The 15 Most Ridiculous Interviews in Boxing History

Al Bello/Getty Images

It's been a while since I last fished around for the standout ridiculous interviews boxing has to offer. 

There are the usual staples: Evander "Real Deal" Holyfield spouting off on any subject, Roy Jones Jr. belligerent and vainglorious with the rise of his career, or Mike Tyson turning the post-fight rant into an art form.

Of course Floyd Mayweather Jr. steps up to the plate now and then. Naseem Hamed's mildly disturbing quasi-ladyboy come-ons with boxing announcers. Larry Merchant's reactions to some of these interviews are sometimes more priceless than anything that's been said. 

Unless the person spewing venom or setting the world straight on god-knows-what-issue happens to be James Toney. 

James Toney as a post-fight presence is to my adulthood what the Cookie Monster represented to my childhood: joy. 

There's even a few obscure ones rounded up in this new list I've never seen before.

As was famously once said post-fight by one of our perennial all-stars: "WHO NECKS!"

Roy Jones Puts Things in Perspective

If you've ever been to a fight where Roy Jones Jr. is calling the fight or giving interviews beforehand, one of the glaringly strange (and kinda sad) things you can't help but notice is just how continually bored he looks. He yawns constantly. Several times a minute. He seems incapable of paying attention to anything. 

And just when you find that sorta stuff disheartening, given he's dedicated his life to this sport, so presumably he'd have some interest in the comings and goings, something does reach him with one match or another he tries to put words to it. 

Whatever could be said about Roy Jones Jr.'s ability being perhaps the best boxing has ever seen, there is no question in my mind his real genius lies in just how utterly uncharismatic he is discussing anything. 

Here he looks back at one of the defining moments of his life when he was robbed at the Olympics in contrast to the robbery Lennox Lewis faced against Holyfield. 

It's roughly as compelling as a hubcap. 

"BASH YOU! KNOCK YOU! OUUUUT!"

What we discovered with this curious specimen is another demonstration of genius unearthed in the context of an interview: of course I'm talking about anyone within earshot of "BASH YOU! KNOCK YOU! OUUUUT!" retaining complete composure. 

All kinds of uncomfortable questions arise as you watch this. Why do I feel sorry for that menacing tirade having gone absolutely no where? Where did that come from?

How did a man like this, who seems about as dangerous as Winnie the Pooh, find himself drawn into boxing? 

Did He Just Finish a Boxing Match?

Naseem Hamed, for my money, is the creepiest fighter who ever lived. Is it something in the ornate, really bizarre entrances or the postfight interviews with that lurid glare he seems to be casting everywhere? Hard to choose.  

Then again, there's something about him that constantly seems to act as if he's auditioning for a career in a porn that's mildly unsettling.  

Naseem Hamed is to boxing what "Goldust" was to professional wrestling: a reasonably enough compelling character on several levels that always left an audience a little unsure what exactly was going on. 

But of course it's always fun to watch Larry Merchant give it a try. 

Jim Gray vs. Mike Tyson

Put it this way: The Simpsons made a recurring character out of Mike Tyson and not Michael Jackson. Think about how many characters out in the culture have a place in The Simpsons pantheon, rather than a walk-on role. That's how big Tyson was.

That's how compelling a character Mike Tyson constructed out of outlandishly fun, ridiculous interviews like these. 

What an act. If he were writing for a film, it would've won an Oscar. Instead, he lived it. 

Am I the Most Boring Person in the Universe?

After the greatest performance of his career up to that point, Jones shows us where his true genius lies: the least compelling interview of all time. Think nobody could touch him in the ring? It's nothing compared to what Jones was capable of with a microphone. 

From his posing, dancing, calling out opponents, rapping, praising God, giving props to Pensacola, reasserting the pound-for-pound, to his inability to listen to two words without looking noxious. 

All of this made me swear to myself I'd never feel bad when a beating came to him. 

But I still did. 

Lennox Lewis vs. Larry Merchant

It's the context of this interview as much as anything that makes it a little special.

Lennox Lewis, for the first time in his career, was losing a fight (forget the two lucky punches that dropped him in his career). Klitschko was giving Lewis the fight of his career. They were having a thrilling match with both men repeatedly hurt in the fight, and suddenly the fight was stopped due to Klitschko's cuts. 

Lewis' pride in the post-fight interview comes to the forefront with Larry Merchant as fans clearly supported Vitali in the fight and his determination to keep fighting. 

It's the annoyance Lewis has for Larry Merchant in the exchange that supplies all the fun here. 

"WHO NECKS!"

Perhaps the greatest postfight sound bite ever heard. 

I dare you to attempt to have a dispute with the self-proclaimed undisputed heavyweight champion of the world.

Maybe the best moment of the whole thing is Jim Lampley's appraisal at the end. 

Larry Merchant vs. Floyd Mayweather Jr.

Have a gander at Victor Ortiz's antics post-fight, just before Floyd engages Larry Merchant. Nice cozy little peck on the cheek, grabs his hand. Floyd beams with the exchange. 

If you didn't know any better, you'd think Victor Ortiz not only couldn't care less that he'd just allowed himself through his own stupidity to be brutally sucker-punched out of consciousness, but that he was delighted for the opportunity to taste the leather of Floyd's gloves. 

Then Merchant goes to town with some reasonable questions given the circumstances. Floyd doesn't especially appreciate the line of questioning and some fun ensues given that Floyd meets more resistance against the 80-year-old Larry Merchant than he ever faced against Ortiz. 

Brian Kenny vs. Floyd Mayweather

Brian Kenny, in this remarkable exchange with Floyd Mayweather, sets the tone from the get-go by introducing Floyd as the former pound-for-pound champion given his retirement. 

Floyd proceeds to defend that he remains the best pound-for-pound fighter with the argument he's never been defeated (brow furrowed for emphasis). 

As soon as Oscar De La Hoya's name gets dropped as the real money star of boxing, Floyd opens up against Kenny while Kenny steps up to the challenge and goes toe-to-toe with Floyd over his career. 

One of the more interesting interviews Floyd has ever engaged in. 

Floyd tries to touch on all the usual talking points while Kenny erupts and confronts him on what they have to do in relation to the questions he's asked. 

Plenty of fun to sit back and enjoy the antics by both. 

Floyd Mayweather vs. Rugged Man

Rugged Man puts on a clinic in this classic exchange with Floyd Mayweather Jr. where he lauds Floyd's early career while lampooning the latter stages. 

"When you gonna fight someone your own size?" Rugged Man gets started. 

In under a minute, Floyd's off and shouting his defense. 

Rugged Man never flinches in keeping up the offensive. It's an interesting exchange since Rugged Man obviously admired Floyd a great deal early on in his career and can't be dismissed as your average Floyd hater. This only seems to agitate Floyd more. 

James Toney vs. Larry Merchant

James Toney, one of the all-time great fighters (who Freddie Roach told me was, in his opinion, the most naturally gifted fighter who ever lived), puts on his display his interviewing chops against Larry Merchant. 

Toney is flat-out masterful with his antics, calm and amused, always goofy. 

His shout out to Burger King along with telling Don King to kiss his ass, gives you some idea as to the merits of one of the great interview subjects in the history of boxing.  

Ricardo Mayorga Highlight Reel

Don't even waste time with anything I could articulate about this man. Nothing that could be said about him holds a candle to the kind of displays he put on pre- and postfight. 

A legend. Watch and enjoy. 

The All-Time Most Pathetic Attempt at a Rivalry Between Bowe and Lewis

While the exchange has all the drama of depositing bus fare or flicking on a light switch, the context offers a remarkable contrast. 

Lennox Lewis had knocked Riddick Bowe out during the Olympics to win gold. Bowe, throughout his professional career, ducked facing Lewis. 

Here the two square off before a televised audience and make the most pathetic attempt ever record to stir up interest in the fight that never happened. 

Given that Riddick Bowe hailed from Brownsville, the same dungeon of poverty from which Mike Tyson emerged, this was the best trash talking he could come up with in support of a revenge mega-fight against Lewis?

Apparently it was.

MACHO TIME!

"Macho" Camacho granted an interview just prior to his fight against Julio Cesar Chavez back in 1992. 

Camacho's coked-up antics go well with whatever it is he's wearing. 

"Macho time" is the real jewel of a nonsequitur Camacho uses to explain seemingly everything. 

The Greatest Interview Subject of All Time!

You knew it was coming. 

Has God ever found a more gifted orator than the "real deal" to sing his praises? Doubtful. 

Incidentally, this stirring speech alone was said to have been solely responsible for the impregnation leading to three of Holyfield's illegitimate children. 

The "only true God" does indeed work in mysterious ways. 

For added enjoyment, watch this interview while watching Holyfield's trainer's face over his shoulder. 

Classic.