The Herd with Colin Cowherd - Boxing with Chris Mannix - Tim Bradley Jr. stops by the show

Episode Date: July 22, 2022

This week, Chris is with Tim Bradley Jr. to talk about a possible Ryan Garcia - Tank Davis fight and if Ryan Garcia should even consider that fight right now. Later, Adam Kownacki stops by to talk about his two losses to Robert Helenius, what went wrong for him during those fights, and what's next for him. #HerdSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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Here's Chris Manix. All right, welcome back, boxing with Chris Manix. And this week, I have finally tracked down a guy. I have been chasing for the last few weeks, the former two-division world champion ESPN boxing analyst. Timothy Bradley, who's joining me here on the show. What's up, Tim? Hey, what's going on, Chris?

You've been trying to track me down for two weeks, Chris. I know I've been busy, man. It's summertime. Boxing never stops. You remember, Tim, back in like your fighting days, like boxing used to stop in the summertime. Like, they didn't want to put on fights in the summertime. Now it's like we're loaded up.

week after week in the summertime. I like it. I like it a lot. It shows you what state of where boxing is and what state it is right now. And I think it's been the best in the last, right now, it's probably the best in the last 20 years that I've been a part of boxing, man. Lots of top, top talent out there.

Again, you have so many different entities. You got the promoters. You have different fighters, different networks. It's a competition going on, my man. That's what's going down. No question, no question. Big event, though, this past weekend, 140-pound division. That used to be your division.

Ryan Garcia makes his debut at Staples Center and knocks out Javier Fortuna. Now, Fortuna has been beaten before in his career. He had never been beaten Tim quite like Ryan Garcia beat him down. Knocked him down three times, body shots, a couple of head shots, picks up his 19th professional knockout, and really kind of erases the memory of what was kind of a ho-hum performance gets Emmanuel Teggo just three months earlier. What did you think of Ryan Garcia's performance and his debut at 140 pounds? Outstanding performance.

And that's what you want to see with a young guy like Ryan Garcia that, you know, I don't think he's been treated unfairly in the media, but he is reflected on as a social media darling, you know, and a lot of people, they, they, they, they, they, they, they look at that and they don't think he's focused and he's not a real fighter, but, you know, when he gets in that ring, he takes care of business. Fortuna is a tough challenger. I mean, Fortuna went the distance with a guy like Jojo Diaz, who's a formidable, you know, contender.

And Ryan, he made it look easy, man. He made it look easy. And you can see the speed and the punching power of Ryan Garcia really getting to Fortuna early And it really frustrated him. And it almost took the air out of him. You know, when I was watching a fight, I was looking at his body language. He didn't want to be in the ring with him, man. He figured that he was overpowered.

He felt like he couldn't do anything against Garcia. And Garcia showed a ton of improvement, man. He really did. I think Goose is doing a good job with him. And in guiding him, you know, I saw an improved jab. I saw, you know, his right hand up, you know, I was expecting Fortuna to be able to try to land that looping left hand and he wasn't able to land it. You know, a few things that he needs to work on, but for the most part, I think, you know, his right hand was pretty solid too.

Thought he had a really good right hand. And he wasn't, he wasn't falling in after throwing his right hand. He was throwing it right from the shoulder. It was quick. It was fast. It was accurate right down the middle. And that's what you want to see from a fighter of Garcia's class, man. You want to see improvements.

Yeah, Joe Gousson had talked to me during the week about how Ryan uses that lead right hand, almost like a jab at time because it's so fast and it's so powerful. And he knew that was going to be a big weapon against Fortuna in this fight. I also think like Ryan, you know, people kind of poo-pooed his injury a little bit, but he had a legitimate right-hand injury that required surgery. He came back and fought, what was it, five months after that surgery. So like when he says he was a little leery about using it against the man, Manuel Tego, I believe that, you know, because he was still, you know, trying to get comfortable using a hand that had been surgically repaired.

He looked completely comfortable in this fight, throwing everything. He looked like, you know, beyond the improvements, he looked fully healthy for the first time in a while. And he was throwing some big shots. And I agree with you. Like, Fortuna, he and his team came into that fight, knowing they probably had three rounds to win. Like, Fortuna was not in the greatest of shape. He actually weighed in on fight night at 157. We went up like 18 pounds in between Friday and Saturday.

So he wasn't in great shape. So they knew he had three rounds to do it. But you could tell early on that he wasn't like looking to throw because he knew if he exchanged something big was coming back at him. So he wasn't letting loose his hands like I thought he would. He did try to throw that same sweeping left hook. We talked about that on air, the Luke Campbell shot that put Ryan down a year and a half ago. But like to your point, Ryan looked like he learned a little bit. He kept that right hand up and blocked it a couple of times.

And that, to me, shows a fighter that is still very much improving. Growth. That's what it shows. You know, I didn't know he weighed, Fortuna weighed that much. Man, I mean, that goes to show you the reason why his body language was the way it was. I mean, the speed and the power, of course, but, you know, the guy didn't show up. He showed up for basically a paycheck. But let's take nothing away from Ryan Garcia.

He did his job in there, man. and he made it look easy. He made it look easy. And that's the thing. That's how you know when someone's different, man. You know, when they make it look easy and effortless, you know, the top guys in the world make it look that way. Mayweather made it look that way.

You know, Andre Ward would make it look that way. And, you know, there's something special about Ryan Garcia. There really is, man. I can't put my finger on it, honestly. It could be the speed. It could be the power. but, you know, at 140 pounds, he's a big, he's a big 140 pounder. He's not squeezing down to 135, so he's not draining his body.

He looked to have, like, he looked like he had more speed. He was more comfortable at 140 pounds. I don't think he was settled there at 140, but I think he, you know, for some time at 140, I think he'll do all right, man. I think you'll do, I think you do some big things at 140, man. looking at the landscape right now and just going through some of the top 10, I think Ryan can give a lot of these guys a lot of problem because of that hand speed, quickness, and ring IQ.

Yeah, and he rehydrated Tim to 148 pounds, which tells me that 140 is a comfortable weight. Like, tell me if I'm wrong, but it feels like if you get within 10 pounds of your way in on a rehydration, you're probably good. Like, that's a healthy way to kind of rehydrate. not going up way too much at that point. So I think he's comfortable and good at 140. He wants Tank Davis. He's been very clear about that. And even as we record this is still tweeting and doing whatever he does to try to get Tank Davis to agree to face him. If you were part of Team Garcia, if you were Joe Goose and his trainer or Lupe Valencia, his manager, and Ryan said to you,

I'm ready to fight Tank Davis. What would you say to Ryan Garcia? Well, let me put the Let me put the business hat on. Business hat on. Hell no. I would not put my investment in the ring against a puncher like Javante Davis, no matter how bad he wants. I mean, you can't pay me enough money to put me in the ring against Javante Davis with my guy and Ryan Garcia.

I mean, you can see Ryan is a, he can be in household name real soon, real soon. This guy, he can sell out arenas just as well. as a Tank Davis. But I think it's a little bit too soon, a little bit too premature. I don't think he's ready just yet. Tank Davis is a season. He's a season. I don't want to say veteran, but he's a season pro now. You know, he's 26, 27 years old. He's fighting at full capacity right now. He's right in his prime. You want to keep this young gun away from him for a little bit. A few more, I would say a few more about a year or two. You want to keep him away. Let him continue to grow and get and get and get fed the right things with gooseing and just record his progression

over time. And once you see that he's ready, then make that leap. But me being a businessman, I wouldn't do that right away. Now, fighter, fighter, hell yeah. Me being a fighter, hell yeah, let's do it. You know, there's something obviously that he sees that he can take advantage of with Tank Day. Davis. Okay. There's obviously something you can see. See. From a fan standpoint, hell yeah. Put that pressure on Javita Davis. Why not? You know, because it's a fight fans fight. We want to see,

you know, the two best guys near their prime and one in their prime and one that's not in a prime and fight at the highest level. We want to see them go head to head. A lot of times we let these fights mature too damn long, you know, too long. You got to We still waiting on Terrance Crawford, Earl Spence. This should have happened two years ago. We still waiting on it. So why not see who the best is now? And if it's a great enough fight or good enough fight, they can run it back again.

Run it back again. You know, they can have a trilogy if each of them win a fight. Why the hell not? I couldn't agree more with the fighter. I disagree with Tim Bradley, the manager, because, look, a lot of fighters. yourself included, see something special in Tank Davis. I don't. Not yet.

I see a guy that has been consistently put in with carefully curated opponents. Really since 2017, when he beat Jose Padraza, which was the best win on his resume, basically everyone there has been carefully curated. His recent fights, he moves up to 140 pounds, and he fights Mario Barrios. Good fighter. Probably should have already had a loss on his resume when he fought for that secondary title a year before then. Goes down to 1.35.

Raleigh Romero talks a good game, but has zero resume. Also should have had a loss to Jackson Mariners in a previous fight. Like, tanks being put in with guys that largely have no chance of beating him. And one almost did. Esau Cruz almost did. Now all of a sudden, Issaq Cruz is being portrayed as like this, you know, this boogeyman. in the 135 pound division. Look, I think Tank has power.

I think he fights incredibly intelligently in the ring. You know, you could see against Romero. He was baiting him repeatedly. And eventually Roli leaped in and got caught with a big shot. And it was lights out for Roli Romero. Tank Davis has never fought anyone as dangerous as Ryan Garcia. He has not fought anyone with the physical tools of Ryan Garcia. You can argue, certainly, it would be true, that Ryan Garcia has never fought anyone

with the tools of Tank Davis, certainly anyone with the power of Tank Davis. But Ryan Garcia, in the last year and a half, has knocked out Luke Campbell and he's knocked out Javier Fortuna. That ain't nothing. Those are good, medium-level B-level wins. Look, I don't know if I'd make Ryan Garcia a favorite in that fight against Tank Davis, but to me it's 50-50. And the first guy that lands the big shot wins.

And Tim, nobody's ever going to convince me that Ryan can't land that big shot first. Like, Tank's the smaller fighter. Ryan's great at fighting smaller fighters. He keeps him at a distance and lands that quick check hook. Everybody's going out at that, not just Tank Davis. Oh, man, come on now. Oh, you're going off a resume. Come on, man.

That's all we got. No, you got to go off your eyes, man. I'm talking about your educated eyes, brother. You got to understand that Tank Davis, he likes these. these guys big. He likes these guys tall. He don't have a problem with guys that's taller than him. What he does have problem with is guys that are short as him is shorter than him because he's so used to being a smaller guy in the ring. I believe that Garcia is tailor made for a guy like tank, tailor made for him. And Garcia, the problem with Garcia is sometimes he can get a little bit

beside himself. Sometimes he can be a little bit, he can take too many wrists inside the ring. You know, I see it. And sometimes he stands, well, a lot of times he stand up pretty straight. His knees, he don't ever damn bend his knees. And he's always looking to pull back. And that's one thing you can't do against Tank Davis's pullback. You know, Tank will dig down to that body, slowly bring that kid close to him and slowly slow that kid down. And he will catch him with something over the top, something straight, something he doesn't see. With speed, in power and accuracy that tank has and the experience that he has regardless we talk about resume okay i get it butraza going back all right that's the as i would say that's the really only

title win right there was against pedraza but pedraza was an olympian pedraza at the time was defeated and he stopped him and he stopped him okay the other belts you want to talk about okay those are regional titles whatever you want to call it that's fine but how he beats these guys is what you got to look at. It's not who you fighting all the time, sometimes. It's how you beat them, how you break them down, how you fight inside the ring. That's what I'm looking at.

And what Tank does, and the way he breaks these guys down, and the way he gets rid of these guys and he sets them up, I'm telling you, that dude is a bad boy. He's a dangerous guy, and he's a very, very dangerous guy for Ryan Garcia. I think he will end his career. if he knocked Brian Garcia out. You don't, you don't, Matt,

Chris, Mattie, you don't want to ruin a guy like Garcia, man. You know, this guy can be, this kid can be a superstar. Not just a star, a superstar, and trans-dem boxing at the right time. You don't want to take that risk against Tank Davis, man. That only needs one punch. One, that's it.

It is night night. Okay. But that's my, hey, that's my opinion. That's my assessment, man. I got Tank Davis all day. And if that fight does happen, I'll gladly take some of your money.

I'll tell you. All bets are in. When that fight happens, if that fight happens, we'll throw some money on the table there. But let me ask you this then, Tim. If you're Tank Davis, aren't you going to Leonard Ellerby and Al Heyman

and saying, get that kid in the ring with me? Because Eddie Hearn said this this week. And Eddie Hearn has no affiliation. with Tank or with Ryan. He goes, that fight, both fighters, make a fortune. That is a 600 to 800,000 pay-per-view-by in the U.S. type of fight. If your tank, aren't you saying to the people that you work with, let's go, make it happen

because that's an easy payday for me. Oh, yeah. I mean, this kid, this kid Garcia has been extremely disrespectful to Tank. I think from a just a fighter standpoint we don't like when guys start bashing us in the media man and really calling us out by a name and

Sam was scared and you know you got to do something about that man when somebody calls your card man especially a young guy like Garcia that you know all you got to do is laying one shot on that chin and it's light out come on man you got to be asking for this fight

you know tank I won't tank to take this fight you know And he should be, he should be talking to Leonard L.A.B. And all his whole entire team to make this fight happen. He really should, as you said. Yeah, I think it's a unbelievable fight at 140 pounds. And I mean, even if it is at 140, Tim, like, that's something tanks should take. Like, if he, you know, 140 doesn't affect Ryan's chin.

Like, he's still going to be there to get caught. He's still going to have the same flaws that he might have at 140. And, you know, you talked about kind of, you know, doing it down the line. like Ryan's going to keep growing. Like he's 23. He's probably going to be at 147 within the next two years. And Tank probably isn't going that high. Tank doesn't have a lot of in-house options right now with PBC.

He has got to be out there, or at least internally, telling his people, go sit down with Golden Boy. Go sit down, you know, Showtime and DeZone. Go sit down to hammer this thing out. Let's make this happen because I'm going to get rich doing this. That's a $10 million gate. That's a $500,000 plus pay-per-view. that is and that's a guy, a popular guy, that I can knock out. That's a king-making performance in a way for me against Ryan Garcia.

That's kind of what I want to see. Like, we can disagree on who wins, and we will, obviously, and I'm going to get rich off you. But I am going to, I'm just of the belief that tank's got to go out there and push hard for this fight, publicly and privately. It's the second biggest fight in boxing right now. I would think that Spence Crawford is number one. can argue that, but it's the second biggest fight, I believe, in boxing that could be made

with two fighters right now. Both these guys are big draws. And when I say big draws, I'm saying in today's market, people, in today's market, you know, with all the, with all the, you know, distilling the cable feed and all this stuff being going on now on the internet, man. It's tough really to sell paper views. But I believe that these two guys, if they got in the ring, man, I think they'll do well. Like you said, 500 to 800,000 pay-per-view buys, no doubt about it. And, you know, as you said, as you said about Tank, I believe that Tank would take this fight,

but I don't think his antlers would, man, want to take this fight because you got to understand. It doesn't matter who tanks fights. You know, it's a business for them. To me, it's a business for them. That's the way they look. That's the way they make it seem. Because, you know, he fought Cruz.

Okay. All right, Cruz was a feeling. He fought Cruz. He beat Cruz. Then he, and then just recently, who did he fight? Who did he fight next? Who did he fight after Cruz? Oh, yeah.

Rale Romero. Roli Romero. Who the hell is Roli Romero? Romero ain't done anything. Okay? He ain't do anything. But he still was able to sell. Okay.

You could put him in there with a cab driver. Tank is going to sell. people just want to be entertained. They want to see him knock out a guy. That's it. You know, he's a big say. He's a big truck. So his people know that.

So they feel in like, hey, we ain't got to go running after Garcia. We ain't got to go running after this guy. They ain't got to go run after this guy. We can put tank in the ring with whoever we want, and he's still going to sell. And he's still, and we still going to make money. So that's the way they look at the business. That ain't the way I view it, but that's the way they do. Yeah.

Yeah, I mean, I get it. And Tank did a, what, a $4.5 million gate at Barclay Center for Raleigh-Romero. That is a big number to do at the live gate against an opponent like Romero. And he consistently has drawn big crowds in L.A., New York, D.C. area, Baltimore, Atlanta. Like, he's a draw all across the country. But if your tank, you need at some point, you're going to be 28 years old by the time you step in the ring again. Like at some point, you've got to face somebody like you do. at least if you want the respect him

if you want if you want people like me to shut my mouth and stop saying that you're unproven you got to prove yourself I don't think you can't have it both ways if you're going to keep taking these lower tier fights well if you're if you're saying that you're the number one guy in a division if you're saying it

if tank is saying it then that's a problem then that's a problem because if you're not willing to face the best guys out there then you can't run around and say that you're the best guy you know and that's just it um I mean even guys like yourself, I understand what you're saying by fighting better competition. I mean, it's a sport at the end of the day.

I understand it's a business too. But in order for you to be great in the sport and recognized as a Hall of Fame type of fighter, you have to fight these fights, the best guys out there, and you have to beat them. And you have to continually do that over and over and over to be considered pound to be considered a household name, to be considered a Hall of Fame fighter. And if Tank doesn't want to, if Tank people don't want to do it, then so be it. I mean, Tank will make a ton of money.

But trust me, he won't be mentioned in the Hall of Fame at all. Yeah, there's no doubt about that. Let me ask you one question about Teufi Mo Lopez, who's going to be back on ESPN, August 13th. His first fight since losing his 135-pound titles to George Cambosis late last year. his debut, Tim, at 140. How confident are you that Teofimo is going to be able to kind of regain the momentum he had at 135 and become again one of the top guys at 140? Man, you know what?

It's up to him, honestly. It's really up to him. You know, I don't put a whole lot of confidence and stocking a whole lot of guys unless I know that they're, you know, really working hard and, and, and, you know, dedicated and focused. And I know this kid, he works extremely hard, but there's a lot of outside distractions, a lot of things that the young man is going through on a personal note. And if his head is right, he's a problem. If his head is right, this kid is a problem. He has speed. He has those fast twitchy muscles, you know, that he can just, I mean, one right hand, it can turn your lights out. One left hook can turn your lights out. And, you know, he's a fun guy to have him boxing. He's

one of those guys that, you know, we need in the sport, man. You know, clean cut, you know, he's great in the media, a lot of attention, a lot of antics after he wins, after he knocks out a guy inside the ring. He's very attractive, man. He has that it about him. So going up to 140, new weight class, which is good. He can get out of 135. Now he can kind of erase those demons. 140, you got to start all over. This is the rebuilding process. You know, like I said on max on boxing, man, it's no longer the takeover, it's the makeover. You know, he got to change some things. He got to continue to grow and get better.

And he got to show that he's a true champion. That's what it's all about. Sometimes it's not just all about winning, man. It's about how you come back from a loss, man. That's what makes a fighter, in my opinion, how you come back from a loss. Because we can't, everybody can't be Mayweather, everybody can't be Andre Ward or Joe Kanzagi, bro. You know, we're going to suffer some bumps along the road, but when we pick ourselves up, bro, it's how.

It's how we pick ourselves up and what we do with that. So I'm expecting him to kick the hell out of Kappa, or whoever his name is. I'm expecting him to beat him up and knock him the hell out. He's a guy that just come straight forward, a guy that likes to mix up the action, and I think he'd be perfect tailor-made for a guy like Jepima Lopez to look good, shine, regain some confidence,

and some momentum back in the sport at 140 pounds. Yeah, I agree. It's the right comeback fight for him. And I agree with you as well. Like it's more mental with Teofimo than it is physical. I mean, he went into that. I mean, I was part of that broadcast for the zone with Teofimo Fok Cambos.

You could tell all Fight Week that something was just a little bit off in Teofima. He made the weight, but he did it without the folks of perfecting athletes who had been so good for him over the last couple of years. So it just looked like he squeezed down to one. 135 and then he believed he was just going to steamroll cambosis he thought he was going to one punch him into the ground and didn't do it. I think that cost him later in the fight when he, you know, had a chance when he had Cambosis down to maybe flurry a little bit, you know, find a way to get a stoppage that way. Instead, he continued to look for that one punch knock. I don't think he'll have that same attitude as he moved into this new phase of his career.

I'm pretty confident that he's going to be a high level guy at 140. And fortunately for Teofimo, top rank largely controls 140. You know, outside of Ryan Garcia, they've got most of the top guys in that division, including Jose Ramirez. That would be a terrific fight who knows what happens with Jack Caterall. How long he starts? Oh, sorry, Josh Taylor, how long he stays at 140. There are massive fights for Tea Vima. Pay-per-view level fights for him in the next year and beyond.

So I think there's a lot to look forward to for Teofimo. Last thing for you. The WBO once again ordered Demetrius Andrade to face Janubeck, the interim title holder. older at 160. Look, Jana Beck just body slam Danny Dignam in that fight on ESPN a few months ago. And look, I heard Buddy McGur,

Nagas Clemmes all these guys say he's like the best things in sliced bread. He's a great middleweight, blah, blah, blah. It's fine. Look, he's fine. But like, I get it. He beat up Danny Dignam. All right, let's, let's,

context is key in this one. I don't know what Andrea's going to do. He's outside of the matchroom universe right now. He has nothing set up 168 pounds. you've seen Janibak fight. Should André take that fight? Like, you know Demetrius Andrade, you know what you see from Janibak. What do you think of a Janibak-Andrade fight should have come together?

You know what? Demetrius is in a, is in a, he's in a hard spot, man. You know, you can be, sometimes you can be just too good. And you don't get the opportunities that a lot of these other guys get. and we can say markability. We can say that to a certain point, but Andreas has been a champion for some time now, man. He's been a reigning champion at once before.

Yeah, for some time. And it's really hard for him to get in the ring with a, really another guy like himself. You know, I would have loved to see him fight against Charlo and Triple G. You know, these guys never came to, it never came to fruition at all. Like I don't understand why.

Why didn't these fights happen? It should have happened, you know. But fighting a guy like Janubek right now at this point in his career, he has no other option. I mean, what else is the out there for, to be honest with you? He got a guy, Benavides, that's willing to face anybody. He can fight him. And I think that's a really good name.

Who else can he fight at 168? that's a good name uh Zach Taylor right at 168 who was uh gonna he was gonna fight for the interim title before he got that shoulder injury but it's not like right now canelo controls that landscape and you know Benavides is there yeah was there but the the hardest thing is is that once you get to that certain level man and when you're raining it at the top it's it's hard to look backwards. And I'm not saying that Janabeck is a backwards step, but what I am saying is that he's at a certain level and he's trying to get to your level. And he's dangerous. It's almost like if Crawford and Spence was the side to fight against a guy like Booth's Ennis. Right now at this

point in their career, you know, it's just like, yes, it'd be a hell of a fight, but like, it's too risky. I think a guy like Janubeck is risky, man. He's a risky fight for anybody at a hundred 60 pounds. And if Buba was to come back down to face that, that's tough, man. It's hard to go up to 168 and then drop back down to 160 for a title fight, man. It's not worth it in my opinion, bro. I would leave that alone. I will let that belt go and I would make my way to 168 where I'm comfortable and I'll

try to get a title there. I just feel like Tim, the belt is his only currency and it's it hasn't done a lot for him in the last three years? Underfeiting record. I mean, yeah, you know, he's got a undefeited record. You're right, that's another one. He's got, that's two forms of currency, I guess, that he has. But he's had that for a couple of years, too, plus a lot of money behind him with Eddie Hearn.

And he still not be able to get a big fight. I'd like him to see fights. Look, I think he beats Janubeck because I think Andrade's special. And even at this stage of his career, I think he's a real high-level talent who, you know, it just, I don't think Janibac's ready for him, quite frankly, not in the pro ranks. He's not going to land the kind of shots he landed. on Danny Dignam on Demetrius Andrade. It's just not.

And Andrade hits a lot harder than people give him credit for. All the guys he's fought, almost all of them have gone down at some point. Jason Quigley was destroyed in a couple of rounds in that fight. I mean, he can hurt you. And I think he'd do that to Janubeck. I'd just like to see him hold on to his title for one more year and then see what happens at 160. See if he can make Mungia happen.

See if he can make a Charlo fight happen. Give it one more year at 160 while Canello's sorting out what he's going to sort out. and then make the move to 168. Hey, I think he'll be all right. Whatever he chooses to do, I think he'll be all right. Just like you said, he does have a ton of skill. I'm just saying that the Janubek fight, two South Falls, it's a difficult fight, man.

I think it's a difficult fight for both. I'm not saying that Janubek can beat him, and I'm not saying that he can beat Janibek. I mean, I got to look at film on that, but I can just tell you this, just knowing both styles and what they bring to the table, man. I think it's too risky, man. I will lead that belt there and I will go up and I will try to face a bigger,

a bigger, batter opponent. Yeah, I can understand that argument, no question. Tim Bradley, former two-division world champion ESPN boxing analyst. Good to talk to you, man. And make sure you tell your family, like, you might be a little lighter in the wallet later in the year if Ryan Garcia fights Tank Davis because I'm going to come for your paycheck, my friend. I'm coming for that check.

Listen to me. Aren't you the same guy that went for Saran Vosai over? That's possible. I know. Hold on. Hold on. Man, I almost slapped you when I heard that. I said, man, if I had some way to get to him and slap him on my side to hear right now, oh, my God.

Let me, hold on. Hold on. Fact check. Fact check here. I bet the odds, right? There was 7 to 1 against Sorong Vesai winning by knockout. So I bet the odds on that one. I thought Ban was the better.

fighter but I like those odds. All right. You bet the odds. All right. I thought you was strung a hole on the fact that Saranvath I was going to knock this kid out. Because I think I heard you said something about he was going to stop him late.

He was going to get to him and he was going to stop him late. I thought that was. Yeah, I did. That was wishing with my wallet. Ryan Garcia, I'm telling you right now, if Ryan Garcia fights Tank Davis, he's going to sleep before six rounds. Put your money on it.

I'm going to put, I always put my money where I'm out there, Tim. Always. All right, baby. All right, baby. No doubt, Tim. Good to talk to you, Tim. I appreciate your time.

When we come back, my conversation with Adam Kovnoski. Imagine an Olympics where doping is not only legal, but encouraged. It's the enhanced games. Some call it grotesque. Others say it's unleashing human beings. potential. Either way, the podcast's Superhuman documented it all, embedded in the games and with the athletes for a full year. Within probably 10 days, I'd put on 10 pounds. I was having trouble

stopping the muscle growth. Listen to Superhuman on the I-Hard Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. A win is a win. A win is a win. I don't care what I'm saying. Yep, that's me, Cliver Taylor the 4th. You might have seen the skits, the reactions, my journey, from basketball to college football or my career in sports media. Well, somewhere along the way, this platform became bigger than I ever imagined. And now I'm bringing all of that excitement to my brand new podcast, The Clifford Show. This is a place for raw, unfiltered conversations with some of your favorite athletes, creators, and voices that not only deserve to be heard, but celebrated.

One week, I'll take you behind the scenes of the biggest moments in sports and entertainment, and the next we'll talk about life, mental health, purpose, and even music. The Clifford Show isn't just a podcast. It's a space for honest conversations, stories that don't always get told, and for people who are chasing something bigger. So, if you've ever supported me or you're just chasing down a dream,

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They said that George Bush didn't like black people. I know what you're thinking. What the hell does George Bush got to do a little count? Well, you can find out on the Look Back at it podcast. I'm Sam Jett. And I'm Alex English. Each episode, we pick it here, unpack what went down, and try to make sense of how we survived it.

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Adam Kovnoski is a heavyweight contender on July 30th. He will attempt to end a two-fight losing streak when he returns the ring against Ali Aaron Demirizen. That fight can be seen on Showtime on the undercard of Danny Garcia's upcoming show at 154. And Adam joins me here on the show. So Adam, after the loss to Hellenius last year, did you think about retirement? ring. No. My wife was due a week later, so I was in the birth from giving birth to my second child. I didn't really have time to think about it. But obviously after the baby was born, all healthy

and stuff, made a huge move on. I moved to Miami and that he, you know, but a fire up in me. So to get back in there. And now I'm back. You know, I can't wait to be back in the ring. I drive 30. What was the harder loss to get past? The first loss to Heleneas or the more recent one? Both sucked. I mean, the first one was kind of tough because I thought I was winning it. He was calling with a good right hand coming in.

And I wasn't able to recover. And the second one, he broke my eye sock or a bow in the first round. So I couldn't see from the first round on. So it was really tough. But both losses were definitely heartbreaking. and definitely, you know, like, you know, so both sucked. Definitely going on to go to that. How is your eye now?

It's good. I've been through most for like constrictions with doctors. It's fine. Luckily, the retina was not detached, so I was lucky with that. I'm a fast healer, so he heals up quick. I've been sparring already. No issue, so I can't wait to be better than that. You've said that the Hellenious fights happened during a complicated time in your life.

What did you mean by that? Probably my personal life is the best thing that happened to me. I had one child was born. And the second one, my wife was due any day of the week, you know, when the second fight. So, you know, it was great moments for me personally, but learning how to separate my career from my personal life was very tough. know how to manage it at that time in my life, you know. So it was definitely a learning experience on how to manage it now.

You know, now they're away in Poland. So I'm just focusing on boxing right now. There is no running around playing with the kids, which I miss a lot. But you got to make sacrifices, you know. I'm on a mission to become the first Polish born, Hegeonagrebate chain of the world. And you've got to make some sacrifices. So luckily, they know that. I mean, the kids are having the time of their life in Poland.

So it's not the worst, you know. What's your confidence as a boxer like right now? It's good. I mean, spawning, it's going to go well. So conditioning is there. I mean, training in Miami is definitely, it was a good change scenery. Being back to New York right now, training with mold team, getting some fresh energy. It's been good. Sponging was going real well.

did eight rounds on Monday, six today. So I feel amazing. I can't wait to showcase myself on the drive 30th. Will there be any adjustments? Like, will you fight any differently after those two losses? Footwork, I mean, and the double jab. I mean, we'll be working almost nonstop on those two aspects of my game to make sure I'll get lazy and I double jab.

I want to do those two things. It's a totally game changer in my game might feel, and I'm going to show what I enjoy 30. Do you worry at all about your chin at this point after losing like that? Well, the second fight, he didn't really drop me. I mean, I was TKO, but it came off from me actually, you know,

not being able to see him hitting him in a place where I wasn't able to hit him. But, I mean, so I wasn't really hurting the first fight. He just broke my bone, you know? So obviously, in spawning-wise, I'm not really feeling effects. So I think it's more of a question journalists have to see how I will be able to recoup after two losses.

And I think it will show my character, you know. But what am I above, you know? I think I'll be able to do good. How do you think, I mean, you're right. Like people are going to wonder, how will Adam bounce back after those two losses? How do you feel like you're going to bounce back? Good.

I mean, I'm sparring, no issues. I haven't been, I guess we have to do in July 30th and see, you know what I mean? Definitely deep in my mind, like that question comes to my mind too. Like, will it be different? Will I be able to stand there and suck it pop up like I did in the past? Or we have to chain a game up and be more of a boxer, which I could do when my trainers. I'm all the time saying, you know, why do you choose your athletic ability? And that's something I got to get back on.

And I think once I do it, you're going to be truly amazed to see what I'm really capable of, especially making it like a last run to become a world champion. It's like the last chapter of my boxing book, and hopefully we can win it, when it would end it with a buzzer on my waist. So you think we'll see a little bit of a difference there, maybe more of the athleticism you're talking about in this fight. Because what, you know, you have been and always, always have been really entertaining, you know, because you're out there willing to go to war. Your fight against Chris Ariola,

some of the fights before that, they have been incredibly entertaining. What kind of Adam will we see out there? We've got to see more composed. I'm more of a boxer, you know. Definitely, there's levels to the game. And being a tough guy, he gets you so far, which got me pretty far, you know, but I want to be a world champion.

So definitely I've got to switch it up a little bit and bring something new to the game. What did your family say after that last loss? I mean, like you said, you just had a young child. You've got a great family, obviously. What did they say about your career after that loss? What do they want to do? I mean, it was my decision.

I don't know. It's a good choice. I mean, sleep on a couple nights and, you know, make a decision. So it's my goal, you know. I mean, I started this 15 years or 18 years ago already as a 15-year-old doing the new golden gloves and I'll wait that, that.

You know, so I'm the first pose when I'm reaching out of the world and I think I'll be able to accomplish it, you know, and I just got to stay focused, make some sacrifices, like not being there with my kids over the summer. And definitely,

just keep getting those wins. If I keep winning, definitely get a hell of shot. As hard as it was, I'm sure, to be away from your family, Do you think that's helped you in your preparations for this fight? Yeah, I mean, 100%. I mean, I'm able to recover better between training sessions. So, I mean, it's hard saying no to your kid, you know.

With dad, I dad, let's play, and you pick him up. It's a lot, it's definitely a lot. But luckily, you know, we have family in Poland. So my wife is able to enjoy their time there and deliver on a farm. So my son sees, like, all the cows. chickens, the fish, all the animals. He's having a blast. Like, it's really kind of like the best of the world, but it sounds like I don't get to spend the time with him. So I can't wait to get that win July 30th and fly back to fall and then

spend some time with them. Do you believe, you mentioned you want to be the first Polish heavyweight champion. Do you believe that right now you have the ability to beat an Anthony Joshua or an Alexander Usik or a Tyson Fury? Definitely. I mean, I wouldn't be doing this if I didn't think so. I mean, I mean, I made a small investment in my life, so I'm able to do other things outside of boxing. But that was the goal. As a $15 step for myself,

I started with winning the year of golden gloves, and I just want to be able to think... I came so far. It would be hard to just hang up the gloves, not even getting a title shot, where, you know, people less deserving got several shots and I didn't, so that would have been a little tough. So I definitely want to give it one last run. And, you know, prove a lot of tricks wrong.

And a lot of smiles and a lot of people's faces, you know. I mean, the whole nation is depending on me. Families depending on me. So I definitely want to accomplish this. When you say make one last run, that must mean you look at this upcoming fight as a must win. Most definitely. I mean, it's do or die. So, yeah, like I said before, like I said before, I said my last run.

and it's, well, keep going to Toulouse. I don't find losing, so definitely it's going to be a great fight. I'm a corner victorious, and I can't wait to be in there again. You always draw a good crowd in Brooklyn, Adam. I'll give you that, man. They show up for your fights. Yeah, it's going to be definitely red and white on track 30. But then they leave sometimes.

I've seen them, I've seen you as a co-main event, and then all your fans sometimes leave. Are any of them going to stay for Danny Garcia's fight? I mean, I hope they do it, but we're going to party after. So we're going to be each other at the club after. Love it. Adam, always good to talk to you, man. Glad to see you back.

And good luck on July 30th. Thank you, Chris. You too. That's it for this week's episode. My thanks to Timothy Bradley and Adam Kovnowski for joining the show. As always, subscribe, rate, review this podcast on Apple Podcast, Spotify, wherever you download podcasts. And I'll see you next week.

Another podcast from some SNL late-night comedy guy, not quite. Unhumor me with Robert Smygel and friends. Me and hilarious guests from Bob Odenkirk to David Letterman help make you funnier. This week, my guest, S&L's Mikey Day and head writer, Streeter Seidel, help an a cappella band with their between songs banter. Where does your group perform?

We do some retirement homes. Those people are starving for banter. Listen to humor me with Robert Smigel and Friends on the I-Heart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get. your podcasts. Imagine an Olympics where doping is not only legal, but encouraged. It's the enhanced games. Some call it grotesque.

Others say it's unleashing human potential. Either way, the podcast's Superhuman documented it all, embedded in the games and with the athletes for a full year. Within probably 10 days, I'd put on 10 pounds. I was having trouble stopping the muscle growth. Listen to Superhuman on the I-Hard Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. A win is a win

A win. A win is a win. I don't care what I'm saying. Yep, that's me. Clifford Taylor the 4th. You might have seen the skits, my basketball and college football journey, or my career in sports media. Well, now I'm bringing all of that excitement

to my brand new podcast, The Cliford Show. This is a place for raw, unfilled conversations with athletes, creators, and voices that not only deserve to be heard, but celebrated. So let's get to it. Listen to the Cliford show on the I-Heart Radio app, Apple Podcast, or

wherever you get your podcast. And for more behind the scenes, follow at Clifford and at TikTok podcast network on TikTok.