By Liam Santiago: Pride of Sunderland, Tony ‘Jaffa’ Jeffries (3-0, 3ko’s), is constantly proving himself to be one of Britain’s best boxing prospects around today. His July 10th stunning first round knock-out, over tough prospect Llya Shakuro (2-1, 1 KO’s) shown what type of fighter we have here. If you’ve never seen Jeffries, let me tell you, he can bang. However, he also has tremendous boxing ability which he proved by winning bronze at the Beijing Olympics. I interviewed Tony over the internet, below are the questions he answered.
Jaffa has got to be the most down to earth, genuine guy in any sport. He has time for everyone and boxing fans love him. You wont find a guy anywhere with a bad word to say about Jaffa unless they have some sort of personality disorder. This was what really struck me about him. It’s no wonder he’s the biggest attraction in Sunderland. All in all, Tony is a promoters dream. He’s got the talent, dedication and a very big fan base already. Obviously he gets compared with the other 5 olympians who turned pro and to watch each of them, you have to admit that either Jeffries or young Billy-Joe has accustomed the pro ranks the quickest. They just seems that bit more comfortable in the pro’s than the others. Certain boxers can’t adapt easily from the amateurs to the pro’s but Tony isn’t one of them.
These are the questions Tony answered :
Q. What got you into boxing?
A. My uncle was a pro boxer. His Dad, my Grandad, took me to a gym when I was 10. Since then my Dad took me to the gym and helped me in every way he could.
Q. Can you talk about training and your next plans?
A. I train in Manchester 5 -6 times a week and am back home Sunderland at weekends. I train with Bobby Rimmer, doing 2-3 sessions a day, one of them running. I think my next fight will be in October, I’m hoping they have it back up in the North-East but nothing has been said about that yet.
Q. How do you feel you are settling into the pro ranks?
A. I think I’m settling in great, I’m much preferring this to the amateur days. Getting one on one training is the best thing about it. Also, 3 wins, 3 knock outs isn’t a bad start even though I know I haven’t been boxing the best opponents in the world.
Q. You were an outstanding amateur, does the pressure that comes from being an Olympian ever get to you?
A. I do feel the pressure. I think being an Olympian and having all my fights live on sky brings pressure. Sometimes it feels like there’s loads of people waiting for the first Olympian to make a mistake, that adds a bit. But I try not to think about it too much.
Q. Many boxing brains think you look the most promising of all the Olympians, is there a competitive aspect there?
A. Do they? Haha. I think with Warren’s three (Degale, Saunders and Gavin) there is a competitive streak for who looks the best and that. And each of them wants to shine more than the other two. But, with the rest of us, me, Sutherland and big Pricey, we just want everyone to do well and think about ourselves.
Q. Who do you think is the best boxer fighting today (bar Mayweather)?
A. Its got to be Manny. But on these shores I think it has to be Jamie Moore, Carl Froch and David Haye.
Q. Best fighter ever?
A. Roy Jones Jnr in his day.
Q. If Pacquiao vs Mayweather ever happens, who would you put your money on?
A. I wouldn’t like to bet on this, but if I had to I’d say the Pac-man.
On behalf of Boxingnews24, I’d like to thank Tony for completing this interview and wish him luck for his next fight.
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