13.03.07 – By Izyaslav “Slava” Koza: One of the biggest and worst misconceptions currently regarding women’s boxing is that Laila Ali represents its true face. This is of course mostly due to the fact that the name Ali carries into the ring was made way before she put on a pair of gloves. Jealousy, sensationalism, and bias, aside, as a true fan hearing that Laila Ali is the best female fighter in the world in the mainstream media and seeing her take that spotlight away from more deserving boxers angers me as I am sure it does most fans.
I would bet that not more then five lazy fight fans here in the USA who say Ali is the best, know the name of her last opponent, who she conveniently faced off against in Africa. While they can surely find out in order to spite me, I can guarantee that almost any fan I ask, who her father Muhammed Ali fought in the Rumble in the Jungle, will effortlessly say George Foreman without having to look it up.
41-year-old Lyde, and seemingly washed up and small, Christy Martin, just won’t do. The one name, the one opponent, that keeps resounding on the lips of fans, including myself, and insiders of the game, and the number one reason why this interview was made, is “Anne Wolfe.” If Laila Ali quits now, that name will linger behind, mocking her and piercing her pride. When her father left the ring, was there really any fighter he didn’t fight even in defeat?
Until that fight happens, as it should, there is no reason not to consider Anne Wolfe the true representative of women’s boxing. Anybody who doesn’t agree need only find a copy of her devastating first round Tyson-like KO of undefeated heavyweight Vonda Ward (Wolfe is a Jr. Middleweight). However, her accomplishments inside the ring are just half the reason she should be the one drawing our attention.
It’s easy to be a role model, and a mentor to future generations, when the cameras and the press,and Oprah Winfrey show a return on that investment. I am not saying that there is nothing selfless about what Laila Ali does in that regard, but where are the same or dare I say greater accolades when Anne Wolfe showers the same attention, as a trainer, on a kid with tons of heart but no real future in boxing?
To be fair, how can Ali compete with someone who did not have a name to build her career on and had to sculpt both herself and her last name from scratch? There is nothing Ali can really do to shut down all that criticism without either falling straight on her face against Wolfe or vanquishing her Zaire and her George Foreman.
Either way, without facing Wolfe real boxing fans will not agree with the overinflated Ali express until she faces her. Until then, Anne Wolfe should be recognized as the true face of women’s boxing, because she is a truer fighter, in my estimation, inside the ring, and a better role model outside of it.
ESB: Hey, Ann, first off, thanks for your time. Tell us what did you think of your fighter’s James Kirkland’s performance against Billy Lyell?
Wolfe: He was nowhere near his potential, and that’s why I would give him a ‘C’ overall. I know James and I know what he is capable of doing. Part of the problem is he can’t motivate himself as well against a weaker opponent like Billy Lyell. He didn’t have his normal intensity and only fought hard for the first two rounds as opposed to fighting that way the entire whole bout.
He didn’t fight the way I fight, and we are almost similar in that regard. Were it the real James Kirkland, Billy Lyell, even though he has a good chin, would have been taken out inside three rounds. James’ sparring is tougher then most of his fights including this one.
ESB: How did you and James meet?
Wolfe: It was when I first went to the Gym, at 24. We had the same coach, and James was about 11, or 12 at the time. Back then, he was a better fighter, but gradually I reached my full potential faster. I also realized that I could motivate and train fighters even better then I could fight. For instance, I can run the five miles with James, and I can do the push ups with him, and, most importantly, I know him very well and know what he needs.
A lot of boxers make the mistake of switching to high profile trainers later on even though these guys do not know them as well. I know my fighters and I know what it takes and what they have to do to be successful.
ESB: You are one of the few, if not the only female trainers out there. Were there any gender role barriers when you began training fighters?
Wolfe: Not really. At the weigh-ins sometimes, I stand outside but other then that no. I’ll tell you when we go to the regional competitions here, all the coaches know me and they all come up and show their respect and gender doesn’t even come into question. They all know me and know what I have done in the ring as a pro and what I have done with the guys I have trained up till now. I have fighters with five or six fights who are beating their guys with 60 fights and eventually they will come to the level of national attention.
I have kids that I am molding from the ground up. 14-year-olds who are fighting and beating kids who have been fighting since six years old. My daughter, for instance, is just sparring with boys and when she gets up she will be an even more devastating puncher than me, because I’m molding her from ever since she was a baby.
I guarantee, just give me about five years and I will train a male fighter to win a world championship. I’ll be the first female chief second to take a male fighter to a major world title and together we’ll be making history.
ESB: Who are some of the perspective guys you are training right now?
Wolfe: I have guys who I have been working with who are 20 or so and they are just wreakin havoc. After the Olympics, sometime in June July they will turn pro. Right now, I have Kurtiss Colvin and Sir Smith and they are fighting at about 168, 160, respectively, and I’m going take them down to 160, 154, and both of them when they turn pro, they are just going to wreak havoc. Sir Smith, especially will be Hell on wheels.
What I’m going to do is I’m going to be the type of coach where I don’t care if they lose four fights, because thing is everybody tries to make their fighter have a winning record. Yet when they get up to that level where they are supposed to mean something, they have nothing behind those numbers.
Now you have guys like Gatti, Glen Johnson, who beat on Jones and Tarver, they had six losses, and nine losses and you compare them to some of these kids who come up and they have nothing as far as pros.
ESB: I absolutely agree from a marketing standpoint they fight bums just to keep the ‘0’ on their record and it means almost nothing.
Wolfe: Yeah, and you have that kid who never got a break but he’s just as good as all the rest of them, and he fought Gatti, and Ward. Emanuel Augustus, and just look how many losses he got?
That’s what messed up about boxing now. Emanuel Augustus will fight just as hard as Floyd Mayweather, but Mayweather will make a thousand times the money Augustus makes even though Augustus is the type of guy boxing comes from. I’m the type of fighter boxing comes from. The people that didn’t have nothing and try to come up are the ones who make boxing.
That’s how the Golden Gloves was founded. Back then, the Golden Gloves was more important then professional boxing. Back then, a boxing match between Louis and Shmeling garnered world-wide attention.
Now it’s a lot of bright lights and glamour and guys fighting once a year. The best should fight the best and that’s it.
ESB: Well, personally, I love the guy and so do a lot of fans but he did have an issue where he couldn’t get on HBO to fight a guy he could have fought if he had a better record. So in that sense there has to be some balance too. Do you plan on continuing fighting though?
Wolfe: Yeah, I might fight once or twice but really there ain’t nobody left to fight. I mean, I won titles at light middleweight, middle, light heavy, heavy, eight altogether and there’s just nothing left.
ESB: Well, of course, I gotta ask you about Laila Ali. As of now, every single individual fan that I have spoken with regarding a potential Ali Wolfe fight thinks that Laila is clearly ducking you. What can you say about it?
Wolfe: I hate saying it but she is. I don’t like telling people that but she is, and she ain’t just ducking, she running.
ESB: You know, I absolutely agree with you, and honestly, I’ve not heard one person say it’s the other way around, but to be fair to their side, what they are claiming is, and this is from one of their press releases, is that you are asking for too much money.
Wolfe: Can I tell you something? We offered Laila and she agreed something like half a million dollars. You know how much I was supposed to get? Seventy-five thousand dollars. Then, I told them “you’ll have to give me more,” and they were going to give me 150,000 thousand, while she was going to make 500,000 thousand, and that is the God’s honest truth, and it was signed and Laila STILL didn’t show up.
It’s not about the money. I mean, of course, if she was going to make two million, I would be a fool to take 200,000 thousand, that would be just retarded. So let me tell what I said, and I said it on ESPN, “we can go 60-40, 65-35. Winner takes 60, loser takes 40,” and that is only fair, and she still didn’t want to. Then I said, “I’ll tell you what, we can donate 100% of whatever we make, half to a charity of your choice, and half to a cause of my choice. Laila’s people call me two weeks ago, and I said, “matter of fact, since she is going to Africa, making all this money, why don’t we donate 100% of the money to Aids relief in Africa?” and her people said, “hell, no.”
I was in it for nothing, if she wasn’t going to make nothing either. We can fight 60-40 or we can donate 100% to Aids in Africa and I don’t need nothing but my training expenses and she for her training expenses.
ESB: I definitely see your side of the argument but my only question would be that maybe you guys are trying to negotiate for one fight, but what about maybe two fights and possibly a third?
Wolfe: That’s true but can I tell you something? If I can’t get one fight with Laila what makes you think that she will fight me two or three times?
ESB: (laughing) Well, that is the thing she’s afraid.
Wolfe: You know, its like I told USA TODAY, Laila ain’t afraid to fight me, I think she’s afraid that with either hand, left or right, I can knock her out unconscious. Not just beat her but lay her out on the ground.
It’s not because she don’t want to fight me in particular, not because she doesn’t want to make the money, but because I don’t think she wants to be knocked out. She knows that I’m capable of knockin her the smooth hell out. I know she knows it, I know it, I know it, because I don’t care, I ain’t scared to lose, you know what I’m saying?
A real true warrior, any soldier, any real soldier, you know anybody who has ever fought in battle, they knew there was a chance they could die. You can’t be scared to lose if you are a real warrior.
ESB: I absolutely agree with you, and I have spoken with a few fighters and you know those guys who aren’t afraid to lose, they are the most aggressive, and they are the most exciting ones to watch.
Wolfe: You know what, even though I’m a black person, and I know there were female warriors, I consider myself to have a samurai heart. The samurai knew there was a possibility that they could lose, and they trained for battle in a time of peace. I’m always ready, and I ain’t scared, and when I know that I’m not scared and there is a possibility that I could lose, I don’t have to be bound by that caution. I don’t have to be cautious from nothing, I’m going to go out there and I’m cracking you the entire way.
I’m sure of one thing, though, I’m going to be in the best shape of my life if I ever step up to Laila, because that is just what everybody wants to see. I’m really a Jr. Middleweight but for Leila I would come in 160 and she can come in at whatever, she can come in at 180, I don’t care.
At 160 I hit like a fighter. I don’t like telling people I hit like man, but I hit like a boxer. It’s not about being female, but I hit with real natural, god-given power.
ESB: Yeah, I was going to ask about the Ward KO later, but its obvious that more then anything you hit like a real fighter as opposed to say just hard for a woman.
Wolfe: It’s not even about weight or gender. A heavyweight may hit harder then a 125 pounder but the 125 pounder may hit more like a fighter. It’s genetics and plus, I train. My little girl weighs 148 and she is dead-lifting 350, power-lifting, so it’s genetics. So on top of my god given abilities, I train like a maniac, and I spar with nothing but boys so I got a chin.
I’ve heard Laila say that I ain’t got too good a chin, which is crazy because I can take punches from a guy so why can’t I take a punch from a girl?
ESB: Well, yeah, and to be honest I’ve seen her staggered by, Martin, I think, it was in their fight, and Martin was smaller and got some shots in. So really I wouldn’t say her chin is all that tested yet.
Wolfe: Thing is, she’s never really been in wars. I’ve been in wars, I’ve been hit, early on I went down against Mahfood, when I had only five fights, didn’t know that much about boxing, and she had 14-15 fights, and I went down from strict fatigue, but I guarantee at 154 160, I knock everybody out in the first round. When I stopped knocking people out is when I went up to 68 and 75, and it’s not because they had chins, it’s because I lost speed and thereby power with the extra weight. Vonda Ward might have died if I would have been 160.
At 154 I’ve never lost a fight and at 154 only one girl, and she was one of the best I ever fought, named Vienna Williams, undefeated, out of Philly, went the full 10 rounds and that was soon after my loss at that. After that I had straight knockouts and they started saying go up to this weight, go up to this weight, yet I’m a jr. Middlweight fighting at 165, 175, 180 you know one fight when I fought Marsha Valley, and Laila don’t know that I know the story about her and Marsha Valley, cause when Marsha Valley was in her prime and sparred Laila she signed a contract that said she wouldn’t try to fight Laila. When I fought Marsha Valley, she was a real 6-foot 168 pounder, and I was a jr. Middlweight, and even though I ate spaghetti and drank water, I still couldn’t get up to that weight but I still fought her and beat the hell out of her.
I fought all the good fighters, when Marion Almager was in her prime, when Mahfood was in her prime, Sunshine Deborah Fettkether never been knocked out. I fought Vonda Ward, who is a heavyweight. If you go back and look at the people I’ve fought, I bet ten times out of ten they either retired or fought once or twice and lost and that was it.
I’m a career killer and Laila knows that. I’m a hard tough fighter that nobody don’t want to fight, because I don’t care if I lose, I’ll fight you till I die and its over.
ESB: There are those who claim the Martin-Ali fight brought more benefit to the sport then any other fight.
Wolfe: When Laila fought Martin, Martin wasn’t shit. She just went 10 rounds with Mia St. John, and after that, she done lost most of the time. You see how she lost, she was done already. I’d rather see Laila fight somebody like Lucia Rijker. Lucia would probably whoop Laila.
ESB: Did you try to set a fight with Rijker?
Wolfe: I did and they said, “you’re too big,” and I can understand their opinion. We offered Laetitia Robinson 100,000 dollars, but I can understand that they want Laila, they don’t want me and I don’t have no problem with them. I don’t have a problem with Lucia Rijker saying, “you’re bigger then me,” cause I’ve been to camp with her and I am too big and hit too hard for her. Even so I did try to make that fight.
ESB: Do you think that in his day Muhammed Ali would have found a reason not to fight a male opponent similar to yourself?
Wolfe: Hell, no, he would have fought everybody. I love Ali, you know he wasn’t scared of nobody, and he picked his fights some time, but the majority of the time, when he was younger he fought anybody. Ali wasn’t scared he fought everybody there was to fight. He got out of jail and fought the heavyweight champion of the world. He would never have not fought anybody in his life. His pride would have never let him duck nobody.
ESB: You know, there is a bit of an ulterior motive to that question because I’ve been discussing Ali’s legacy with fans and talking about Laila’s career choices.
Wolfe: Ali’s legacy ended with him and that was it. His legacy didn’t live on through his daughter. You can’t even take Mohammed Ali’s big toe and say Laila has anything like it cause his big toe would have fought anybody.
Laila ain’t got no damn heart.
ESB: Yeah, I have to be honest that is what I am tryin to get at. I’m not trying to insult anybody but rather convey that this is the sentiment some of the fans have right now.
Wolfe: Yeah, she ain’t got no damned heart and real fans can see that.
ESB: Is there anything you want to say to her if she or her people will read this interview?
Wolfe: Yeah, you know they say Laila makes female boxing and it’s all up to what Laila does and how and who else gets paid. But I’d like to ask Laila, “How are you going to make something of yourself if you don’t fight nobody? How would your father have been the best if there was no Joe Frazier, and George Foreman, and Ken Norton, and Sonny Liston? How would he have been the best without those people? Nobody would know nothing about him.
How can you be the best without Anne Wolfe, Laetitia Robinson, Lucia Rijker, and how can you be that unless you beat the best of the best. I don’t see how you can be women’s boxing, and you aren’t, when you don’t have that. Your daddy fought everybody, he fought the best fighters of his day.
How come you don’t understand that neither Thomas Hearns, Roberto Duran, Marvin Hagler, or Sugar Ray would have been anything without each other? They made each other. You can’t be women’s boxing without true foes, you can’t truly be women’s boxing unless you have those opponents.
ESB: Anne I absolutely agree. I’m asking because I pretty much know the sentiment but just want it said out loud.
Wolfe: See right now I have nothing to lose and everything to gain, and she has everything to lose, but that is what makes me the type of opponent she needs. Right now that fight won’t make me who I am, but it will make Laila who she is.
Who I am is not a bare person. I’m the best mother any child could have, I’m made already. What does Laila have? What does she have to say “I’m Laila?” All she has is boxing.
I got two young children, I got a whole boxing team, I got a family, plus my parents died when I was young so I made a name that is entirely my own.
ESB: Thank you. Now to switch gears a bit, can you take us through the Ward KO in brief detail?
Wolfe: Yeah, to be honest, I was kind of pissed off at Vonda Ward, cause I trained hard and I knew she was tall and a lot of people think she can’t fight good, but she’s still tall and can throw a lot of punches. Yet, I was mad cause she said, she was going to keep me out with her jab and beat me on the outside, and like I said I fight so hard you better fight to win or die with me.
So I knew she was going to try and set me up with a right hand, and I don’t know if you watched the fight, but I kept on pushing her back with the jab, and as she was about to throw a jab I came inward a little bit and she was going to throw her right hand, and when she went to throw it I pulled my head to the side of her own and came right over the top and that was it.
What I did was in training I got a tennis ball, and however tall my opponent is, I put the ball where there chin is, and train like that. I don’t care how tall they are. Also I got a big 200 pound heavy bag and put it up high and boxed that.
ESB: Now right after you knock her down there is this moment, it reminds me a little of the De La Hoya shuffle after the Vargas knockdown. Any name for it?
Wolfe: No not really. What that is all the emotion that I had its just all that emotion I have and that just what comes out.
ESB: At the time there was probably some negative feedback regarding you standing over Ward as she was still down on the ground unconscious and celebrating.
Wolfe: Well, if she was unconscious that is part of boxing cause she would have done it to me.
ESB: No, I understand that, but what I mean is you were standing over her body.
Wolfe: You know when I fight I don’t really take no prisoners and I didn’t really know she was unconscious but that could have happened to me too. I hoped she was alright. I mean, after I settled down I hoped she was ok but even so you gotta understand every single person I fight I am trying to knock them out.
ESB: Absolutely no criticism on that. Did you at least make your peace after the fight? Did you talk to her?
Wolfe: I went to the hospital and stuff because they had to put her in a cat scan but they wouldn’t let me see her. I went though. You know, a lot of people don’t like me to say it but I really truly like to knock people unconscious, out cold and flat on their back or stomach.
ESB: Well, yeah, that’s the name of the game, and I don’t think anyone holds that against you and that is what you are supposed to do.
Wolfe: The dancing was just natural and I didn’t know she was hurt as bad, and I guess my emotions were so high I didn’t realize, but the truth is I’m really trying to break something on you, you know. I hate to say it like that and it ain’t nothing towards Vonda Ward, but she was the heavyweight champion of the world. I made history I’m the only person man or woman to hold 4 titles in 4 different weight classes at the same time, 8 total. I didn’t even see Vonda Ward at that moment.
ESB: Another opponent that has been making a bit of a name for herself recently is Natasha Ragosina who is fighting out of Europe.
Wolfe: What’s her weight at?
ESB: I’m not sure but I think it’s about yours because she has been calling Ali out as well.
Wolfe: Hell, I’ll fight her.
ESB: You haven’t heard of or seen her, though?
Wolfe: Well, it don’t matter if I see them or not cause ill fight anybody. I ain’t scared to lose to to nobody.
ESB: Well, if her people see the interview, then you are ready to fight her?
Wolfe: I’ll fight anybody. So when you put this out there I don’t want her to think I’ll just fight her, I’ll fight anybody. Otherwise, how can you be a fighter?
You know ain’t nobody gonna run from me but the majority of the time when they ask to fight me they want so much money. Majority of the time I don’t call out nobody and the truth is a lot of those girls don’t have a lot of experience anyway, so I’ll wait till they get to the top for it to mean something. Hell, though, if anybody calls me out you ain’t got to call long. Don’t call Laila, call me.
ESB: That makes sense. The way I see it you are one of the few boxers out there who is a fighter first, and not just a female who boxes, so if somebody wants to reach that level they should do all they can to fight you.
Wolfe: Yeah, I mean, I don’t want you to think that I am a cocky person, and let me tell you something anybody can be beat by anybody. Every girl I fight I can lose to but the thing is I’ll fight them. I ain’t scared to fight nobody.
ESB: Besides yourself who do you think are some other outstanding and elite female fighters out there? Who do you like to watch fight?
Wolfe: I think Laetitia Robinson is a good fighter, I think this girl Jessica Rakoczy is a good fighter, Laura Ramsey, there’s a lot of them. Even if they don’t have a lot of fights I still see them as a good fighter, even if they have no fights. I don’t care because they have to fight like we do. So I don’t like putting anybody on no pedestal because we all the same, even me.
Just cause she is doing good. I’m not even impressed by myself by Anne Wolfe. If I wasn’t me, I would find something to criticize about her. So I don’t say that she can’t fight or she can’t fight because they still do and that is more important to me.
ESB: Well, the reason I ask is I think its good for another female fighter if Anne Wolfe says she likes her style. It helps her in terms of marketing.
Wolfe: Yeah, I do, and I might even know this girl you mentioned now that I think about it. All the ones who call Laila out. Truth is I had to burn a lot of energy before I decided to call Laila out, because I let the fans call me out for her. Really fans called my name in that sense, I didn’t. So to all the girls callin her out, let them crack some backs and then let the fans and reporters clamor for the fight. What’s that girls’ name again?
ESB: Ragosina. I think she is from Kazakhstan and she is undefeated and has some wins over other undefeated fighters.
Wolfe: Yeah, I’ll do that fight, and I ain’t going to say it to her, but I guarantee she has never fought anybody like me and it will be the hardest fight of her entire life.
ESB: Yeah, and, I mean, she is one of the few female fighters in this weight range who I hear talked about a little bit. So a Wolfe Ragosina fight would definitely be meaningful to boxing.
Wolfe: Sure and if they are ready, now that I know who you are talking about, I’ll tell my people to start looking into that. Don’t ask for no million dollars, though.
ESB: Only thing is you might have to fight her in Germany. Would you agree to it?
Wolfe: I’ll fight anywhere, only thing is they might have to pay me extra to go all the way over there. Of course, she might get extra money if she came all the way over here. Also I mean I’m Anne Wolfe so I’m not going to just ignore that if they want me to go over there. Maybe we can meet in a neutral spot or something.
ESB: Well, also, you might be cautious with the judging over there.
Wolfe: Well not really cause like I said when I fight I’m trying to knock something off you so I don’t concentrate on the judges. I’ve seen a lot of bad judging, even here during these golden gloves, but what can you do if you know you won, you won. If I know I won then it doesn’t matter what the official result is cause I know she will have some problems after the fight. Also, I mean, after that people will say, “I don’t want to see that,” so you won’t be able to just cheat me like that.
ESB: Who are your favorite male fighters of past and present?
Wolfe: Sugar Ray Robinson hands down. Now I like Glen Johnson, I like Winky Wright cause they were nice to me when we met, even James Toney who has a reputation.
ESB: Tell us about your childhood?
Wolfe: My childhood was horrible. My mama died my daddy died when I was 18, I was homeless, and then I lived in a house with no running water, no heat. I had a hard childhood. Had to cut wood, hard work, my whole life everybody picked on me, and it was horrifying.
ESB: Let me ask you this cause I spoke to another fighter, Vasily Jirov, who had a hard childhood and he said he would never trade it off because that is what made him the fighter who he is.
Wolfe: I would never trade it off either, cause that is what made me a better mother, better person, and a better human being.
ESB: Can you tell us about your trainer Donald Billingsley?
Wolfe: My trainer has always been like my daddy, he’s the only daddy I’ve ever known. My father was a murderer, and a drug dealer he still loved me but that doesn’t change what he did. My coach never threw me out of the gym and he loves the good and the bad about me and that is what I try to pass on to the kids I train.
All of us in boxing have our good and our bad qualities, but he took the good and the bad with me and never gave me any less attention. Same is true with me. I got a kid who has 18 losses with 1 win but has a ton of heart, then I got a kid with a 10-0 who has beaten some 40+ fighters but I don’t treat them no different. How can I? My trainer did the same for me.
ESB: Can you tell us about your family?
Wolfe: Well I got two girls 14 and 16 and I love them very much and that is the best thing about my life. I would never fight again if it came down to it. You know I won’t be fighting much longer, cause I had surgery on my shoulder a year ago, and I will have to have another one in April or May, cause my body is breaking down cause I’m 36-years-old and my body is breaking down.
My daughter is in the 10th grade and she got two years to go and so my main goal right now is to see her through that. You know I done missed a lot of things in my kids life with boxing, but I made sure they had everything and I took care of them better and I made sure they had enough to eat and got their stuff because of the boxing.
ESB: What do you like to do in your free time when or if you have any?
Wolfe: I don’t have any. I take the worst boxers that you can find off the street, and I take the worst kids-armed robbery, possession- and I train them to be real fighters and then I raise my kids. See one thing about me is, I’m a natural born killer, a natural aggressive person who likes to fight, and I like to channel that into something positive. On the other hand, I’m also mild mannered, and sweet, and I use that to teach my fighters, and my children to be gentle and sweet, and I could take a killer and make him into a polite and gentle person, and make him say, “Yes sir, No Sir,” but when they get in the ring that is where they gotta fight. So boxing keeps me and them grounded. So I am getting to a point now where I can’t fight as much, move as much, because my body is breaking down, but I can still help a kid that went through what I went through, and that’s what makes me.
You know, I have not made a lot of money in boxing, haven’t gotten a lot of fame in boxing, so when you fight Anne Wolfe, you ain’t fightin somebody who has been spoiled by money and popularity. You ain’t just fighting my body, or a boxer, you fighting my being, my spirit, my heart and my soul, and that is what I am trying to pass on to my fighters and my children.
ESB:What do you want to say in closing to the people who will check out this interview?
Wolfe: We can’t be boxers without all our opponents. “You are only as good as your makers.” Every girl that puts on gloves makes boxing. How can you be # 1 out of 100 if there is no 100? I have a strong belief in God, and I have a strong belief in and want all the girls to know that whoever wants a shot at me I’ll do my best to make the fight fair and to make it happen. They might not make a lot of money, but if they are boxing me, it’s because they want to prove they are real fighters.
ESB: Thanks a great deal for your time and good luck.
Wolfe: Thank you, sir.
I want to thank Anne for her time, and generosity, considering how busy she is in giving it to other people. Hopefully, this will go a little ways in proving to Laila Ali and her people that fans aren’t impartial or indifferent to seeing a Wolfe vs. Ali match, and if she wants to prove something she doesn’t have to search long and hard for a challenge and an approval rating.