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Tony
Harrison
celebrates
after
defeating
Jermell
Charlo
in a WBC
super
welterweight
championship
boxing
match
Saturday,
Dec. 22,
2018, in
New
York.
(AP
Photo/Frank
Franklin
II) |
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An
interview
with
Tony
Harrison
prior to
his
championship
bout
against
Jermell
Charlo
Micah K
Tell Us
Detroit
Sports
DETROIT
- Boxing
is a
sport
that
causes
so many
emotions
and
requires
a level
of
strength,
courage,
and
resilience
only a
selective
few
possess.
Three
days
before
Christmas
the
boxing
community
will be
tuned in
Saturday
night,
December
22, to
see if
Tony
Harrison
can
shock
the
world
and beat
undefeated
Junior
Middleweight
Champion
Jermell
Charlo.
Harrison
is more
than a
boxer,
he’s a
father
first.
Harrison
is a
Detroit
native
who is
always
looking
to help
the
youth
and
bring
positivity
to his
community.
Question:
Why is
it so
important
for you
to have
that
connection
with the
youth?
Answer:
For me
its just
about
building
that
next
bridge
and just
trying
to help
others
make
great
connections.
Basically,
so their
road
won’t
have to
be as
hard as
mines
was in
the
beginning.
Also so
they
won’t
have to
fight
the kind
of
fights I
was
fighting
and
sacrifice
the way
I had
too.
Boxing
is such
a small
world, I
just
want
more
opportunities
for the
kids now
coming
up. I
know
those
big guys
like
James
Prince
and Lou
DiBella
and I
was able
to
network
with
certain
promoters
and
managers
to help
my
career
grow. I
can take
what
I’ve
learned
and
share it
with the
youth so
they can
succeed.
Boxing
is a lot
about
who you
know,
thats
mainly
most
sports.
Q:
Boxing
is a
life or
death
situation,
what
keeps
you
motivated
to have
a
positive
mind set
after a
loss?
A:
I’m just
a
competitor
in
itself,
for me I
feel
like I
can beat
anybody
they put
in front
of me. I
feel 95
percent
of my
fights I
start
off
good,
for me
its just
trying
to find
ways to
make
myself
better
and to
maximize
on the
mistakes
I’ve
made.
The
reason I
keep
pushing
and
getting
up is
because
I want
to
perfect
my
craft.
Another
reason
is now I
have
kids to
look
after,
this is
not just
a sport
to me
anymore,
this is
my means
to feed
my son
and
daughter.
Q:
Ok the
big
fight is
coming
up. What
do you
feel is
your
biggest
challenge
for this
fight
facing
Jermell
Charlo?
A: I
believe
I just
need to
stay
mentally
focused
from the
first to
the
twelfth
round.
Charlo
can’t do
anything
that I
haven’t
already
seen
from a
fighter
this
far.
I’ve
trained
with the
best of
them. I
just
need to
stick to
the game
plan.
Q:In
a recent
interview,
you said
this
fight
gives
you
goosebumps,
why and
what was
your
motivation
behind
taking
this
fight?
A: I’m
one of
the guys
that
wants to
go
against
the guy
they say
you
can’t
beat.
That’s
all the
motivation
I needed
to take
the
fight.
I’ve
always
related
everything
to
college
sports
like the
big dog
on
campus.
Prime
example,
when you
go to
high
school,
whether
you’re a
freshmen
or
senior
you see
the guy
making
all the
noise
and you
see
everybody
intimated
of,
that’s
the guy
I want
to
fight.
It just
gave me
goosebumps
to
finally
get
super
motivated
to fight
somebody.
I know
with
this
fight
it’s a
great
opportunity.
I just
had to
turnt up
and I
immediately
said yes
to the
fight.
Q: What
are some
things
you do
that
give you
a peace
of mind
to help
you stay
focus?
A: Going
into
this I
fight I
did
things a
little
differently.
As much
as I
love my
kids I
took
another
household
where
nobody
is
there,
so it’s
just me
by
myself.
So now
I’m able
to sleep
better
and stay
locked
in not
only
physically
but
mentally
as much
as
possible.
The
quiet
times
are a
little
better
and when
I’m
training
for the
fight, I
literally
just
don’t
want to
be
around
anybody.
Q: Do
you
think
your
skill
and
speed
will
matchup
with
Jermell
Charlo’s
punching
power?
A: I
think
people
overestimate
his
punching
power to
be
honest,
that’s
my
personal
opinion.
I think
Charlo
had good
pickings
with
certain
fights
for his
style.
He just
fought
Austin
Trout
and
didn’t
stop
Trout,
who is
older
now. I
do think
he got a
little
snap on
his
punches.
As far
as one
punch
power
I’m not
really
worried,
I think
he’ll
have to
make the
adjustments
before I
do.
Q:
Can you
elaborate
a little
on a
tweet
you
retweeted
from
Twitter
about
how fans
talk
about
boxers?
A: I
just
think
its easy
for us
to look
at a
game on
television
about
boxing,
basketball,
and
football
and have
opinions
and be
bias. As
fans you
say damn
I
could’ve
made
that
play.
But not
knowing
at a
professional
level
these
guys are
putting
their
hearts
into the
sport.
The
athletes
train
all year
around
for that
one big
moment
and
sometimes
it
doesn’t
go like
they
expect.
As a
professional
athlete,
there’s
always
people
talking
sh##
that
haven’t
even had
the same
work
ethic as
me or
other
professional
athletes.
People
think
it’s so
easy and
they
find
time to
just
tweet
crazy
things.
The
truth
is, what
I’m
doing
and what
others
are
doing at
the
professional
level
isn’t
easy at
all. I
think
you need
to
respect
that man
or woman
because
win,
lose, or
draw
they’re
doing
something
most
people
wouldn’t
do.
Q:
On a
lighter
note,
what
type of
music
will you
play
walking
into the
ring?
A: It
will
definitely
be
Detroit
music. I
try to
keep
everything
Detroit,
that’s
our time
to shine
so I’ll
keep it
like
that
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