22.03.05 – By Scoop Malinowski / Boxinginsider.com: Highly regarded WBA Junior Welterweight champ Vivian Harris has seen three of his mandatories back down from title shot opportunities. Yes, it is hard to believe but Miguel Cotto, Ricky Hatton and Floyd Mayweather were all WBA mandatories at one point yet they each elected to turn down a world title fight, presumably for easier, safer engagements.
That fact right there tells you just how good and how respected a champion Vivian Harris of New York via Guyana truly is. Here’s the latest from one of boxing’s most talented, dangerous and outspokenly fascinating world champions:
Scoop: In your opinion, has Floyd Mayweather shown you fear?
Harris: “Man, he showed me fear all the time, man. He is a pussy, that’s what Floyd is. He is a bitch, that’s what he is.”
Scoop: Eye to eye with him, has he shown you fear?
Harris: “Yeah, he showed me fear all the time when he see me. But the next time I see him I’m gonna make the world know it – that he’s scared of me. Because I…I ain’t gonna say it, but the world gonna know that he is scared of me.”
Scoop: You can tell by the way (cutting me off)…
Harris: “Yeah, just the way he moves, man. Just the way he acts. He can’t even look me in the eyes. Floyd is a baby, yo, for real.”
Scoop: You know you got him then?
Harris: “Yeah, he don’t wanna fight. He wanted to fight me before – and then when he see the tape between me and Jose Juarez in Vegas, he turned it down.”
Scoop: Why?
Harris: “You know, that was one of my toughest fights. Against Jose Juarez in Vegas. I was supposed to be the first fight he fight when he came up to 140. But after he watched the tape of me with Jose Juarez, he turned the fight down.”
Scoop: Why? What do you think he saw in that fight with Juarez?
Harris: “He saw the heart. And he saw that I bring pressure from round one to 12. That’s what he saw. And he saw that I’m always in shape. And I come to win. And I don’t care what happens, I HAVE TO WIN.”
Scoop: Floyd wants to fight Gatti.
Harris: “He wants to fight Arturo Gatti and he says he’s no good, he’s punchy. If he’s punchy, then why the fuck do you want to fight him?!”
Scoop: Good point. Though it’s a lot of money, but if you’re the pound for pound best fighter why fight a shot guy? Why not fight the best out there – like Hopkins, Trinidad, Morales do?
Harris: “Because he’s a bitch, man. A piece of shit. That’s what the dude is.”
Scoop: Any progress in getting any other big fights?
Harris: “Yeah, right now I’m trying to promote me and Miguel Cotto fight. June 11 at Madison Square Garden. I’m hoping he takes the fight and let the fans have a good fight.”
Scoop: But you know Bob Arum needs to protect his meal ticket. Is Arum showing signs of making this fight?
Harris: “He showed a sign by lying. And say he made me an offer and I priced myself out. He didn’t make an offer to me. By just saying that I’m here to say that I will take whatever to make the fight for the fans and everybody to see a great fight. And make June a great month for the junior welterweight division.”
Scoop: WIll you take a lower type offer like Zab did with Spinks?
Harris: “I will fight Cotto for $50,000.”
Scoop: Wow. Did I hear that right? Are you serious?
Harris: “I will fight Cotto for $50,000.”
Scoop: I just remembered something. Back to Floyd. He said in an interview recently that he never heard of you.
Harris: “Yeah, because he’s a piece of shit that’s why. That’s why I’m kinda mad at the reporters, they come at me with Floyd, when they interview Floyd they ask Floyd about Vivian Harris and he makes a statement that he don’t know Vivian Harris – they’re supposed to discipline him right there. And let him know who Vivian Harris is. And put him on blast. And let him know that he knows Vivian Harris and that sounds like you afraid of Vivian Harris. Because he was Vivian Harris’ mandatory and you a world class fighter, you’re supposed to know all the world class fighters. And you’re supposed to know all the champions.”
Scoop: But we all know Floyd is lying and he knows who you are.
Harris: “Exactly. But that was just kinda like a rapper talk. I don’t know what that guy is, like try to diss me. But he not dissing me. Cuz that don’t hurt me. What’s gonna hurt me is if he don’t have a fight. Cuz I want to show the world Floyd is not the fighter they think he is.”
Scoop: By him talking like that it seems like he may never fight you, he’s saying Gatti next, then maybe Oscar…
Harris: “Yeah, he’s thinking business right now. He thinks if he loses to Oscar he’ll make six million. He knows he’s not gonna beat Oscar.”
Scoop: You have no doubt you’ll beat him do you?
Harris: “Yeah, definitely. Mayweather is no fighter I watch back in the days. Nobody. Just a peice of shit that HBO and his promoters promoted well. That’s all.”
Scoop: How do you see a fight with Floyd going?
Harris: “I see me knocking him out. Easy. He’d be an easy, easy fight. Easy. Very easy.”
Scoop: Really? He’s a heckuva talent.
Harris: “Very easy. I’ve been in awkward fights, like Urkal in Germany. Floyd’s never been in predicaments like that. Only great fight he had is when he fought Diego Corrales. And Diego Corrales had problems with his wife, he was about to go to jail. If Diego Corrales didn’t have those problems, he’d have never beat Diego Corrales.”