Photo: Tom Casino/Showtime

By Ed Ludwig

05.02 - I had the pleasure of speaking with the current WBO Jr. Welterweight Champion DeMarcus "Chop Chop" Corley. Coming off an impressive win over Randall Bailey last month Corley brought his record to 28-1-1 with 16 KO's and now he is looking forward to a possible showdown with number one contender Ricky Hatton and undisputed champion Kostya Tszyu in the very near future. I would like to thank DeMarcus Corley for taking the time to speak with Eastside Boxing.

Ed Ludwig: Congratulations on your recent victory over Randall Bailey. It was an impressive and dominating performance. What were your expectations going into the fight?

DeMarcus Corley: Well not taking anything from Randall, he's one of the most dangerous fighters in the division and he can knock you out with either punch, his left hand or his right hand so I went in there and fought a smart fight.

EL: My interview with Sharmba Mitchell last month ruffled a few feathers with some people in regards to some of the comments he made. When I brought up possible opponents your name came up and he said that you are a "b" level fighter and the equivalent of jr. varsity and not worth going after. What was your reaction when you read his comments?

DC: Not talking negative or bad about Sharmba but we don't like each other, that's point blank. He may say that I am a "b" class fighter but I know that I am a world-class fighter. The truth will come out when we get in the ring and I'll show him that he can't beat me.

EL: Do you believe that Sharmba views you as a big risk with little reward?

DC: It is a big risk for him because he knows that he's taking a chance. For him to lose to a fighter from his area, Maryland, DC, and Virginia would not be good so he will find any excuse to get out of the fight. He may say that his knee is bothering him again and that he was not 100%.

EL: Has Sharmba made it personal with what he has said or do you pay little attention to what other people say?

DC: I pay little attention to what is said but it is personal between Sharmba and I because he's talked about my underwear preference. He says I'm gay because I like Victoria Secret underwear. Women wear them so why can't men wear them? Sharmba made it personal when he made those comments.

EL: In my opinion there seems to be many fighters in the upper echelon of the Jr. Welterweight division that have launched numerous verbal attacks on each other. Do you think this has to do with Kostya Tszyu being the undisputed champion and potential opponents are doing what they can to create some hype and possibly land a title shot?

DC: Maybe to a certain degree but you can't take anything away from Kostya Tszyu as he is the world champion and he can choose whom to fight. Fighters can use the press to create and build the hype but Kostya Tszyu will choose someone who is worthy.

EL: I asked Sharmba this question and now I will ask you, titles aside, who would you like to fight and why?

DC: Zab Judah. We came up in the amateurs together and we were both in the Golden Gloves in 1995 and I won it. It would have been a great fight seeing two southpaws go at it.

EL: Is fighting a southpaw anymore difficult for you then an orthodox fighter?

DC: I fight a southpaw better and why you ask? It's because I'm fighting myself and me going against myself I know exactly what I am going to do and how I am going to do it. Coming from the opposite view I already see it coming and it would be much easier.

EL: What is next for you after defeating Randall Bailey?

DC: We are back in the gym training right now getting ready for whomever they want me to fight next. My mandatory is Ricky Hatton and he does not want to fight me and he is set to square off against Vince Phillips. We will see which fighter is at number two and find out if they want to take the fight. Right now I don't care who I fight. I just want to defend my title.

EL: Assuming you and Ricky Hatton do meet down the road would you rather fight him in England or at home since you are the champion?

DC: I would love to go to England to defeat Ricky Hatton because it would establish a lot of background for me therefore saying that I came to his hometown and beat him instead of him coming over here and beating him. Beating him in England will help me build my fan-base.

EL: For the boxing fans that are not yet familiar with DeMarcus "Chop Chop" Corley what can you tell them?

DC: I would like to tell them that I am a well-spoken fighter and I look forward to doing a lot of things in the community with kids. I will be working on some things towards the end of this year like child development centers.

EL: What is the story behind your nickname "Chop Chop"?

DC: I went out of town for the Silver Gloves tournament and I was about ten or eleven years old and I weighed about sixty- five pounds. I went out to eat and came back weighing seventy-five pounds and my trainer told me "you chop that food up and I'm going to call you Chop Chop". He also said that I would move up to the seventy-five pound class and chop up my opponents. Ever since then the nickname stuck with me. I'm going to keep chopping away until I get all the belts around my waist.

EL: Can you tell me about your amateur career and the fight with Fernando Vargas at the Olympic festival?

DC: I had a great amateur career. I had a hundred nineteen fights and I won over a hundred of them. Fernando and I fought in 1995 at the Olympic festival. It was my first time in a US open tournament like that. It was at a very high altitude in Colorado and I thought I did great. No one expected me to go and box Fernando. For me to go three rounds with the guy who won the last three years straight was an accomplishment. He was number one in the world and I was just a guy coming from nowhere. Everyone thought I would get stopped and that's all it boiled down too. I watched the tape several times and I thought I did well against a world-class amateur fighter.

EL: Since Vargas' loss to Felix Trinidad his career seems to be on a downward spiral and after the loss to Oscar De La Hoya and the subsequent steroid scandal his future looks to be in limbo. Does he have what it takes to come back or are his best days behind him?

DC: I think Fernando has what it takes to come back. He is a great fighter. He just needs some time to get back into great shape and I'm sure he will do well.

EL: Many boxers over the years have fallen from grace and a lot of it has to do with whom they associate themselves with. Are you careful with the people you associate with?

DC: Yes, I am very careful. When you see me at a function you will see my managers with me. I'm never at a fight without my managers because when you are all alone it gives other people a chance to get at you and you can't protect yourself. I know people will say that I'm a grown man and that I don't need protection but your managers have your best interests at hand when you are out there in the media spotlight. They can protect you better than you can protect yourself. My friends, I distance myself from a lot of them because they are my friends now because of who and what I am. I have two or three close friends that I call true friends that were there before my career took off. If they need me tomorrow I'll still be there for them.

EL: What is the duration of your training camp or does it vary with each opponent?

DC: My training camp is not based on any particular opponent and I train from six to nine weeks. I don't like the cold so I prefer to go where it's warm. I train hard and I have a great trainer and I actually think he is one of the best. His name is Bernard Roach. He has not been recognized yet but I think he will get the recognition after I beat Kostya Tszyu.

EL: What did you think about Vernon Forrest's shocking loss to Ricardo Mayorga?

DC: I was stunned. I couldn't believe it. We were in Atlantic City at Sharmba's fight and after that was over I was having dinner and we made a couple of phone calls to see what happened in the fight and the word was that he got knocked out and I thought no way. I made a couple more calls to find out and it was true, a third round knock out. When I got home the next day I watched the tape and Vernon fought the wrong fight. He tried to show Ricardo that he was just as strong when he could have just boxed him for twelve rounds and beat him by unanimous decision. Vernon lost his cool when he got knocked down in the first. To me it looked more like a slip but I understand how he feels because I got knocked down in my only loss. When I lost, the punch went off my shoulder then our feet tangled and I went down. I got right back up but it was scored a knockdown and I lost by a ten round split decision. I was USBA champion at the time and fighting in Danny Lujan's hometown.

EL: Do you study videotapes of your opponents or do you leave that up to your trainers?

DC: I leave it up to my trainers but I might watch a couple of rounds. I don't really watch much because when I get in the ring I make the adjustments that I need to make for that fight and during training my trainer will prepare me for the things my opponent will do so I don't worry much about watching fight tapes. I have one fight of Ricky Hatton on tape and I watched it and I said to myself that I don't need to be watching. That's my trainers job, watch and study it and when we get to the gym he will let me know what we have to work on to beat this fighter.

EL: Let's say that Kostya Tszyu squares off against Ricky Hatton and Sharmba Mitchell goes up against Zab Judah what do you think the outcome would be?

DC: If Tszyu vs. Hatton were to take place then Tszyu would knock Hatton out. That's a man fighting a boy. Sharmba will beat Zab because of his experience and he will take him into deep water and drown him.

EL: Do you have any trouble making weight?

DC: No, not at all. I'm happy where I am. I will never move up. If I go anywhere it will be down to 135. My walk around weight when I'm not training is about 146 or 147. When I was in camp getting ready for Randall Bailey my weight was around 137 to 142 and I was under weight. If Floyd Mayweather would fight me then I would move down to fight him if he doesn't hurry and move up. I really hope that he does move up so we can fight.

EL: Do you have anything you would like to say to Sharmba Mitchell?

DC: Just let Sharmba know that he can't whoop me and when it all boils down and if we ever get in the ring the truth will be told. I will beat him. What will he say then?

EL: Anything you would like to say to your fans?

DC: Look forward to my next outing because it will be a bang and thank you for the support. I wanted to mention that we are working on making EA Sports Knockout Kings 2004.

EL: Thanks for taking the time to speak with Eastside Boxing.

DC: Thank you, Ed.

Questions or comments: ed.ludwig@eastsideboxing.com