During this conversation with Fight Hub, former junior welterweight titleholder Maurice Hooker discusses tomorrow’s fight against Vergil Ortiz and why he believes in his chances despite most favoring Ortiz to win.
Hooker on how anxious he is to get in the ring with Ortiz
“I real anxious, man. I’m ready to get in there and show the world why I’m still one of the best in the world.”
On once again coming into a fight as the underdog
“I’m okay with it. I’m cool. That mean everybody overlooking me. So come Saturday night I’ma show them. I mean, even when I had the world title I fought Alex Saucedo, I was the underdog and I had the world title. So I’m prepared for this, I’m ready to go in there and upset a lot of people.”
On how he feels fighting at welterweight
“It feels good. Everything coming along and I just go out Saturday and do what I do and have fun with it.”
On training with Brian McIntryre
“I mean, with a new team we’re training hard, pushing everyday. We just gonna be the best in the world so we’re gonna be ready Saturday.”
On how much help it was training alongside Terence Crawford
“He stopped by, we talked. I’m not big on posting stuff like that (on social media). We talked, we sparred, we trained, conditioning — we did everything together. But we just talked about what to do, what not to do.”
On what advantages he thinks he has in the fight
“My skills, my height, everything. I think I have all the advantages. Come Saturday I just gotta be me, be smart, and have fun.”