Interview with Rayco "War" Saunders - "I'm chasing Glen Johnson, That's my dream fight"

Interview with Rayco "War" Saunders - "I'm chasing Glen Johnson, That's my dream fight"

By Brian Gorman, Doghouse Boxing (May 27, 2010) Doghouse Boxing

After his eighth round TKO win over Bruce Rumbolz on Friday night, Rayco “War” Saunders sat down with Brian Gorman to discuss the fight and his future plans in the light heavyweight division.

Brian Gorman: Terrific performance (in an eighth round TKO win over Bruce Rumbolz Friday, May 21 at the Monroeville Convention Center, east of Pittsburgh). You have to be pleased. Is there anything that you're not pleased with?

Rayco Saunders: No, I'm actually pleased with the fight. I wanted to put on a good show for the people.  This was my first promotion, Rayco War Promotions, and I think it was a successful show. The people were happy, and I think they'll be looking for the next one and hungry for the next one.

BG: The (Andres) Taylor (and Chris Thomas) fight was a pretty good scrap. Were you aware of that?

RS: I watched some of the first round, but I couldn't enjoy it like I wanted to enjoy it because I had to get ready for my fight.

BG: You knocked him down with a left to the body in the fourth round, and you hit him with a left to the body about ten seconds before that. Were you aware you hurt him with the first one?

RS: Oh yeah, you can feel that; there's nothing like a body shot. You don't feel head shots so much when you hit a guy because the head is the hardest thing on the body.

BG:  It looked like there was a big difference in power between you and him. Could you tell that? His shots looked a lot lighter, and your shots looked a lot heavier on him.

RS: Yeah. This is the first fight I trained to be stronger. I just felt that in previous fights I was just lacking something, I was missing something. But in this fight I trained for power.

BG: Were you going for the knockout in the eighth round or just seeing if it would come?

RS: Yeah, a lot of credit to the ref Rick Steigerwald. When he was taking shots, Rick kept telling him "protect yourself, protect yourself." You can't just lie on the ropes and get punished, and they told us that in the back (before the fight). So every time I put more and more punishment on him, Rick kept saying "protect yourself." He saw me hitting him with the shots that you all saw me hitting him with.

BG: Were you aware going into the last round that it was basically a shutout?

RS: Yes. My corner was telling me, "I can't tell you nothing, you're boxing beautiful." My (trainer) Rick Manning said, "Put pressure on him, you'll get the stoppage."

BG: So what's next for you?

RS: We'll sit down with Doubletree (Hotel) in Monroeville (with the Convention Center). They did a great job as you can see, for my first promotion, and hopefully we'll be back here in July. But we're doing something June 10. Andres Taylor was the co-main event on this show, so I'm going to play co-main event to Andres Taylor June 10 in Johnstown. (Opponents have not yet been finalized.)

BG: It seems like a really nice venue here. Are you pleased with how it all came together?

RS: Yeah, it's definitely a beautiful thing out here. I couldn't enjoy it like you all enjoyed it. The Doubletree did a tremendous job, as you can see. They worked with me, and hopefully they'll work with me some more.

BG:  I heard you say you had somebody who was your dream fight. Who is that?

RS: Glen Johnson (the former world light heavyweight champion - 2004's Fighter of the Year). I'm chasing Glen Johnson. That's my dream fight, win, lose or draw. I just have so much respect for this guy and the way he fights, the way he brings it. I think that a toe-to-toe fighter like myself, that brings out the best in me. Bruce backpedaled a little bit tonight, but when he stopped backpedaling, that's when you all got excited, because that's when I like it. I can countershoot the countershooter. Glen Johnson, we know what he is.

BG: Johnson's supposed to fight (IBF light heavyweight champ Tavoris) Cloud. You want him win or lose?

RS: Oh yeah. Win or lose, I'd like Glen Johnson. I've been watching Glen for a long time, and he's a hell of a fighter. He'll go toe-to-toe, and that brings out the best in me and my style.

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Questions / Comments, E-mail Brian at: steelcityfighters@yahoo.com

For much more from Brian, visit: www.steelcityfighters.com/.

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