moving him a little too fast. Too far to step up, but I still think hell be good after that. I dont think itll hurt him. Hell probably learn a lot from it. Still, niceties aside, The Boss knows the importance of this fight. It definitely is a must win for me. If I cant beat a young guy with only 12 fights, there is really a problem there. I watched tapes on Lacy when he went ten rounds and a couple of his one-round fights and I watched his Olympic loss. Hes good, but hes going to be in there with somebody who can hit back with power. Ive seen everything hes going to try. Hes a good puncher, but if you cant hit what you think you can, what good is it? I still think the guy has a lot of promise. He shouldnt get frustrated after our fight, because he can still come back. I think it was poor matchmaking by his management, they are moving these guys to the big money way too quick. In retrospect, Thompson, an articulate man who calls himself a true student of boxing, says that his highly publicized press conference melee with El Feroz was a case of Vargas reputation preceding him when it came to intimidation tactics (Thompson lost his challenge for Vargas IBF Jr. Middleweight title by TKO4). We had a dislike for each other. I knew it would be a clash of personalities. He tries to get in peoples faces. Hes always trying to intimidate opponents and I knew it wasnt going to go too good because I dont let guys do that. People always say I started that stuff, but I didnt. He got in my face first. He walked over to me and said whats up punk? I knew because of his rep, he was going to hit me, so I hit him before he could. He did it to Oscar De La Hoya; he did it to Raul Marquez, and to Howard Clark. He is known to start a lot of stuff. He was already giving me looks. He got out of his chair to hit me. Those antics eventually led to Vargas spitting on Thompson at the conclusion of their fight. I know when I was down he was talking stuff, but I never saw him spit. If he did, it didnt land on me. He did talk stuff while I was down though. Every time I got knocked down in that fight, I jumped back up, probably too quickly. I had never been knocked down before; I was shocked! He took my legs and they were gone. I never got them back and thats what happened in that one. As for his recent loss to former world champion Aaron Superman Davis, a fight in which he had Davis on the brink of defeat, only to run out of steam and lose a tight decision, Thompson blames improper conditioning. I got tired against Davis. The thing is I didnt run at all for that fight. I had done that before because I have back and knee problems. I felt confident about being able to go the distance because I was cruising in sparring, but I wasnt going all out. I would spar twelve rounds and not get tired, but my mistake was that you dont turn it up in sparring because you dont jump on a guy who is hurt. By the third round, I was tired. If I would have run, I would have stopped him inside of six. When I saw he was hurt, I went all out, and when you do that, youre going to burn out and then all you can do is wait for your second wind. I never got it that night. Thompson says he has his manager Nick Garone to thank for the places he has been and the sights that he has seen during his hot/cold career. Since teaming with Garone, The Boss has been number one contender to Fernando Vargas, challenged for Vargas world title, challenged for the NABA Middleweight Title, and won the WBA North American Jr. Middleweight and the WBC Continental Americas Super Middleweight Titles. He has definitely moved me real good. Before Nick, I was with managers who wouldnt politic to get me in the ratings. Their attitude was Ross is good, so he deserves it, thats all they would ever say and that isnt enough. You have to go meet with the people. Nick has done the right things as far as moving me. He put me in with the right opposition. Nick laid the red carpet out for me. Hes put me in a lot of good situations. Its up to me to make the best of it. What will I do after I beat Lacy? continued Thompson. I hope I can get a bigger fight with one of the top contenders, or one of the champions. The way I look at it, maybe theyll say he lost to Aaron Davis, but he beat this up-and-coming guy. I just have to win the fights once I get through the door and this fight will help a lot. The media has pushed this kid, so when I beat him, Ill be in a good situation. I would like to fight (WBO champion Joe) Calzaghe because hes the best, but I also would like (WBC champ) Eric Lucas. I toyed with him when we sparred. The only way hed fight me is in a mandatory. After the way I hit him, hed only fight me if he had to. Hes so ordinary, and he cant punch. Hes a solid pro, but somebody like me; itd be easy for me. Having dropped three of his last four, albeit to high-quality opposition, Ross Thompson knows the time is now if he is ever going to live up to his own expectations. He knows that every morning he must run. He knows that every day he must train. Whether or not he does it has always been up to him. What can I say? Im an underachiever man. I can go far if I do the right things. |
