Digital Social Hour - Boxing's Top Promotions: The Real Game Changers | Eric Priest DSH #702

Episode Date: September 7, 2024

Step into the thrilling world of boxing with "Boxing's Top Promotions: The Real Game Changers" on the Digital Social Hour podcast with Sean Kelly! 🥊 Get exclusive insights from professional boxer Eric Priest as he shares his journey from a promising prospect to contender status, and the grit it takes to make it in the ring. Dive into discussions about the top boxing promotions, the drama of weight classes, and the impact of influencer boxing on the sport. Don't miss out on Eric's fascinating take on the Tyson vs. Jake debate and the future of boxing legends. Tune in now to uncover the strategies behind unifying world titles and the role of Golden Boy Promotions in shaping boxing's brightest stars. Join the conversation and subscribe for more insider secrets. 📺 Hit that subscribe button and stay tuned for more eye-opening stories on the Digital Social Hour with Sean Kelly! 🚀   #KoreanBoxing #FreddieRoach #BoxingTraining #Sparring #BoxingTipsAndTechniques   #Boxing #BoxingFights #FreddieRoach #GoldenBoyPromotions #Canelo   CHAPTERS: 00:00 - Jake Paul vs Ben Askren 00:25 - Eric's Last Fight 01:49 - Boxing Rankings 04:09 - Ryan Garcia vs Luke Campbell 06:14 - Joining Golden Boy Promotions 07:11 - Floyd Mayweather's Record 09:53 - Jake Paul vs Mike Tyson Fight 11:15 - Fear of Losing in Boxing 15:32 - Motivation to Start Boxing 19:08 - UFC Fighters Transitioning to Boxing 20:43 - Upcoming Boxing Fight 23:42 - Punch Count Per Match 26:37 - Importance of Environment in Boxing 28:48 - Boxer Earnings and Salaries 32:10 - Eric's Toughest Opponent 33:20 - Recognizing Opponents in the Ring 34:10 - Eric's Career Window 35:10 - Final Thoughts on Boxing   APPLY TO BE ON THE PODCAST: https://www.digitalsocialhour.com/application BUSINESS INQUIRIES/SPONSORS: [e-mail]   GUEST: Eric Priest https://www.instagram.com/ericpriest   SPONSORS: Deposyt Payment Processing: https://www.deposyt.com/seankelly   LISTEN ON: Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/digital-social-hour/id1676846015 Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/5Jn7LXarRlI8Hc0GtTn759 Sean Kelly Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/seanmikekelly/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Who do you got with him and Tyson? Who do you got winning that fight? I hate to say it, and I'm such a Tyson fan. Yeah. Jake. Really? Yeah, and the reason because of that is Tyson, you see the videos of him hitting the pads and all that stuff, right?

He's explosive. That stuff never leaves you your strength and whatnot. But if he doesn't get Jake out in the first two rounds, then I think age and a lot of factors will catch up to him. All right, guys. We got a professional boxer here today eric priest thanks for coming on man i appreciate you having me man yeah coming fresh off another win right yeah about uh five weeks ago yeah so feeling good feeling good with that you know we're on the right track for this year so yeah cool was that a knockout no it was actually it was tough opponent he was uh 21 and four he'd fought like former world champions something like that so it was like a big it was like it was a good step in the right direction that's why i

step up so i went the entire distance like good learning experience like i won every round but so it was like a you know nice yeah but it's a good sign yeah definitely definitely usually at that level you start trading rounds right yeah when you're fighting really good people yeah and that's the goal like i mean for the first step it's like i mean like you want to fight good people first of all like you're learning and then top of that like anybody worth fighting is good at this point you know what i mean so otherwise you're just kind of like moving at it on a treadmill you know in your career so sure yeah how many times per year are you fighting right now um at least four four i mean this this year i would like to crank in five hopefully within like you

know from um this past fight from march to by the time next march five fights that's intense right because canelo only fights what twice a year yeah i mean canelo's at a different stage in his career where he's so established already and like there's only so many people that like could could even be in the conversation to fight him yeah and i'm at a stage where i'm i'm going from like prospect to contender where i want like by next year i want to be in that level where i'm in the conversation of like yeah like when's eric gonna get a world title shot got it so this year i'm like i'm really establishing myself as as that guy that's cool so are there rankings for boxing like ufc as rankings per division is boxing like that yeah so there's four uh sanctioning bodies essentially um wba wo ibf

and wbc i mean wbc world boxing council is the most important one. I believe it's probably the most respected organization. So that's the one that you really want to get ranked in. And I got ranked with them officially last year, about a year ago. And so right now it's just climbing those. That's why you hear the terms undisputed unified champion because you have all four belts. And that's obviously the goal. Oh, that makes sense. So there's four different belts? Yeah. an undisputed unified champion because you have all four belts. That's obviously the goal. That makes sense.

There's four different belts? Yeah. Holy crap. If you win a world title, that's awesome. You did it. You're essentially the best in the world, but the goal is to unify. You'll find guys that have two belts. It's like, okay, he's a two-time

world champion, but to really say i am the best in the world like you gotta have all four yeah interesting so does ryan garcia have any belts no he i mean he he would he would have had a belt if he made weight in his best fight you know but since he came in three pounds over he's no longer like eligible to fight for that title got it so even though they fought and he won it doesn't matter doesn't matter yeah i mean they were supposed to fight for the title because devon was a champion that's why after the fight devon was like i'm still a champion you know technically because um ryan garcia didn't make weight yeah you know so what do you think of that fight from a boxing point of view like wow what did you see from it i mean good for ryan um you know i feel

like he went into that fight with a lot of people doubting him. Devin, he's a great boxer. I think Ryan's antics before the fight really brought out a side of Devin that Devin wasn't fighting the way he normally does. He wanted to sit in there and just trade with a puncher to prove a point that he was macho, the alpha male, or this or that. It really worked to Ryan's advantage because that's how Ryan fights. And he wants to catch you coming in, and he did exactly that.

I mean, I was very surprised. I think everyone was. Yeah, seriously. I mean, there's so many talks about if his mental health was stable, if he was on drugs, if this or that. And he went out there and did that. So good for him.

I wish he had the title because he's also a Golden bull guy it's always nice to have another world champion in the in the family there but you know what do you think of the recent allegations with the steroid stuff see that's that's interesting um because shoot i mean it's really yeah there's like so many talks and a lot of people don't realize this is like when you're talking about steroids if there's like traces like in your system yeah like it's basically saying like right like a few statements came out and I was like oh like there's only small like traces of it well that's not really how like drugs and steroids are tested it's like it's in your system or it's not right you know it's like a yes or a no it's like kind of being like oh I'm like I'm kind of pregnant you know what I mean you know it's like

uh like you you're you got it or you don't and so i mean i've also heard like theories of um like like scientists coming in and being like um i'm by no means a doctor but they come in and they said um like there are there are ways that when the body gets so depleted of water from cutting weight that your body naturally really releases a steroid oh wow um and it could be at a higher rate so that's could be like why it might have popped yeah so if he's i mean innocent or not if he's clean or he's not i i don't know um he has like he has some time to prove his innocence but yeah shoot man we'll see you know yeah that'd be really whack if he got banned from from boxing yeah i mean it would probably be like a like a long-term like suspension yeah i meanelo, Canelo's been popped before. Oh really?

Yeah. There's like, there's a lot of fighters that have gotten popped. Oh, so it's pretty common. I didn't know that. Yeah. But, uh,

obviously suspension, but like the worst part about it was like, he wouldn't, he wouldn't, that fight would be a no contest. Oh, so he wouldn't get the win. No.

Yeah. So on his record to be a no contest, which would really, you know, so Haney would still be undefeated then. Yeah. Yeah. And that's what like Haney,

I think is like fighting for right now. Yeah. Dang. That's crazy. I didn't know it was that common. Yeah. Yeah. And that's what like Haney, I think is like fighting for right now. Yeah. Dang, that's crazy. I didn't know it was that common. Yeah. I mean, I wouldn't say it's like everybody's doing it.

You know what I mean? Like I'm a clean athlete and everything, but like, but I mean, I mean, there is, there is things in there that, is it a urine test?

Blood test. Oh, it's blood. Yeah. Blood test. Trace amounts. Interesting. Yeah.

Yeah. I wonder if there's a better way to test if it's actually from a steroid or if it's just your body producing it. Yeah. I mean, she like that's, that's a question for a doctor and how many, but I mean, it'd probably help with a lot of like just random issues that might come up in sports, you know? Absolutely. So you joined golden boy recently? Uh, not recently, probably, um, over a year ago. Okay. Yeah. So, and that was really cool. You know, what went into that decision um shoot well like they it's probably right now it is the most popular promotion in the world it's like you

know you mean they got they put on the biggest fights right now you know it's uh like ryan versus connect ryan versus giovante uh ryan versus devon you know um like just i mean like right now they're putting on the biggest fights and um so as as growing up as a kid and whatnot, you always saw Oscar and, you know, he's such an icon. Yeah. So I was like, you know, I really liked what he's done. He really has built the biggest stars in boxing. A lot of people don't know this. He's actually promoted like 10 of Floyd Mayweather's fights.

Oh, wow. Behind the scenes. I didn't know that. Yeah. So he made Canelo. He made Ryan Garcia. He made a lot of these guys and so i felt like if i wanted to uh maximize my career this would probably be the right way to way you know the right way to turn so you think anyone will ever beat floyd's record

yeah i mean people are people already have oh really yeah i mean like there's guys like julio cesar chavez i mean they fought like i don't i don't really know exactly it's like 80 something fights undefeated what yeah he's probably I mean it's a big argument who's the better like Mexican fighter of all time you know it's like Canelo or Julio Cesar Chavez um but yeah I mean there are people that have beaten that record or I think Floyd established himself as that guy you know what I mean he like made it known that he was i'm gonna make 50 you know 51 no whatever it is and i'm not gonna be beat i'm gonna fight the best and floyd beat the best like i'm completely as a boxer like from a skill standpoint he might be the best boxer wow so you have him as your goat yeah i mean from a box he's not from not necessarily from like a

fighting standpoint but from a boxing standpoint yeah i mean from skill yeah tactical right yeah i mean he mastered the art of hit and don't get hit right you know whether that makes a boring fight or an exciting fight he's you know he's almost so good it can get boring you know what i mean yeah he never got knocked out right yeah never never and it's like i mean i i think also in a way it has worked as a like a not good thing for boxing for having a record that good because now you have these young prospects and stuff like that that want they want to be floyd mayweather like everybody wants to be floyd mayweather uh everybody wants to have that 50 and all record and they're so scared to like fight hard fights because they're scared of losing right because they're all i take one loss it looks

so bad but there was a time in like the golden era of boxing where fighters would fight and they would lose like the best would fight the best and i think like right now era of boxing where fighters would fight and they would lose like the best would fight the best and i think like right now because of like promotions like golden boy fighters are fighting like the best they're putting on fights where like just like the ufc like the champion like the best are fighting the best like you know the contenders fighting the champion and it's making it's making boxing really exciting again yeah plus you got the influencer boxing yeah a lot of eyeballs to the sport right yeah i mean like what like people want to hate on a lot of that and like do what do like it's like it's like a bunch of famous people playing football yeah i don't think

the nfl players will ever really respect them as football players but it is bringing something new that this sport has never seen you know and i got respect for somebody and as long as you're training hard and stuff like that even like jake paul yeah i'm like man like he's looking decent right yeah i mean like he looks like somebody that started boxing a little bit late but he works hard and he's tough he's you know it's uh you know if you're doing that so i mean it's gonna work out for your favor is he fighting like legitimate boxers no yeah but he but he's making a show out of it and he's also i think he's bringing up a lot of uh fighters and bringing a lot of eyeballs even like women's boxing yeah that hasn't has them on the card yeah it hasn't been there before so i mean good for him i don't really think he's doing anything yeah terrible for

the sport you know who do you got with him and tyson who do you got winning that fight i hate to say and it's such like a tyson fan yeah um jake really yeah and my reason because that it's like tyson he you see the videos i'm hitting the pads and all that stuff, right? He's explosive. That stuff never leaves you your strength and whatnot. But if he doesn't get Jake out in the first two rounds, then I think age and a lot of factors will catch up to him. Yeah. I think, like, I don't know.

Tyson made his career not really even go in the distance with anybody. Even in his prime, he was knocking out guys in the first and second round. That's what he was known for, this notorious killer who would, if he catches you with one shot, you're done. And so I think even at his age, he's almost 60 years old, it's like things just don't work the same. Your head doesn't take hits the same. Absolutely.

And Jake, I believe, can hit hard. Does Tyson have a chance if he catches Jake in the first or second round yeah tyson can knock anybody yeah even still um but i mean we'll see i mean i'm i'm honestly more surprised like the commission approved that like this fight in general it's a real fight right yeah like a young guy jake it's 27 years old probably like fighting a six-year-old man crazy yeah right i feel kind of bad like if i fought someone that old yeah you hit him hey man you good like you know holding him up in the middle of your father's age yeah yeah that's what i'm saying yeah crazy um do you care about like being undefeated as long as possible is that something you think about a lot no no like i mean like things happen in boxing everybody's a puncher's chance like when

you're standing there things are happening so fast like anybody can get caught especially at the level i'm in where i'm like i'm really trying to turn from like a prospect to contender like i'm fighting other guys that are good the guys have been there the guys who have knocked a lot of guys out right um and things happen like you can't be scared of that. This is boxing. This is part of the sport. I think I'm kind of cursed with a good jaw. You've taken some hits? I've taken some shots, and I've been like, I'm surprised. Not even in fights, but in sparring.

Is that something you're born with, or just training, your jaw strength just gets stronger through sparring? A little bit of both. There are ways to like train for boxing and then you build your neck build these muscles that keep your head intact but i don't know for me i've just i've always been like i've been hit and i've been like shoot i'll forget like three months of my life for like holy crap for like yeah for like a few hours are you serious i'll be like what day is it this and that but like no but oh er, you finished. You finished the sparring day. You did great.

So I guess like my zombie subconscious was going in there and just, even though I was like, just totally like, I, they're like, oh, you didn't even wobble. I was like, oh really? I don't even, I don't even remember the sparring session. Holy crap. Yeah. It's kind of scary, bro. Yeah.

I mean, a little bit, but it's like, do you ever get worried about the brain health impact of the boxing? Yeah. Uh, I, i don't know i i try to take care i do whatever thing i can but it's also like if you want to compete in the sport like getting hit in the head is not a normal thing uh most people they fall on the ground they hit their head like oh i'm gonna go to the doctor i got a concussion i'm like in boxing it's almost praised and it's kind of crazy when you think about it i'll take a shot in the head and i'll be oh like i'm like that like boxing, it's almost praised. And it's kind of crazy when you think about it. I'll take a shot in the head, and I'll be like, oh, like,

that felt like a flash of light, a camera. And I'm like, oh, no, but I'm good. You know, you're almost praised for your ability to keep going. So, I mean, that's kind of a weird thing. Yeah, no, that's super weird. Plus, there's not a lot of Koreans in boxing, right? That's pretty abnormal. Yeah, yeah, I mean, just putting on for the community.

You know what I mean? Like the face of it. Yeah, I mean, I'm trying to. I mean, there's another fighter named the community. You know what I mean? I like the face of it. Yeah, I mean, I'm trying to. There's another fighter named Brandon Lee. He's a buddy of mine. He's good, and he's up there. But, I mean, yeah, to represent such a culture that's really not saturated at all. You get a lot of black people, Hispanics, Russians, a lot of that stuff.

But to be Korean. It's pretty cool. You know? Yeah. So are they big fans over there in Korea? Uh, I definitely get some DMS, but I'm really,

I mean, I'm trying to expand more out there. I mean, I am like, it's kind of a weird thing being half Korean. Yeah. Cause it's like white people are like just Americans. I,

or like, I don't know, Caucasian people, like to be politically correct. Uh, like, I don't know, Caucasian people, like to be politically correct. Like they, they, they think you're Asian, but then like you hang around like Korean people and stuff like that.

And they think you're white. You know what I mean? So you really, you're like, oh shit, like where do I belong here? You know? I can relate bro.

Yeah, I know exactly. That's what I mean. Like it's a, you're like, oh shit, like, well,

like, can you understand Korean? I'm like, yeah, I can understand it. Can you speak it? I'm like hearing that I could survive, you know, like that's my whole childhood bro yeah seriously i didn't fit in with asians because they were all studying yeah and then i fit in with the white kids for

sports but they thought i was ass because i was asian but i was actually decent i was athletic then that's what you i mean it's oh it's a weird thing man like being that being it's like even my own life like going into boxing tournaments and but oh you're gonna fight the asian kid immediately you look you're looking i was like like like easy meat yeah yeah you know and but then you would get in there and i just start whooping ass and it's like you know what i'm dropping these guys even as a kid and it's like whoa this kid can actually fight yeah but you're almost like starting with a step down for sure from a yeah it's like you're an underdog just from the gate yeah seriously because i mean you know it's like yeah asians are always studying

you know they're not really no No, it makes sense, though. Because most Asians aren't athletic, if we're being honest. Yeah. So it's definitely not common. Yeah. I mean, just from, like, usually if a size factor, a lot of Asians. I mean, like, you're a tall dude. Like, you know, Asian guys are, like, smaller.

You know, maybe they play soccer or something. You know, it's like. I don't even think they're good at soccer, bro. It's big over there in Korea. Oh, is it? Yeah. I mean, you know, they love soccer over there. But I don't really think they're that good.

Yeah. I've never seen them in the World Cup or anything yeah i mean then they find other routes you know they samsung and k-pop and you know it's like you know so who pushed you to get into boxing or was it your own decision uh you know my dad he he was like ex special operations and the military and um you know my brother yeah yeah it's uh He pushed us to just be winners, really, in whatever we did. And we both started off in combat sports. He was like,

the first thing you're going to know about life is you're going to learn how to defend yourself. And not only that, you're going to learn how to respect yourself in the fact of you're going to learn discipline and a lot of things that just naturally come with combat sports. And you're going to learn how to take a hit,

which is probably the most humbling thing in the world. you see all these kids who grew up and they never got punched in the mouth before yeah and they walk around these big egos thinking that they can do things but for me it's like like i've heard the quote multiple times like it took a lot of violence to become gentle wow and so that i learned from early during a young age like getting hit and fighting it's not easy. Like there, you know, it's a, it's a hard thing. It's a humbling thing. And that's why I walk around the street. I, you know, I'm not craving violence. I'm not at a bar trying to pick a fight and things like that, because I know, I know what fighting really means. And so, um, that's kind of, that's

kind of my upbringing, you know, and then eventually I kind of figured out I didn't act for it at a young age. And I just kind of, you I had to act for it at a young age. I just kind of went from there. So tough love. Yeah, definitely. I'll say it worked, man. I've never met your dad, but I met your brother, and he kills it in business. You two are both top 1% in your industries.

Yeah, I appreciate it, man. He's a shark, and that's kind of how we were raised. We just want to win whatever we do. I believe I did anything else in the world. I could be the best at it, and that's strictly based off of work ethic um absolutely yeah that's great parenting because a lot of the success is mindset yeah so he put that in both of you guys yeah no i appreciate that man um so but yeah anyways i had a lot of a lot of amateur fights uh do you get what age did you start nine years old holy crap yeah box out early yeah yeah you can buy there's there's's little Ds running around.

Like, the ropes are above their heads. Dude. You know, you're running in there, you know, cracking heads and whatnot. That's young. Boxing, jiu-jitsu, kickboxing. Oh, so you did all that. Wrestling, yeah, everything. But then eventually, you kind of hit a certain age, you start narrowing in on one thing.

And I was, like, age 14 for me. And I was, like, I was going to box. And, you know, I took that all the way basically to the top of the amateurs um and um had a little jaw injury uh took some time off and um got an opportunity to go train with the Manny Pacquiao camp at Los Angeles and kind of proved myself out there and uh went pro that's legendary you met Manny yeah yeah I've trained with him multiple times and you know I did I did an entire camp he's actually, the fight that he retired right on the end of his career, I did that entire camp with him.

Oh, yeah? The one with Floyd? He fought against him. He wore Dennis Ugas. Okay. He was supposed to fight against him at Earl Spence, but he backed out last minute due to an injury. But it was cool.

Even at his age at the time, he was probably 41. Yeah. You know, he was still such a tank of a person. That's impressive. So what's like the peak age range for boxing in your opinion? I mean, like the body's just different. Depends on how it grows. And it also depends how you take care of it.

I'd say 26, 27 to like maybe 31. Okay. That's pretty young. Yeah. Yeah. I mean, it's not one of those sports where like, I mean, you are, you are getting hit. It's a very physical sport. Your body's deteriorating in the second.

So is your head. So to keep those factors intact and to keep your career alive, that's, that's a hard thing to do. You know, it's not, I mean, there are people that have won world championships at older ages, but that's very rare. And the reason you know their names is because it's very rare. Yeah, I feel that. What do you think of these UFC fighters coming over to boxing?

It's probably not smart. Really? It's not smart, yeah. I mean, I know the whole Ngannou thing with Tyson Fury. It was a pretty close fight. It shouldn't have been. And there are athletic guys in mma but if you like i could i could probably sit there for about like 30 seconds and watching it like a mma fighter shadow box and i

just like i would know almost instantly how long you've been doing it you know it's just you you just know like uh based on the way your feet are set up from from the first time you throw a jab it's like all right you yeah you really don't know what you're doing. Or you do know what you're doing. It's just not the same sport. I'm not saying that boxers are better, but boxers are better at striking. 100%, because you're talking about just a striking sport. In MMA, you're thinking about getting kicked in the face, getting elbowed, getting taken down.

So many different factors that go into that sport. And so I'm like, you know, it's one of those things, like stay in your lane for the most part. factors that go into that sport um and so i'm like you know it's one of those things like i don't like stay in your lane for the most part i'd feel more comfortable with a boxer learn how to grapple a little bit and win over to mma i think it'd be hard yo for sure oh my god yeah yeah but like it's still i mean it's it's just different it's a different different sport it's like comparing uh football to rugby yeah because sean o'malley or ryan garcia called out sean o'malley yeah i saw that so and sean's actually one of those guys like in mma

who can use his hands very well i think he's probably one of the better fighters in the world using his hands in mma but compared to ryan like i i don't know like you're like you're you're jumping into a different a different world there yeah, that'd be tough. Any fights coming up for you? Yeah, so right now we're actually finalizing it, but in the summer for sure, coming up here. And how long is that training camp once you sign the paperwork? I prefer to have them at least 8 to 10 weeks. 8 to 10 weeks.

And even when I'm not in training camp specifically, I'm doing physical therapy, I'm staying in shape, not letting my body get too overweight to make it harder on myself to come back and just try to get back in shape. So it's almost a year-round job then. Yeah, it is. It is for sure. I feel like for any athlete, it should be a year-round job. The worst thing you can do as an athlete is have a stagnant time

where it's just blank space. You want to keep getting better. Any like any any kind of forward movement is still movement yeah so yeah and especially with the guys i'm training with now it's like the world champion level guys you know i'm like you know sparring literally the best in the world like by the time i get back and i'm going into camp like i want in order to get that level like getting getting good at something is just hours and hours out right so the more hours i can put into it it's just math you know it's like more more you put in more you need out so if i can do that then even in my off season then you know benefit me long term you know and if you're sparring someone better than your opponent

you probably have some good confidence leading into the fight yeah and that's the whole goal like to to literally be sparring with something like i mean my whole last camp sparring with like guy he's like number two in the world holy crap you know like these kind of guys you know and i'm entering into that world ranking conversation as well but fighting guys like that it's like okay well my opponent he's not ranked that high right so i'm gonna learn more i'm gonna get better and by the time i get to the fight i'm more than prepared i'm ready to go so. I'm going to get better. And by the time I get to the fight, I'm more than prepared. I'm ready to go. So you're not even nervous at that point.

I mean, I'm ready for anything. I'm focused. Like nerves come and go with things. Any fighter that says, oh, I'm not nervous, you're lying to some degree. But are you scared? No. It's a good thing to be a little bit nervous. You'll perform better.

You'll be more awake. You'll be more alert. It's pressure. Like there's a good thing to be a little bit nervous. You'll perform better. You'll be more awake. You'll be more alert. Yeah It's pressure but if you can handle if you can perform well under pressure than that, you know under being nervous a good thing Yeah, you got to control them too. Some people get gas too early, right? Like Conor McGregor sometimes just get gas during fights Yeah, I think it comes out too hot stuff, but even my last fight I fought ten rounds straight and like cheese by by by the time the tenth round came round came i was so hot i had to skip my stab i was right oh yeah you were still good yeah so maybe you should have went out stronger then right yeah i mean yes and no it's my first time doing 10 rounds yeah so it's like you don't really know if you're gonna be tired so it's kind of like

you're kind of testing the waters there but you train so much you get so used to being tired like in your workouts and your preparation to it, that even if you get tired in a fight, you're already. You're used to it. You've been there. It's like you know exactly how your body's going to react and like where your mind's going to go. Is it going to fight or flight?

Is it going to shut down on me? Is my mind going to tell me I'm tired? I should probably slow it down or I should be like, you know, fuck it. Let's hit the gas pedal, you know? How many punches are you throwing per match on average per match i i don't i don't know um it's got to be like at least 100 right oh my god i'm probably throwing like 70 around whole around around yeah dude that's like 500 a match then yeah yeah that's crazy yeah i mean you gotta i mean get gassed after two punches

yeah it's like right that's what i'm saying i mean it's funny i like um like i know somewhere out there in the world some guys watching my fight and he's like yeah i could beat that kid's ass and he and he gets like gas like walking up the flat hysteria so i'm like hate on social media yeah it's so funny i'm like all right all right do people try to test you ah shoot man not really not not not too much it is it is weird though because i'll go back to like my hometown this actually happened pretty recently uh from kansas city yeah and they're like oh like eric like like you're you're a really good boxer you know what i mean you're making us all proud hometown hero this and that but he's like but like so and so he's a better athlete than you

and i'm like okay so like i, so when did he stop playing sports? It's like, oh, okay, high school. It's like, okay, well, so since he was able to beat me and pick up basketball when I was in seventh grade and he was some middle school all-star, I'm like, is he a better athlete than an Olympic snowboarder? I mean, there's not even a metric to measure that. Yeah, some people never grow up out of high school exactly or just like and people just don't stop

hating yeah the most part you're never going to get away from that um if you're a failure at something like a reason to call you a loser if you're good at something you're going to say you're not that good yeah it's inevitable you can solve world hunger and there's someone will hate on it yeah people be like oh well you could have done this differently yeah you know and then you're like you know it's one of those things like i used to let it get to me when i was younger for sure but now i don't give a shit i mean yeah and you look at the guy that's hating it's like some random profile yeah they're private they're like five followers yeah it's always 500 yeah like they can't even talk to you on their

main account like yeah i mean well which i well actually i did respect i was uh i was in scouts sale probably like last year one time and i had a random guy come up to me and say, hey, are you Eric? I'm like, yeah. He's like, man, I have to say, I saw your last fight, and I was really disappointed. I thought you were way better than that. And I was like, first of all, fuck you.

But second of all, at least you said it to my face. Respect. I can appreciate it that much. Was he just a boxing enthusiast? I think he was just some random dude off the street okay i was literally in a restaurant just you know chilling out you know with a buddy and then he comes up to me and says that my buddy's just kind of like like what yeah it was kind of a weird moment but you get all that kind of stuff yeah well it's important to have honest people around you though yeah i think a lot of fighters downfall is the

yes men get in their camp and just yeah you know what i mean you see a lot of fighters have downfalls with with that even their own career because nobody's willing to check them yeah on a lot of things and i mean i mean to be successful or to be a failure like it's all based around the people that you are around you know are people around you that you're learning from and i actually had a buddy i had a buddy that had a conversation with the other day he's like how do i like do something in my own life and i I was like, look at your environment, man. Like where, where are you, are you placing yourself in an environment that's like bring you opportunity or success or people are pushing you or they expect higher of you or are you hanging on people that are like just stagnant in their

own personal lives and that like, there's not, there's not a place where there's a network or an opportunity that can come to you um so yeah it's like that's a really big environment yeah that's why you moved to la right yeah it's like if i if i'm gonna if i'm gonna do this i'm gonna i'm gonna have to i mean physically put myself in a different environment you know where i don't know anybody where the opportunity may come my way but i'm gonna bet on myself i'm gonna do it yeah and you have to do that. You have to take the chance on yourself. I could have worked as hard as I could in Kansas City.

I was a great amateur fighter, but I would not have been able to go pro. I would not be in this position if I stayed there. Because you were already the best there. Yeah, it's like the network. I couldn't have done it. I had to just take myself like a fish out of water, go somewhere else and prove that I was, you know, and have those opportunities there for myself.

Yeah. And the people around me that are better than me, truthfully, at that time. It's like good amateur fighter. You go to like, you know, I was training with like Freddie Roach and a lot of these guys. And it's like, oh, like I'm, you know, I'm a national champion. And it's like, oh, I'm an Olympian gold medalist.

Oh, that's a world champion right there. And I'm like, oh, shit. You know what I mean? Levels to the game. Yeah, you're like, oh, wow. Like, okay. Yeah, and that applies to any industry, man. I moved out of Jersey because it's not good for entrepreneurship.

Yeah. You know what I mean? Yeah, what did you initially go to? I grew up in Jersey. I moved to LA, actually. LA? But it was during COVID. So it's kind of like everyone was huddled in their homes.

Weird time, man. Weird time. I love to LA actually, but it was during COVID. So it was kind of like everyone was huddled in their homes. Weird time, man. Weird time. I love Vegas, man, for business. Yeah.

And I feel like Vegas is becoming that new hotspot for a lot of industries, like Hollywood, like sports events. Yeah. Boxing, UFC. Yeah. I mean,

a lot of people are leaving like Los Angeles and coming out here. Yeah. My thing, Mark Wahlberg said like, Vegas will be the new Hollywood in about 10 years. That income tax, man. You'll start seeing that on your tax Hollywood. Yeah. Well, that 10 years, that income tax, man, you'll start seeing that.

Yeah, for sure. For sure. So is boxing similar to tennis where the top five to 10 people make 80% of the money? Yeah. Yeah. I would say so.

I would say so. Or like once you, once you enter in like the, the, there's probably, there's thousands of like five boxers around the world. Once you get signed to a promotion, like there's, I would say there's four majorers around the world. Once you get signed to a promotion, like there's,

I would say there's four major promotions in the world. There's like premier boxing championships, master in boxing, which is basically all the UK, um, golden boy, and then top rank. Um, so three in the U S one in the UK, those are the biggest ones. And it doesn't matter what you are. If you're Russian, you want to come and get to one of those promotions. Golden Boy probably has only 35 fighters. Matchroom maybe has 100.

There's less than 500 fighters signed in the world. To be part of that 0.01% of fighters, that's when you start making it in the real bread right because you're getting the real promotion you your name is really getting out there it's like being with the nfl it's like the yeah you're yeah you're you're you're in that point so that's that that's when real bread i feel like comes to you you know absolutely wow i didn't know there's only four is that eddie hearn guy right in the uk one yeah he runs matchroom yeah which is which I mean it's a big promotion

yeah I see him on Instagram a lot yeah he does well yeah he puts on a lot of fights like Devin Haney he's out with him does he have the Furies under him

the Furies I think the Furies might be with I think Fury might be with top rank and Tommy I don't even know what Tommy is

you know what I mean I don't know if he's a reality star I don't know yeah I've been trying to figure him out so is he a boxer in your eyes like a professional boxer I don't know if he's a reality star I don't know yeah I've been trying to figure him out so is he a boxer in your eyes like a professional boxer because he barely

beat Jake yeah I mean it's like I mean I think he I think he got 11 to variety because his brother is like one of the best heavyweights of all time um I think I think he should do something else wow he's that bad I mean he's not that bad it's just like like can he move I mean he just doesn't have the style and I think I also think I british boxing to an extent is not as good as american boxing really yeah it's not i don't think it's even close because tommy's considered or not tommy his brother tyson right yeah he's like one of the goats yeah i mean he i mean he's like i think so i think i think he is i think he's like he's just an outlier over there then yeah for sure i mean there's there are some great like british fighters uk fighters but i mean it's i think the level of competition in general i think like i think i i

think i could i think i'm gonna beat like british like british champions it's not as competitive over there yeah i mean they come to the us and like they get smacked okay you know what i mean so it's just it's just different um so yeah it's like yeah it's like how the nba was 50 years ago like us was just elite compared to every other country. Yeah, I feel like I'd go over there and just smack it. I'd go for it as champion, seriously. I've sparred with them. I've worked with them.

I wonder what it is. Just a different style over there or something? Yeah, a different style, a different level of competition. Yeah, and it's also, I don't know it is very popular over there boxing is it's huge actually in fact ksi crushes it yeah seriously yeah but i it's just i don't know i think um you get like the in the u.s you get a lot of like the mexican fighters that come up from mexico and boxing is also like it's like football in texas down there you know it's like they love boxing and mexico yeah you got a lot of beasts that come up from there. And then, yeah, I think, yeah, it's not the same.

Filled up. Yeah. Who's been your toughest opponent so far? Was it the recent fight? No, probably two fights ago. I fought in Los Angeles against a guy from Mexico. He was 13-1. The only guy who had beat him was the number one middleweight in the country wow um and he's coming he's coming off like a 10

win knockout streak pretty much um and yeah it was like a tough fight um and I that's that's like the that's the thing that I think separates me from a lot of people is like I'm fighting tough guys I'm fighting guys who like want to fight like who have been in there like who that have either a lot of people is like i'm fighting tough guys i'm fighting guys who like want to fight like who have been in there like who that have either a lot of knockouts or in dangerous opponents like guys that wouldn't normally fight these people at like 17 or 18 and oh i'm fighting them at when i'm 10 and now because i mean i realized that's the only way i'm gonna grow in the sport is by fighting hard dudes and some people will like look at those performances and be like oh well like you didn't knock him out.

I'm like, well, look at everybody else he's fought. The guys that he fought at the time. I'm fighting him earlier than everybody else. I'm taking the risk. And yeah, I could try to do a fight with my Uber driver. But that doesn't pan out for me in the long term. I just get a spectacular knockout and I go home. Yeah, that's respect.

Because some people go up to 20 and 0. You can't even recognize anyone they fought. Exactly. I'll meet a guy, I'll be like go home, you know? Yeah, that's respect. Because some people go up to 20 and 0, you can't even recognize anyone they fought. Exactly. I mean, I'll meet a guy, I'll be like, oh, you're like 25 and 0. Yeah, I'm like, why aren't you a world champion? I'm trying to lock on a world title before like my 17th or 18th fight. Oh, wow. Is that uncommon at that level?

I wouldn't say it's completely uncommon. There are people who have done it before, but you'll earn a ton of respect in the boxing community if you've done it. Right. There's even like Teofimo Lopez. He's actually playing in the poker tournament tonight yeah he did it in what like 17 fights or something like that you know beat lomachenko wow you know and it was he got so much respect in the boxing community because he was willing to fight and that's that's where i'm at i'm more concerned about like that than i am like all these like in the cloud of just getting like all these

spectacular knockouts your risk tolerance is higher than most fighters you're willing to take that risk your fight yeah or else like why am i doing this yeah if not and i just like climb to the top as fast as i can and be the best at what i'm doing then there's no point yeah you've recognized your window too yeah exactly and i mean i want to yeah i want to be a world champion by the time i'm like 26 27 years old wow and then I want to hold on to that for my prime. Then leave the sport with my brain cells. So, like, it's, yeah, and get out of there, like, you know, cash out and call it good. Love it, man.

You know? I could see it, man. I mean, these bags, Garcia just made 50 mil on that fight. Yeah. Crazy. That was cool because he actually bet on himself, I heard. Yeah, I didn't know you could do that. I honestly, I don't know, like, the rules and regulations behind that.

Yeah, you might have to look into that for your fights. Yeah, sometimes I'll be, like, going, I'll be on the way to the fight, and I'll, like, check DraftKings or something. I'll be like, oh, like, I'm, like, you know, I'm a minus, like, something. I'm like, oh, people believe in me. Like, that's nice.

You know, like. Have you ever been an underdog? No, not yet, not yet. I've fought in guys that are, like, like, where I, they could, I could have argued that I could have been, it could have been, like, just a completely even match and whatnot. But hey, shoot, let the people want to bet.

That's cool. Ben, bro, I'm going to start betting on you. Hey, man. 13-0. Make you some money. Like my odds. Make you some money there. Hell yeah.

Anything else you want to close off with, man? Shoot, man. I don't know. I mean, not really. It's like if you don't know me, you will, you know, like,

uh, I'm ready to go. I'm ready to take this sport. I think I bring something different to the table than any of the final fighter. Um, it's like being a Korean American, uh,

like I just, I don't know. It's like, I'm not, I'm not, I'm not, I'm not like a real fighter and like the way that I look, the way that I talk,

the way that, um, the way that I do fight. Um, and, and so I'm, I'm not like a real fighter in the way that I look, the way that I talk, the way that I do fight. And so I'm excited. I'm excited for this next year and a half. We'll link your socials below, man. Thanks for coming on. I appreciate you, man. Thanks for watching, guys.

See you tomorrow.