Exclusive Interview with James “The Colossus” Thompson—Part One

Normally I don't like to inject myself, so to speak, into my articles. I like to report. I don’t like to use the words "I", "I’m", "I am", "In my opinion", etc...this is a different situation; however, and I hope you are able to tolerate the seemingly personal nature of this interview.

Over the course of about five days, I spoke to James Thompson three times.

Each conversation was longer than the last and I was able to really dig into this man, his career, and the many controversial events that have transpired within it. I also discussed his background, his personal interests, and what his childhood was like etc...

It took quite a while for me to put this together—largely because I had many conflicting statements to deal with and he seemed to change his feelings about this or that in each conversation. He really and truly is a very well spoken individual with a large vocabulary and he is obviously a sharp guy. That aside…lets just say we all have our problems.

I hope you enjoy this interview, it was a lot of work, but worth it.

Marco:

Well it is nice to finally get a chance to talk to you James.

James:

It's my pleasure, I enjoy interviews.

Marco:

Well I am glad to hear that because this one should be a lot of fun and I hope, enjoyable for you.

I think we should start with your childhood—I know that we talked about that a couple of nights ago, but this being our final chat for awhile—I mean you can call me anytime that’s fine by me, but in terms of this interview I'll be wrapping things up tonight and asking some of the more poignant questions as you might have expected.

James:

Yes, I think you have worn me down a bit, you are very persistent. Please ask whatever is on your mind.

Marco:

Well as I said we should start with your childhood, what was it like growing up for you? I mean—in 500 words or less that is.

James:

Yes, very funny you are. Really though I didn’t have that bad of a growing up. I had my mum and she always supported me. My father wasn’t around much and he did have a tendency to be very strict and discipline was harsh.

Marco:

Harsh? You mean violent?

James:

Yes, something like that. Its not something I really want to talk about—I would rather focus on my fighting career. It doesn’t bring up good feelings and I don’t like to feel bad on purpose. In some ways my growing up was good and in some it was not. That’s how it is for most people isn’t it? I will say that I was kind of a loner as a child and I very much enjoyed reading.

Marco:

Really, what are your favorite books?

James:

I’m not sure people care about that, but I did enjoy The original Chronicles Of Narnia series, A Wrinkle In Time—which fascinated me, and of course The Lord of the Rings.

Marco:

We have that in common James. I read all of those and really liked them.

Were you a bully or a nerd then?

James:

Well I was a bit of a nerd I suppose, but perhaps one that you didn’t want to bother. I was very good at sports, and I grew almost every day.

Marco:

When you became an adolescent—did things change in your life at home?

James:

…Well yes of course. I seemed to grow exponentially and I was very good at sports. Every year I was bigger and bigger. I began to lift and that’s when I really became the large man I am today. I have been the same size since I was about 19-years-old.

Being that large and having a penchant for trouble because I didn’t like to be at home anymore. My father sipped the whisky quite a bit you know…he seemed to get worse all the time. Even with my mother there, I could not take it. She was worn down too. I didn’t want to be a burden upon her and I wanted to help at the same time. She had always been so good to me.

Marco:

So what did you do to help out? Get a job? Something else maybe?

James:

Quick to the chase it seems. It doesn’t matter though, the truth is I did some things I am not proud of and will also never admit to.

Marco:

Didn’t you just do that?

James:

Well yes I suppose I did. I don’t really care it's no secret that I have had a questionable past. The point is, I regret the bad side of what I did but at the time I needed money. I needed it for myself and for my mother. What can I say, I took the money and did my job.

Marco:

Bas Rutten said you were a “debt collector”. Ever break any thumbs?

James:

One or two. The point is that all that is behind me now. It was a long time ago. I saw a UFC show and it really made me want to fight. I knew I was going to fight in a cage from that day forward.

Part of the problems I have had in the ring have to do with my lack of a professional training camp for most of my career. I did not have a true team to help me, until I joined Extreme Couture last year.

Marco:

What happened with that association? I got an email from them saying they hadn’t seen you for months and didn’t have a clue where you were. The next day I get an email from Randy saying a friend of yours came into the gym and left your contact information for me to use in order to perform this interview.

James:

I lost that’s what happened. Really I cant say anything else, it was very unfortunate. Jim York put me to sleep and sent me back to the UK.

It is very frustrating when you felt at one point that you had a lot of momentum going.

My Problems started after I beat Yoshida. I thought I was going to pull off a string of victories after that fight. I was very optimistic you know. Unfortunately I was tossed a bomb when the ref for my Butterbean fight stopped that contest. It is the only time I ever wanted to hit a ref, well except after the Kimbo fight perhaps.

Marco:

What about the Brett Rogers Fight and Neil Grove?

James:

Look I really feel that I could have won those fights. I know I can win those fights. If I was to fight Brock Lesnar I would not be expected to win you know, but against those two it could have gone either way. I go for it and I am not afraid to get hit—see I think a lot of fighters, maybe even Brock Lesnar as great as he obviously is, might not enjoy what I like to call the Don Frye Experience.

Marco: 

You don’t think Brock could handle a facial barrage?

James:

He is a very strong man. I would not underestimate his power and speed. Still, until his chin is tested, how will we ever know?

Marco:

Good point. Let me ask you about the Fujita fight.

Everyone I have spoken to that saw that fight thought you performed extremely well and had him shaking. A little more gas in the tank and maybe you win that fight no?

James:

See I don’t want to make excuses, but once again I did not have a professional camp and it is extremely difficult to train and do all the paperwork (visa applications and such) by myself. I had no support system. If I had professional trainers I would have defeated Fujita. He is a great fighter, but I think that I am just enough better to finish that one.

Marco:

Well that’s hard to debate—you seemed to have him beat several times, but you just couldn’t get that one shot that Fujita seemed to find. Have you examined your striking technique? If so what are your conclusions?

James: Yes, well don't forget Fujita has a very hard head and it is not easy to put him away. My striking needs work I am aware of this. I don't seem to deliver the power a person of my size should be able to generate. I know the reason, but I cannot seem to break certain bad habits.

Marco:

Such as?

James:

You claim to have seen the fights over and over so what do you think the reason is?

Marco:

Me? Are you serious? Ok.

I think the problem is you don’t use your hips. You fail to generate power because you don’t use your legs and body to swivel as you deliver a shot. Watch Fedor—he is not as big as you are, but when he swing he swings with his whole body. That’s what makes him so devastating and that’s what I think you seem to have trouble with...well just my humble opinion of course.

James:

Yes, well perhaps that was an error on my part, but unfortunately you are correct. I swing with my arms and not my body, but I have been working on that quite a bit over the past six months. My power has been measured and let me just say that I have more than doubled the amount of pressure I strike with. It is really amazing what you can do with a few pounds and some technology.

Marco:

Doubled? So I’m going to guess you are hitting for about 1,200 psi in that case. That’s an incredible number—is that what it is?

James:

I’m not going to say but it is over 1,000, yes.

Marco:

So let me move on now and get into the nitty gritty as it were. There has been a lot of speculation in many expert MMA circles that you in fact tossed that fight with Kimbo Slice at the instruction of his manager/promoter. Is that true? Were you paid money to go easy on Kimbo?

James:  

Well...

Stay tuned for Part Two and the revealing answers to that question and much more.