EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW: JOHN SCULLY
By James Alden

JA: Just a few days away from being inducted into the CES Hall of Fame. Tell us what this means to you to receive an honor like this? "Well, it's kind of odd for me to be at the point in my life where I am starting to receive honors like that because even though I don't box for money anymore I am still in the gym sparring quite a bit and when I train these guys now I kind of feel as though I am a fighter training other fighters more than a trainer training boxers. I guess that way of thinking keeps me in tune with the guys on their level as fighters, but, in any event, I am excited about being included in that group this Saturday in Jimmy's "Ring of Honor." Any type of positive recognition in boxing is a big honor to me."

JA: Is that something that you thought about before you started boxing, was all the accomplishments you might make?

ICE: The funny thing is that I got into being a boxer as a kid because I wanted all that came with it. I wanted to fight, train, be on TV, be in the newspapers, have fans, sign autographs and all that and I guess this is kind of a continuation of all that. When I finished my amateur career I was named as the middleweight on the all-time team for our Golden Gloves tournament and then in 2000 I was listen in the Hartford Courant as one of Connecticut's "Athlete's of the Century" and as far as my boxing career goes this one on Saturday is right up there with those two.

JA: It will not be all fun and games this Saturday night for you. You have a couple of guys fighting on the card. Let’s first start off with Mike-Mike?

ICE- Hopefully this is his last smaller level fight before he steps up to something bigger in stature. There is talk of maybe a USBA or NABF title fight at 122 pounds in the near future but, of course, there is no way to look past this fight on Saturday. All fights are big in my eyes, whether it is a four round under card fight or a twelve round world title fight, and I think if Mike-Mike goes along with that way of thinking then he will have a great show on Saturday and take that next step towards something big.

JA: Do you see Mike-Mike's fight going the distance?

ICE: No way to say, really. Mike-Mike is a boxer first and the guy is tough and on top of that it is only a six round fight so who really knows? I only hope for victory.

JA: How is Matt Remillard looking in the gym?

ICE: Matt is an unbelievably focused and hardworking professional boxer and I think he is learning the pro game at a good pace and will make his name in the relatively near future. Although I don't think there is a need for a tremendous rush with him. He's still young and has a huge upside to him.

JA: Tell us about Israel "Pito" Cardona.

ICE: Pito is looking pretty good lately but all things considered he has a pretty tough fight, style wise, to comeback against when he faces Shakai Moore on Saturday. Shak is a cagey, sneaky boxer with a lot of experience dating back to a solid amateur career so Pito will have to be on his P's and Q's this weekend.

JA: Jose Rivera-Travis Simms possible fight?

ICE: It appears that it is Jose next title defense, November 4 in Phoenix. I know Jose, like me, is kind of disappointed in that we were really geared up to fight one of the bigger, well known guys like Corey Spinks, Antonio Margarito or Kassim Ouma. After his performance on "Showtime" earlier this year it seemed like a marquee fight with one of the big names was going to materialize but then this fight came up and those other guys have prior commitments, anyway, so this is what we will do now.


JA: Is Jose taking it personal that no one wants to fight him and is he starting to feel the way that John Ruiz felt where no one was taking him serious?

ICE: I think Jose is a patient and focused type of guy and, really, he feels as though it is a compliment in a way that certain guys will only fight him if they either want to get a title or if they can't get a Delahoya or Mayweather type fight for themselves and the money that comes with them.

JA: Were you surprised by some of comments that Simms said?

ICE: No, it would take something really, really unusual to come out of any boxers mouth to surprise me at this point.

JA: He really doesn't think much of Jose as a fighter it seems.

ICE: Well, some guys just instinctively trash the guys that know they are about to fight. It's kind of silly, though, if you think about it. Fighters kind of do that automatically as a way to present themselves as focused, confident and ready but too many guys say before the fights that their upcoming opponent isn't that good but if they beat them they want to be given keys to the city. They want a cookie. They want recognition. They want people to respect them for what they have done. But the guy you just beat was a guy you said was a bum? If that is the case then don't train, don't run, don't prepare properly. Silly, right?

JA: How do you see that fight going John if they do clash?

ICE: I know, obviously, that there is a way to beat anybody and some guys have many more mental and physical weaknesses than others that can be exploited. Jose knows what he will need to do if he wants to win this particular fight.

JA: Breakdown Simms for us. I know that you don't want to say everything he does, but give us a brief scouting report.

ICE: To tell you the truth I have only seen him box once as a professional and that was against Bronco McKart so it was hard to really get a feel for him. Bronco wasn't the Bronco from the mid 1990's when he was really a top fighter so there wasn't a lot to go from for me. The thing is this, though. I don't really pay a great deal of attention to what a guy does in other fights, anyway, because every fight and every opponent is so different.

JA: Two year layoff for Simms, do you think that is a good thing or a bad thing and do you think that he deserves a shot at the title?

ICE: Well, I don't think anybody that hasn't fought in two full years could say they deserve to walk right into a title fight but this is the boxing game so you cannot say anything is a big shock one way or the other. A layoff is good for some people, bad for others. Travis hasn't had a great deal of professional experience at this time as it is so maybe a long layoff like that at his age could be something that makes him even more rusty than a guy his age that has a lot more experience in longer fights. Who really knows? It's something that depends on the fighter with the lay off.

JA: Hartford will be rocking on Saturday night. What do you think this means for Hartford?

ICE: It means that for one night at least there will be quality professional boxing on display for all those Connecticut people who claim to be fans. Any off-TV show that has a Mike Oliver, Pito Cardona, Matt Remillard, Matt Godfrey and Jason Estrada on it is a show that could rival probably any local show you could put on anywhere in this country.

Send questions and comments to: jamesalden@Boxingtalk.com