THE SPAR-INN BOXING PODCAST
THE SPAR-INN BOXING PODCAST
ALL CURRENT EVENTS BOXING AMONGST OTHER THINGS TO INCLUDE INTERVIEWS, ANALYSIS, PREDICTIONS, OPINIONS, FUN, BANTER AND MORE ! RATED R!
THE SPAR-INN BOXING PODCAST
The Transformer: Top 10 MW contender Troy Isley's boxing journey and what's to come.
Troy "The Transformer" Isley discusses his rise to becoming a top-10 ranked middleweight and his upcoming fight on March 29th on the Mayer-Ryan 2 card in Las Vegas. As a disciplined boxer with Olympic pedigree, Isley shares insights on his career journey, training philosophy, and championship aspirations under trainer BOMAC's guidance. As well as a behind the scenes look at Isley's great personality outside of what we see when he's performing in the ring.
it's time for the main event it's the sparring podcast.
Speaker 3:Oh, it's a knockout, yo. What is going on, it is puma and willie, with a third man involved, the man much more accomplished than us I sounded kind of crazy, but it it is true. It is true. We are with the transformer. If you don't know who that is, that is Troy Isley. What's going on, troy?
Speaker 2:What up, what up, I'm chilling man, chilling in Vegas, you know, getting ready for March 29th.
Speaker 3:Vegas. Wow, he does have a fight coming up March 29th on the Meyer Ryan undercard. Meyer Ryan 2 in Las Vegas right? Do you have an opponent for that yet?
Speaker 2:Yeah, we got a Jamaican guy 16-1, 12 KOs. You know good test.
Speaker 1:Oh, that's a good test, you got the power. So yeah, Wait a minute. Who you thought won the first fight In Meyer?
Speaker 2:Ryan, I mean, listen, I'm cool with both of them. You know, I thought I could have won either way.
Speaker 3:Honestly, you know what I'm saying, depending on what the judges were looking for. It was a good fight.
Speaker 2:You know what I'm saying, so you know this next fight. You know I'm very interested to see the next fight, you know, and the changes that they made, because the first fight really could have went either way. They both, you know, was landing. You know great shots, great combinations, so you know we go. I'm very interested to see. You know, what they both did. You know, you know, I've seen both of them. You know, yeah, since then, like you know, how they've been working out.
Speaker 3:I saw you were with Meyer today. She's one of my favorite female boxers. You know. What I think helped her in that first fight, though, was the crowd, and that's where we met you, and I don't know if you know this, but our claim to fame is we started the USA chant in that fight. We had a little bit of home field advantage there, just to give it a little edge.
Speaker 1:Every fight now, every fight, we go to USA. We got Keisha on fire. He was like USA everybody.
Speaker 2:It's like Team USA all over again. Yeah, you're right, we're starting to have it all over again.
Speaker 3:We have to stay in that and that amateur background does help in boxing. Obviously, in professional boxing there is a difference, of course. But but when you have that background and all that training, as you know, I don't got to tell you it it does make a difference and you're seeing it now. Like you just said, it felt like team usa all over again. But um, going forward right, right now you're ranked number eight by ring magazine, which to me is the best ranking system in in the game. You know there's all kinds of other ones. You're also ranked 11 by WBC. I know you've been out Six in WBO too Okay.
Speaker 2:Six in WBO too, okay, okay.
Speaker 3:So, yeah, you're top 10, basically You're top 10 in most of the rankings, give or take whatever. So and I know you're not very, you don't talk a lot of trash, you're boys with Keyshawn. Your nickname obviously isn't the Businessman, you're strictly business, but you have been mentioning a certain name lately.
Speaker 2:I was the dumbest man.
Speaker 3:See, he took the words right out of my mouth. You peeped that fight versus Shiraz. I don't know if I say his name right. Yeah, yeah, what did you think of that fight?
Speaker 2:I mean I thought he looked good against Shiraz, I thought he did his thing. You know, people was very high on Shiraz before the fight, you know. So I mean I felt like, you know, I thought he won, to be honest.
Speaker 1:Me too yeah.
Speaker 2:But go ahead.
Speaker 3:What do you see in him? What do you see in him in Adams that you think you could exploit?
Speaker 2:I mean, I just feel like I'm a better fighter than he is. I've been in the ring with him a couple times. I feel like I'm the better fighter. Honestly, I ain't trying to say what I'm going to do. I can't get rid of my game plan but honestly, I just feel like I'm the better fighter. You know what I'm saying.
Speaker 1:You definitely got the better style for that fight.
Speaker 3:Yeah, you're so also what you think? No, I got to ask a question, though. Go ahead, Do your thing.
Speaker 1:What do you think about Eson Lacy just going into the side, going to the ring and telling his mans was down in that fight? That was I mean that was crazy.
Speaker 2:I was going to say I mean yeah, yeah. I mean we already knew. You know, we already knew it. But you know what I'm saying. You don't got to be. You know what I'm saying. You don't really have to just make it that obvious. You know what I'm saying. But it's all good. That just means you know when you're fighting against Shiraz or any one of them, turkish ambassadors, you got to bring your game. You got to knock them out. That's what I'm thinking. Knock us out.
Speaker 3:So I was going to ask you too. Obviously, you're under BOMAC and RED right, so you think that would fly. You think that would fly with them in the corner?
Speaker 2:Nah, nah Nah not for sure.
Speaker 3:Does that affect? Like you just said, you got to be careful when you fight them. And and how does that play on a fighter's mind? Like well, say, you get a big money, fight with Shiraz, right? Is it worth it? Is it worth the money?
Speaker 2:Honestly, I mean, I feel like it is uh money talks money talks, money talks.
Speaker 3:It don't really matter that much.
Speaker 2:I mean, he can't really control anything. You know what I'm saying. I mean, yeah, he might.
Speaker 3:Listen, listen.
Speaker 2:Adame has won. Adame has won the fight.
Speaker 3:He won the fight.
Speaker 2:I feel like I just feel like a person like me. I make my wins a little more clear. I like to show. I feel like I show Very clear. You know what I'm saying, so I feel like I would make it obvious.
Speaker 1:But I mean, you know, you really box people, you box.
Speaker 3:Your last fight, you put on a clinic and it kind of changed the tone. You know what I mean. You literally shut him out from beginning to end. Ended the year.
Speaker 1:It was like one round. He got, I think, only one round.
Speaker 2:Yeah, he came out the last round. Yeah, yeah.
Speaker 3:I remember watching that fight too. I'm like, oh shit, no, no, just get away, get out of there. But you still boxed, you stuck to the game plan and that really showed you. Now, the stupid thing in boxing is and this is against the fans, and that's just what we are.
Speaker 2:we're just fans but there were boos out there, I believe, against us because the fight was for sure. I mean honestly, you know you can't fall into that. They're not in the ring, you can't get tricked out of the game man.
Speaker 3:And that's what I was going to ask you. Does that affect you? And you just got to stay focused and keep rolling.
Speaker 2:I mean I was locked in, I wasn't focused on it. Locked in is understood.
Speaker 3:You were like you did not change. You could tell man that the transformer didn't transform. You just fucking stuck to it right then? No for sure.
Speaker 2:We had a game plan. You know I wasn't. And earlier in the fight, maybe like the first two or three rounds, I was trying to. You know I was trying to take initiative. He was fighting at a—usually Tyler Howard punches, you know what I'm saying. Usually he throws more punches, he's more active. That's the Tyler Howard. We were thinking you know what I'm saying, but he was keeping it at a good distance to where he couldn't get hit. You know what I'm saying. So I felt like I was putting myself in harm's way. I was trying to get his body and I'd be reaching and stuff like that. So I was just, you know my coaches, just like you know, take what he giving you and you know he weren't really giving me much.
Speaker 3:So, hey, I was like fucking, we're gonna box the dude, keep it moving and, and that's exactly what you did, and it got to you where you are now. So, so, um, what was I going to say? Oh, with Bomak in your corner right, does he keep that same energy that he shows on TV and camp and stuff too? Is he always funny like that?
Speaker 2:Yeah, for sure.
Speaker 3:Yeah, I was curious, Like I never met the guy. Bomak always talking jokes, yeah, yeah, Because a guy like you in the ring anyway, you're so serious and so is all his fighters yeah, yeah, yeah.
Speaker 1:All his fighters in the ring.
Speaker 3:But you seem to me like a strictly serious guy Basically. Again, you're not Keyshawn, but you're strictly business in the ring, whatever. He's always joking, goofing. I'm like damn, what the fuck this guy's always.
Speaker 2:I mean, I got a good sense of humor, honestly. I mean the people see me because they don't know me. I don't know. You know what I'm saying To Keyshawn. Keyshawn might be like man Troy shut up. You know what I'm saying Because I ain't going to stop talking. You know, keyshawn, Tiger, tiger. If I'm around, any of my Olympic guys, yeah.
Speaker 3:So you know it's you. Good team, perfect team combination. Do you move around with Keyshawn? Do you spar with him?
Speaker 2:Nah, me and Keyshawn haven't sparred since the Amateurs.
Speaker 3:What about Crawford? Because I know you're all in the same umbrella.
Speaker 2:I worked with Crawford before before he pulled my dream off. I worked with him twice. I worked with him before I flew off.
Speaker 1:You had to get him ready for that up and weight. Yeah, for sure, for sure.
Speaker 2:Definitely, definitely. I'm going to definitely help my bro out, you know, when he on his way to beating Canelo. You know what I'm saying. Yeah, yeah, yeah, I'm down with that one, yeah.
Speaker 1:I think so I'm definitely taking a bud, Of course.
Speaker 3:I'm back in the American, no doubt. I mean I will say that Canelo is a tough feat. So if he could beat that feat, that's. And you know what. He did do his thing against my guy, errol Spence. We're out of Long Island, errol Spence is from out here, so we Not from out here, he's from Texas, but he got family out here. Oh man, he hurt my Broke, but it's all good, it's all good, amen.
Speaker 2:Yeah, same thing Go ahead.
Speaker 3:Speaking of being from Long Island, I want to tell you a quick story. It's kind of a testament to the Virginia fan base that was at MSG. Oh God, so Keyshawn got family out here. He was really on Long Island. So, my dumb drunk ass, I'm like, oh yeah, he's kind of from Long Island. Whatever cheers Yo, virginia is loyal to the soil man. They turn around Screaming at me like no, no, I'm rude, like you. Rude for them.
Speaker 1:I'm like yo God, yo that's funny, but yo being um.
Speaker 3:You're originally born in Washington, right? Correct me if I'm wrong. Yeah, yeah, yeah, but you're out of Virginia. You're basically raised in Virginia, right?
Speaker 2:I mean, my family was. But I mean, put it like this, I was raised in Alexandria, I grew up in Alexandria, I went to DC on weekends or stuff like that yeah, yeah, yeah. You know. And then when I got to high school I stopped going around there, for real, you know, because you know it's trouble. Yeah, it ain't trouble, but for real it's dangerous.
Speaker 3:Yeah, I know, dc is dangerous.
Speaker 2:But I mean, if you come to my fights you're going to see a bunch of DC people. You're not really going to see Alexandria. I mean you're going to see my friends and you know the people. You know that I met in Alexandria and grew up with, but a lot of the times like family, you're going to see a lot of you know DC people at my fights. Okay, that's good. So that's why I have them say representing Southeast DC for them.
Speaker 3:Because they are at the fight, the Southeast people. Because, yeah, I was a little confused, like I'm reading stuff, you know, and I'm like, oh wait, well, I don't know, to me it makes no difference. But I was just like because for sure, for sure.
Speaker 2:I mean, I rep both, I rep both, I rep both. I rep Alexander a little harder though, but I rep both. Dmv man.
Speaker 3:Yeah, Because like, oh man, like this has got a good backing in MSG. I've been to a million fights at MSG and I felt like I was in Virginia.
Speaker 1:Nobody was showing you love, but I walked up to him like fight right, I see this guy everywhere. I'm like, I seen you there, I seen you. I'm like. And then, puma, let me know like who you was. I'm like, oh man.
Speaker 3:I was like like when you meet someone that you see on TV all the time, right, and you see them in person, you got to like triple take, like wait, is that?
Speaker 1:Especially the OGs. You be like yo, these OGs. Like you've seen them, like watching fights when they were younger, you don't know what they look like now.
Speaker 2:No, for real.
Speaker 3:So what home gym are you training at now for your next fight this month? I saw you were at DLX. Shout out to them. They're awesome. But what is like your mainstay gym right now in Vegas? There's a bunch of gyms in Vegas.
Speaker 2:So I'll go to Top Rank or UFC Apex, okay, but mainly mainly Top Rank, top Rank yeah, yeah, without saying too much, obviously, what's the sparring rotation looking like right now?
Speaker 3:Just, I always ask fighters this, cause I'm always curious about who who they sparring.
Speaker 2:Uh, I mean, I'm working with, uh, with an average guy, he's like 19 and no Aaron McKenna, okay. And then, uh, I got some rounds that would allow the Garcia to two times Nice.
Speaker 3:Nice, I just saw, uh, our guy it to your way. We're good friends with jahai tucker. He, uh he was just over there dlx2 and he got some sparring and I think not too sure. But yeah, I'm always curious about what the sparring is like and it makes sense. You said you were sparring with terrence crawford for his, his, uh fight and iron sharpens iron man, like sparring matters does, does bomac, does he have you sparring a lot or no? I know some guys don't spar a lot, some guys do yeah, he got.
Speaker 2:He got me sparring tuesday, thursday, saturdays, damn that is a lot that's good I mean he'll, he'll.
Speaker 2:You know if you, if you see you peeking early, looking too sharp, he'll, he'll, he'll. He'll be like listen, he'll let you rest, okay, one day or two. And I, I like I've never experienced that like so, like two fights ago, when he did it, I was like are you sure you know what I'm saying? You tripping. When I fought Marcos, the Marcos tab, he did that. He was like you peeking too hard, you looking too sharp, take a day or two off. You know what I'm saying. I'm like what Are you what?
Speaker 3:But yeah, and that was going to lead into my next question like what is the difference between training with a stable and a camp like that under bomack and and red, compared to, uh, your last training because you've been with them what like four or five years now?
Speaker 2:but with bomack and them. Yeah, yeah, two, two, two, maybe three, three, two, three. I think I finished the end of um. I finished the end of the end of 2023, september. I started training in September 2023.
Speaker 3:So what is like the biggest difference between training under them and not like saying things bad about them?
Speaker 2:I mean ain't nothing bad to say about K. I mean I feel like K did what he did. I mean I wouldn't be the fighter I am without K. He was with you in the Olympics too right, he was with you all the way. I mean I feel like you know, k did what he did. I mean I wouldn't be the fighter I am without K, you know.
Speaker 3:He was with you in the Olympics too, right? He was with you all the way, right, yeah, I mean K.
Speaker 2:I started with K, I was K's first fighter, yeah, oh, wow, yeah. But I just feel like K, okay, okay, I mean I feel like not, not that, I just feel like they're more experienced yeah, okay so, so, so I mean I feel like k still at the time, we're still, we're still learning.
Speaker 2:You know I'm saying okay, you feel me. Yeah, as far as where, where bomac, they already know what they're doing you're going to. You know I'm saying they are, they have, they had crawford. You know I'm saying so they built crawford fromford from the ground up so they already kind of like going into I don't know, just like being around them. You know make you being around. You know the circular fighters make you feel great and then, like they know what they're doing. You know what I'm saying. And it's three, four coaches, so like if two of them got to leave. You know what I'm saying. And it's three, four coaches, so like if two of them got to leave. You know what I'm saying. You still got.
Speaker 3:You know enough you know what I'm saying? Yeah, enough focus.
Speaker 2:There's more of a focus on you. Yeah, and you still got two coaches that know what they're doing, that's experienced enough that can train other fighters. You know what I'm saying.
Speaker 1:So it's like a team, it's a team effort when you get a whole team.
Speaker 3:Mm-hmm.
Speaker 1:Oh, that's fire. Okay, so it's really like undisputed.
Speaker 2:I trained with them two camps I worked with Crawford, the Horn camp and the Burke camp Okay, so I had already did two camps with them. So it kind of was it wasn't as hard of a transition. Yeah, that's good.
Speaker 2:Yeah, so we already, we already knew each other. I met them like 2018 because they were training in Colorado. And then you know, I was always boys with Shakur, I would always be around Shakur. And then you know, shakur sparred me. And then you know I seen Keith on Sparum and then I'm like, okay, I'm going to spar you. And then you know they was like, you know, come back, shit, we may need you. So I kept sparring him for the Jeff Horn camp. And then you know, like two years later they called me. You know again.
Speaker 1:for Carol Brooke that means he did his thing against.
Speaker 3:Crawford man, that's good. What did you think it caused you? Bad, chill, chill. Like I said, not saying anything bad about your last camp, just obviously that right now BOMAC and them, they're like the top trainers in the game, like arguably one or two if you were to take a vote.
Speaker 2:I guess Probably the best team in the game.
Speaker 3:Yeah, that's what I'm saying. Like you know, you can argue here and there, but like that's, they're pretty taken over, it's just taken over and that's great. Man, and you, obviously you made the right choice because you've been on the up and up again, you're ranking, you're cracking the top 10 in almost every ranking, almost every ranking, but to me, the only one that matters, because you get the boxing nerds really the ones that are in the ring and you crack the top 10 in that ring and you cracked the top 10 in that a belt this year.
Speaker 2:we're thinking Well, I mean, I'm trying to get a title shot by the end of this year and the beginning of next year.
Speaker 3:That was my goal it's hard now, though, right like I think, when you're number 8, right like you're in the top 10, yeah, that people are going to avoid you. You're risky, you're a risky business right now which one?
Speaker 1:you in six then?
Speaker 2:I'm six in the WBO and 11 in the WBC and A&R Magazine.
Speaker 1:Who got the belt at the WBO, janabek?
Speaker 3:Oh, yeah, janabek, you were calling him out too, man.
Speaker 2:Yeah. So by the end of this year, beginning of next year. You know one or two more fights, but go ahead.
Speaker 3:He's tough. He's tough as a fan's opinion. He's a tough guy, but he's a little inflated, like his resume isn't really.
Speaker 2:Yeah, I know, I feel like you know he got a decent win over Bentley, but I feel like that's the only person he fought.
Speaker 3:But yeah. But you know I always look at the odds. If the odds are highly favoring someone else, I'm like, okay, this is a little inflated guy over here, but whatever, he hasn't been too active, he hasn't been too active and you're doing the right thing.
Speaker 2:He's avoided by other guys in the division To other guys he's a risk, not to you, though, right. Nah, I said I want the belt, so hell, no Chasing the belt.
Speaker 3:And without burning any bridges, because I'm not trying to do that. What's your take on this whole? The Saudis trying to get rid of all the belts and this, that the other thing. Are you a belt guy? I know some fighters are like, ah, belts don't matter. Do they matter to you?
Speaker 2:I want to win one, two, three, four. I to be forward, I want to win them.
Speaker 3:So is the goal still to be undisputed, though. Like in a fighter's mind, I love that. Personally, I love like four belts. I know the other. There's always this like the whatever, the Latino belt, or whatever the. Wbc did. There's always, they're always throwing weird things in there. But the four main belts I personally loved. Like, alright, you're great, but now you want to unify and fight other champions. So do you think that's good for boxing or bad? I just want to get a fighter's take on that the one belt was kind of like UFC.
Speaker 1:You know what I'm saying One champion and one yeah.
Speaker 2:So I mean, honestly, I like the four how it is. You know what I'm saying and honestly I would want to you know undisputed. That's what makes you legendary, you know in our sport. So why would you? You know after 50, 60 years of it, why would you try to take it out? It don't make no sense.
Speaker 3:That's great to hear. I love to hear that Because, like for me, when I'm always arguing with my non-boxing friends and they're like, ooh, too many belts, I'm like the man who beat the man and a lot of fees, that's cool.
Speaker 2:Now, with all this, like with all this, like, like, like WBC, like like 10, I don't know. I see like with them, them little added little belts, yeah.
Speaker 1:Like they make it look good. And now you got a guy you know, I see the rainbow belt and everything.
Speaker 3:I'm like what is that? The Prime belt? In England they got the rainbow belt. It's just too much. It's confusing. It's confusing for everybody.
Speaker 1:They got the Fighter Fury, whatever belt the video game belt. What belt is that?
Speaker 3:I think, the WBC, though, started to lose people. They had the Aztec Warrior belt or whatever. Then, when Tyson Fury fought, he got another weird belt.
Speaker 1:It's all promotion that's all Mexicans have. Where was the black belt? It was a belt for us.
Speaker 3:It was the black history belt. Karate belts man. But yeah, it's just confusing and I'm glad you said that because it's good. Belts do matter to me, the four main belts do matter, and I get new fans coming in.
Speaker 1:But he's an Olympian, he's going to think like that.
Speaker 3:Yeah, that's true, it's true, I think that's all. What do you walk around at weight rise, Because I'm not going to lie and I'm not fanboying you or whatever, but when you go in the ring man, you look yoked.
Speaker 1:Like you're, like superhero Jack, You're built like a running back.
Speaker 3:Did you play football growing up?
Speaker 2:I played football before I started boxing.
Speaker 1:Like Fernet.
Speaker 2:What position Running?
Speaker 1:back.
Speaker 2:I played. I played left side linebacker. I played rec league though.
Speaker 3:Okay, okay, rec league this is before I started boxing.
Speaker 2:And then once I started boxing. So I was a sore loser in team sports. You know what I'm saying yo, just like my and I, I like to win. You know I'm saying I was, I was an asshole. So you know I was that teammate that, like yo, if I had a winkling I'm like get him out the game. You know I'm saying I was one of them. So you know boxing, you know, at first it felt natural because I was getting into fights and stuff outside of school. Yeah, so boxing it wouldn't feel natural. And then, uh, you know I could control the whole destiny.
Speaker 3:You know what I mean. It's on you.
Speaker 2:Yeah, so you know, I liked it, I liked it like that.
Speaker 1:I told my daughter like me and my baby mother told my daughter. I said she in the wrong sport because she get mad.
Speaker 2:That's for sure.
Speaker 1:That cheerleading the whole team be mad about it.
Speaker 2:No, for sure, you got that one person man, that's every team you got to be, the whole team got to be. You know what I'm saying?
Speaker 3:And that's probably why you fall so good into BOMAC's camps and BOMAC's team, Because I feel like and I don't know anybody personally but they're all like, yeah, get out. No, you're the weakest link, Get out, Get out. And that's good to hear, good to see and it is working.
Speaker 2:But not being around them, though there's a bunch of dogs on the team so you can't handle weak link energy.
Speaker 3:Let's see, that's great.
Speaker 2:But being around them just made me want to be great, I feel great and I really do feel there was like a difference.
Speaker 3:Nothing against your old trainers, for sure, for uh, no, for sure, for sure. There was like uh, you, you elevated just a little more, that's all, and that's all you needed. And we're seeing it now. And cracking the top 10 is not easy for an. Any fighter will tell you that that's like the goal originally. Let me crack the top 20, let me crack the top 10. And here you are, and now we're chasing belts. How many fights this year are you trying to fight? How many times?
Speaker 2:Well, I'm trying to get three at least.
Speaker 3:Yeah, that's rare. Now you get three fights a year in boxing. You're an active fighter, that's what they want. So I mean I'm starting late.
Speaker 2:Yeah, Already in March. So I mean, when I fight in March, you know, I June. Okay, stay, busy, stay busy and then you know, try to get, you know, finish one definitely at the end of the year.
Speaker 1:You gonna fight in New York or not?
Speaker 2:I love fighting in New York, dude, they you know I'm waiting on them to get the to send me back. I love New York. That's. That's the best love you know, and if you perform good they gonna love you.
Speaker 1:You know what I'm saying. I love New York.
Speaker 3:That's all you just made fans for life. Now, we never leave them.
Speaker 1:We definitely, definitely. I'm screaming, if we could, if you hate New. York definitely.
Speaker 2:For sure, for sure, definitely, I love to fight in New York.
Speaker 3:I'm hoping now with all the business side of things. Obviously you're with Top Rank and I heard grumblings it wasn't made official or whatever. They're going to go with the zone after. I hope they still bring fights to New York. I mean, it's hard not to, it's New York and I'm hoping for that.
Speaker 2:No, for sure we're going to bring some fights to New York. We have to.
Speaker 3:That's what I said. Like when I get old and retire, if I want to keep doing this boxing journey, New York or Vegas, Two options, the boxing capitals. So right now you're in Vegas. You said you're training and is BOMAC, and all them out there with you or are you hopping around a little bit until it gets? No, BOMAC and them they out here. Okay, they're out here. That's cool, that's good to hear. I think that's all I got, you got anything else.
Speaker 1:Willie, I don't know what happened off screen, but what's your diet like? What's your diet like? Drawing it up? No shit, nah, you funny, you funny, you funny. So I got.
Speaker 2:I got nutritionist, you know, either, either my boy Alan, or or Perfecting Athletes.
Speaker 3:Oh you're. You're with Perfecting Athletes. That's important, Cause I feel like all their fighters make weight Like they never. You never miss weight with them.
Speaker 2:So so I work with them. They, they make me meals. They bring my, uh, my meals every Sunday, you know for the week. They drop all my meals off every Sunday for the whole week and then you know they take care of me, you know they. They get my rehydration right and that's awesome. But I mean, as far as food uh, it used to be, it used to be, you know, um, like a lot of like I don't know. I just eat whatever sort of say, I'm gonna say whatever, but like now, I try to. I try to eat a lot of like like fish, vegetables, stuff that don't stuff. So after the fight, I used to eat pasta, I used to eat like bread and stuff like that. You know what I'm saying. And then I would feel like bloated. You know what I'm saying. You don't want to fight off that, you want to go to sleep. So you know, now I try to keep it. Stuff that's going to— stuff that you're going to eat it, you're going to shit out. So I keep vegetables, fish. That's really about it.
Speaker 1:It do get annoying, but so what's your favorite food? My favorite food is pasta, pasta, pasta.
Speaker 2:Any type of pasta, and I would go get a pasta after every weigh-in.
Speaker 3:That's why you love New York. That's why you love New York Every weigh-in for sure.
Speaker 1:After every weigh-in, you get a pasta.
Speaker 2:I was getting a pasta. Now if I feel bloated I wouldn't even care, I'd still get another one later. When I got a new nutritionist, he told me you know, all that rice and dairy and all that stuff is bad. You know what I'm saying. So it was hard. This was the Marcos fight. You know, I was trying it out and it was hard, but I wanted to eat pasta.
Speaker 3:I wanted to eat all that so bad.
Speaker 2:I'm just eating the fish and vegetables and I'm like I wanted to eat the pasta. So bad, but I'm like, no, I'm going to try it out.
Speaker 3:I'm going to try it out. I'm going to try it out, and then you know, you seen the fight against Marcos and.
Speaker 2:I'm like, yeah, I'm going to stick with this.
Speaker 1:I'm going to stick with it. I'm going to stick with it. The fans wouldn't know none of this. They don't know how hard the discipline you be going through.
Speaker 3:Your favorite food you can't even eat most of the time you get the call and you're ready. Give me a few weeks.
Speaker 1:You're not no Padley.
Speaker 3:I need eight weeks, eight weeks. You need eight weeks for college. Josh Padley, no.
Speaker 1:I want to know how Josh Padley was walking around at his fight weight. They been called them.
Speaker 2:One fight I did. I did take that one that called one fight. I think I had like six weeks. Yeah, I thought I was going to fight Hob on the Sikora, on Sikora's last fight with Top Right in July. Yeah, and they had called me and was like, nah, we want you to fight him in June 21st and I you know what I'm saying. So like six weeks and stuff like that. Then I went to Vegas for like the last, like three and a half, so, but I did, I did that one time. But usually usually I'm, I'm, I'm, I'm the eight weeks, I like eight weeks, I like eight weeks to get ready for a Pacific person.
Speaker 3:Yeah, and that's smart Cause people don't think forget about like being weight ready and stuff. Right. Like you, the no, I go on vacation and take a plane ride. I need like a day to settle in, like you know what I mean. Like nobody likes flying a plane. So like you were saying, padley, yeah, and Bacoli, like what Bacoli did, like that dude got off the plane and fought. Like that you're stiff as hell. Like sitting on a plane. Nah for sure. But I mean, like he ain't Bro, he took like a selfie in Africa.
Speaker 2:And then you see the video of him like doing the I don't know what the hell he was, the humping and shit.
Speaker 1:He had wait. He had to be on a PJ, he had to be on a private jet.
Speaker 3:I don't think so, dude. He was taking like selfies.
Speaker 1:He's too damn big to be riding Nah they got him. Saudi got him right for sure, saudi got him right for sure.
Speaker 2:Had to. Had to If they answered the call, for sure Saudi got him with the private for sure A private with a bed in it. Yeah, for sure.
Speaker 1:It's a big dude bro he had to lay down because you know he's sitting there.
Speaker 2:He's not sitting in the Western name. He, what's the?
Speaker 1:name. He's definitely not sitting on a regular player.
Speaker 3:They can be like who is that? Imagine he got the window seat next to his big ass.
Speaker 1:He really knocked my boy out, though.
Speaker 3:Well, joyce and the heavyweights now, not Joyce, I'm sorry, parker, parker, yeah, parker, he's been in shape and when he's in shape he does damage. I know a few fighters they called were like nah, nah, nah nah, because they knew I was a little scared for Parker at first.
Speaker 2:I ain't going to lie. Tell us what he came in Because I'm like that's a risky fight. I'm like you were just about to fight for the belt. And now you're about to fight a killer and you're not going to fight for the belt. You know what I'm saying. You got to fight a better fighter than what you were gonna. You know what I'm saying already face.
Speaker 3:He looked in shape though, he looked ready, he did his thing, nah for sure, for sure, for sure, For sure.
Speaker 2:Bacoli's a big guy though, dude yeah.
Speaker 3:And he's ducked by many too. Like you, he's like you.
Speaker 2:He's ducked by many. Yeah, high risk.
Speaker 3:High risk.
Speaker 2:Who self active. And then I want to know who's your favorite? Uh, in the past as well, just curious active.
Speaker 3:You're a fighter right now to watch. I like watching. Keyshawn Keyshawn. Yeah, I like watching Keyshawn.
Speaker 2:I like watching Keyshawn. He's very exciting. And, um, fairfighter, I mean right now, I mean either Crawford or I like Canelo too. That's good man.
Speaker 3:I'm excited for that too. Crawford Canelo, I am excited. There's a lot of like. There's going to be a lot of debates, a lot of people going back and forth, all the, all the little podcasts, all the podcast losers like ourselves are going to be debating. Go wild.
Speaker 2:So I like old school fighters though.
Speaker 3:Yeah.
Speaker 1:And you know who's your favorite old school fighter.
Speaker 3:No, crawford, canelo.
Speaker 1:James for the.
Speaker 3:Canelo James.
Speaker 2:Toney, middleweight, james Toney. Well, regardless, James Toney, marvin, hagler, holyfield, dre and Floyd.
Speaker 1:Okay, holyfield, you would say when you was like growing up, trying to be like when you first started boxing, who you mimicked after who you watched.
Speaker 2:Who was I mimicking?
Speaker 1:Who they say they reminded you of, or something like that.
Speaker 3:They say Holyfield, holyfield. That's probably because you're so ripped, bro. Yeah, and you know what your style is. Now that you mention it, your style is kind of. I think you're a little cleaner than him, though your style is a little cleaner.
Speaker 2:I feel like I keep, I feel like I think better yeah you're a little cleaner. But that's the James Toney though.
Speaker 3:Yeah, true, so you got the mix of all. It's good to see that growing up, when you emulate someone like that or fighters like that.
Speaker 2:It sticks with you even now at this point in your career. But also so like growing up, I wasn't necessarily watching Holyfield, okay. So, kaya, tell me to watch Andre Ward Lomachenko. That's where I got them angles from. I watched Lomachenko, andre Ward Lomachenko, and then my dad was a boxer fan. He went to all the 80s fights, so he the one that put me on the James Toney and then he put me on the Sugar Ray Leonard, the whole Marvin Hagler, all that whole era. He put me on all that era I started watching YouTube videos on that, yeah on that.
Speaker 2:And then, you know, I did my little history. You know, ali, the heavyweights. You know, back in the day, you know my favorite was Foreman out of them. You know what I'm saying? Yeah, foreman Foreman's one of my favorite fighters too. And then the funny thing was the guy that played him was at my fight in New Jersey. He's a big fan of me too.
Speaker 3:Really.
Speaker 1:Yeah, that's crazy.
Speaker 3:That was a good. I watched that too. It came out on Netflix Because I didn't know much. You know, yeah, we're a little removed from that era, like it's just before us. So it was good to see that. I learned a lot about him from that and that was. But that's awesome that you download all that data and you know you spoke about Loma and the angles and I saw that in your last fight.
Speaker 3:Specifically, you were showing angles like crazy. I was like, oh shit, this has got a little bag in him. He's got a little bag in him.
Speaker 2:Appreciate that, appreciate that. A lot of people be like, I fight like a smaller fighter. I had a growth spurt in ninth grade. I started off the school year 132. I ended the school year at 154. But that's kind of why I used to fight smaller and box and stuff like that.
Speaker 3:What do you walk around at? Usually? Is it hard to make weight for you, nah?
Speaker 2:Nah, I mean it's not's not. I walk around, I mean in camp, I'll be in like the 70 to like 75 range and I'll be sparring like like guys is like 190. So you know what I'm saying. I'm not about you how late sparring these guys. So you know I'm saying I come, I'll start cutting my way, I'll keep it to like 15 to 12 to 15 range and then I'll start cutting it like the last little three weeks out. But I mean, after a fight, you know you rehydrate. You're probably, I'll probably be about 180 in the ring, you know. So you know, after the fight, you know I take my week off and you know I like to travel and when I travel I like to go to the best restaurants, I like to eat.
Speaker 1:So even saying pasta.
Speaker 3:No, no, I mean it ain't pasta.
Speaker 1:every time I make sure I get a pasta though. I make sure. I get a pasta you know, like, like, like. Right after the fight. You know what I'm saying.
Speaker 2:Now I make sure I get a pasta but but for some reason, whenever I'm making weight bro, it's wings. Sometimes it's been pizza, sometimes it's just I don't know.
Speaker 3:It's the mind man. It's crazy. I do like a crash diet Right Once a year no carbs, no sugar. I just do it for like 20-30 days Because I'm a fluffy Mother effer so when I do that I Reese's Peanut Butter commercials Like what is going on.
Speaker 2:Nah for sure it's the mind. Nah for sure they put all the food commercials on yeah.
Speaker 3:I'm like why is this? I've never seen this Deep dish pizza.
Speaker 2:I'm like bro.
Speaker 1:Oh my God, and the cinnamon and the weed. I'm like bro, come on, bro, yo. But what I was going to say you know, rob Markman. You know how people got other hobbies. What's your other hobby that you like to do, rob Markman? Off season? Rob Markman, I like to shop.
Speaker 2:I'm a sneaker head. I got over a hundred pairs of tennis shoes. I got the shoe containers like how Caleb plant. But I've been collecting since high school. I wore the same size ever since I hit that growth spurt I went from nine and a half to 11 and a half, 12.
Speaker 3:Do you go to the shows and stuff like the sneaker conventions?
Speaker 2:Nah, I don't go there yet. I'm going to save it for later. Not right now. Right now I go to the resale stores. I'll buy the full five and a half shoes there, but you know what I'm saying.
Speaker 1:What's the rare shoe you got?
Speaker 2:What's the rare shoe you got? I got the galaxy phones.
Speaker 1:Oh, okay, oh no, oh wow, just a crazy, not the galaxy, I got.
Speaker 2:The big bangs I got. The black bottom ones, I got the black bottom.
Speaker 1:The crazy thing that you said that right last fight. Did you have foam boxing shoes on those foam posits?
Speaker 2:No, I had on. I think I had the black olive nines at the fight.
Speaker 1:Now, which one did you have the silver joints on? Oh, we talking about the shoes I fought in, yeah, when you were fighting, yeah those were like foam.
Speaker 2:Those were like foam posits boxing shoes.
Speaker 1:Yeah, that's what I was saying. I was going to ask you about those shoes too.
Speaker 2:Those are actual shoes, though I think it's called, like something, athletics or something like that.
Speaker 1:I thought they was like Nike foam pods. I thought they was really Nike foam pods.
Speaker 2:As I was like planning the whole fit together. They were Nike foam pods.
Speaker 1:That's what they were meant to be. You know what I'm saying? I like the shop.
Speaker 2:You know I like the. You know I feel you. I like to shop. You know I like to. You know I'm typically like I like to try new things. You know what I'm saying. But I don't like to be scared, you know what I'm saying. So it depends on who's driving. But I have been putting in like some. Like I went water, water, riverboat rafting when I was a teenager. I did not like that.
Speaker 3:You got no control. Yeah, I did not, I was like bro.
Speaker 2:yeah, I did not like that experience, but I like to travel on my free time. You know what I'm saying Go to restaurants, go eat. I like to hang out with friends on my free time and shit.
Speaker 3:Okay okay, it's so funny because the more fighters and stuff we interview, I idolize all of you, I'm jealous of all of you, everything you guys are all my heroes, whatever. And then I told you I'm like, oh, you're like a regular dude like me, man.
Speaker 2:Rob Markman. I'm chilling bro, I be chilling.
Speaker 3:Rob Markman, do you play basketball at all? Because I know Crawford.
Speaker 2:Yeah, I hoop. I hoop, I hoop.
Speaker 3:One-on-one? No, I haven't.
Speaker 2:I feel not getting the hooping because, you know, I got injured. I got in 2020, when I was in USC, I had a shoulder. I had to get my shoulders fixed for the whole 2020. I took the whole 2020 off and then I had to get my hand fixed. So, because of injuries you know what I'm saying I haven't been like I hoop, but I don't be like. I don't be like, oh, I'm going to hoop every day. It's like sometimes I'll be like I ain't hooping. You know what I'm saying. Majority of times it be like I'm not hooping, I can't hoop.
Speaker 1:I hoop, I hoop you go ahead. Who's the best hooper, bro? Yo, so let me hear you have to be dunking you like 5'10" Nah.
Speaker 2:I ain't dunking, I'm slashing. I'm slashing quarter threes and mid-rains, man Okay.
Speaker 1:I thought you would be dunking.
Speaker 3:You ever play. You all play together in BOMAC's camp when you're in those camps and stuff. I know when you have some downtime.
Speaker 2:We actually me, cora Keyshawn, all of us played like a few a month or two ago you were waxing. We ain't really, we ain't really. Nah, we ain't really been hooping like that. Okay, okay, used to hoop hella on Team USA, though all the time.
Speaker 3:I bet as you get older too, you get more serious. Basketball hurts, man Basketball hurts.
Speaker 2:Nah, it is, it is. It is. Basketball hurts man, those like basketball. It's like I ain't about to be sore tomorrow. You know what I'm saying it's crazy like I.
Speaker 3:I'll spar whatever you know we box. Whatever I'll spar, get my ass kicked whatever one full court game at la fitness. My hips are hurting my everything. It's weird. It's weird. But hey, man, I think that's all we got. You got anything else We'll let you go. Thank you for giving us the time as it is you gave us more than we even bargained for For sure.
Speaker 2:Definitely good vibes.
Speaker 3:For sure that's us. That's us Again. I want to apologize.
Speaker 1:You got any gems for the people that's probably watching?
Speaker 2:just started. You know I want to tell you to always. You know, stay humble. You know, never be big headed. You know what I'm saying. You can always learn in this sport. There's always a guy out there. You know what I'm saying. There's always a time where you're going to think you know it all. And one sparring session. You know a guy. You know, oh okay, I got to work on my shit. You know what I'm saying. So you know, don't never get too big headed. And you know, stay in the gym. You know boxing. You know it's everyday sports, it's an all year round sport. So you know what I'm saying. Ain't no off season in this game. So you know, stay in the gym. And you know, never get big-headed, never feel like. You know you learned everything.
Speaker 3:Yeah, okay, I got one more question and then I swear we'll let you go. I could talk this all day. So who is a fighter that maybe the public hasn't heard of yet? And I ask everyone this, but we should keep an eye out for like a name, Someone coming up, Maybe a sparring partner, Someone you got that we should.
Speaker 1:A nephew, a little cousin we should put it on the radar. Isley Jr, some shit.
Speaker 2:Marcus Luther man.
Speaker 3:Marcus Luther, marcus Luther.
Speaker 2:Marcus Luther.
Speaker 3:Write the name down what?
Speaker 2:weight. Is he Sharp Sharp? He's still amateur, he ain't turned pro, yet oh, not pro.
Speaker 3:Look out for him, marcus Luther. All right, marcus Luther.
Speaker 2:But hold on, If you're looking for a professional, that's my young amateur, but professional I mean Keon Davis.
Speaker 1:Yeah, yeah, yeah.
Speaker 2:Lester Martinez man, he got a big fight coming up.
Speaker 3:Watch out, if you fight an undefeated guy, look out for him, lester Martinez, and we actually met the Davis, all the Davis brothers. Okay, yeah, I'm going to mark that down and I'll keep my eyes peeled. Again, thank you for the time. Thank you.
Speaker 1:Appreciate you, man.
Speaker 3:If you hear anybody talking shit about that weird drunk guy with the spa in at MSG, let them know we're good vibes weird drunk guy with the spa in an msg.
Speaker 1:Let him know we're good vibes, we're just fans. Take care, all right thank you.
Speaker 3:So, oh, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait. Whoa, whoa, whoa. No, no, I got one more. How did you get the nickname the transformer? And then we'll close okay sorry, I meant to start with that so good, that's all good.
Speaker 2:Um, I used to uh, so yeah, like like how you say, now I don't talk a lot of trash and all that. So, um, then, then this before this, before all the muscles and all that came, uh, I was skinny. I was skinny and uh, it was overlooked. You know, I'm saying, and funny thing is, like like a month or two ago, uh, this is one of the guys that that was around when I first started. His name name's James, he called me. He called me like not too long ago he was like I remember you was in the gym, you used to cry and stuff, like that man.
Speaker 3:It was a rough start.
Speaker 2:I started when I was 11. I didn't fight until I was. I mean, I started when I was 8. I didn't fight until I was like 10, 11 years old. It was rough, yeah, yeah, yeah. So what's the name? K? This is around the time I had probably had like 10, 11 fights, but I was starting out with this one. I was like, coming out, I was looking sharp. You know what I'm saying? Hang with everything. I was looking sharp. So K had called James and was like man James, you need to see him.
Speaker 1:You need to see him.
Speaker 2:He'satti's going to get mad. You need to see him. He's sharp. James telling me I ain't no case of all this. James, like man, you need to come see him. Man, troy, man, he different, you need to come see him. But he gave me that name because how James was. Nobody thought I was going to do anything. I was always quiet. I'll be the best fight, I'll be the most exciting fight the whole night. Everybody oozing us, everybody coming up to me after the fight, kane was like we're going to call you the.
Speaker 1:Transformer. Nah, that's perfect. You came from a different demeanor.
Speaker 3:That's awesome and that is, I'm a big nickname guy. That is one of the cooler nicknames in the game. That's a fact. So again, troy, thank you so much for the time. Appreciate you, man. You got camp coming. Well, you're in camp now. Unfortunately, we won't be able to make it to Vegas. We would love to.
Speaker 2:I know you'd be tuned in for more support, so it's all good.
Speaker 3:Oh, definitely I got a damn wedding. My wife won't let me leave, so I got to go to this damn wedding, or else we would be there.
Speaker 1:But it's like. It's like six, seven weddings, no friends.
Speaker 3:No friends, weddings suck. No friends, I'm like, why even get married? No, that's a different podcast.
Speaker 2:That's a different time. I mean, that's experience.
Speaker 3:I want You're good man. I'm not saying get married, but I'm talking about going there. You know what I'm?
Speaker 2:saying Going to a wedding.
Speaker 1:You know what I'm saying he said, he said.
Speaker 2:But I understand what you're saying.
Speaker 3:I understand what you're saying, nah, it's good, it's good. I love my wife. She's going to listen to this and I'm going to have to box.
Speaker 1:Nah, he said nah nah.
Speaker 3:Troy again. Thank you so much, man, we appreciate it.
Speaker 2:Big fans yeah, definitely no problem bro, y'all definitely you know good vibes man.
Speaker 3:I definitely pull back up whenever Of course, and I promise man on everything I love, next time you're in New York we will be there ringside, no matter what, All right.
Speaker 2:For sure man Appreciate that.
Speaker 3:Take care man, All right.