Ike catches up with the man Jesse "The Boogieman" 
Ferguson (25-18) with 15 knockouts started boxing at 
the age of 22. His professional debut was January 12, 
1983, defeating Tony Jackson by a first round KO. 
"The Boogieman" has squared off with several world 
class fighter like James Douglas, Mike Tyson, Tony 
Tubbs, Ray Mercer, Larry Holmes, Frank Bruno, Obed 
Sullivan and many more.  On May 9, 1985, Ferguson 
moved his unbeaten pro record to (12-0 winning a 10th 
round unanimous decision over James "Buster" Douglas, 
the first fighter to defeat Mike Tyson as a pro. Former 
heavyweight champion, Ray Mercer, suffered his second 
professional loss to Ferguson on February 6, 1993. One 
of the most well traveled fighters in the  heavyweight 
division, Ferguson has a few things to say about his 
passed and his future. 

Interview by: Ike Enwereuzor 

Ike: Hey, Boogieman, how do you feel lately? 

Ferguson: I'm doing Ok. 

Ike: It was a pleasure seeing you at the Harris-Robinson bout last weekend 
     at Tropicana casino, Atlantic City, NJ. What did you think of the fight? 

Ferguson: I think they robbed Robinson of that fight, he won the first four 
          rounds, he had the guy down, they took a point away, but he was 
          definitely in the fight though out the whole fight. In my opinion I 
          felt that he won the fight, it was close but I felt that he pulled it 
          out. 

Ike: We read that the Duva's are planning an appeal, what's you thoughts? 

Ferguson: That's ok for him to do that, but it would probably come down to 
          a rematch, and they can settle the score then. 

Ike: Have you won any professional titles? 

Ferguson: I was never looked on as a companionship fighter, I felt more 
          like an opponent. I won the ESPN  tournament in 1986 and at that 
          point I thought my career was on it's way up. However, I started 
          fighting certain guys who at that time in my career I shouldn't have 
          fought and that is the reason my career took a turn. 

Ike: Your thoughts on the Holyfield-Ruiz bout? 

Ferguson: I think Holyfield is shot. Ruiz did what he had to do to win the 
          fight. According to Holyfield's background and the types of fights 
          he's been in quite naturally he will get the decision. Holyfield is a 
          very shot fighter him and Mike Tyson are both shot, but still making 
          lots of money. I think that there's a lot of guys out there who can 
          beat Mike and Evander but they are all just so satisfied with just 
          making a little bit of money. Holyfield has plenty of money and still 
          he's not satisfied. Some one needs to show him that he should retire 
          because he doesn't have it anymore. 

Ike: Which of your fights would you consider the toughest since your 
     professional career? 

Ferguson: Well, I would have to say the Carl Williams because I was (13-0) 
          up and coming. He had just fought for the championship of the world 
          with Larry Holmes and it was a good fight, I put all I could in it 
          but he just came out to be the victor. 

Ike: Your thoughts on Lewis-Grant Fight? 

Ferguson: I was disappointed with Michael Grant because he was given the 
          right fights in his career, he was molded to be the heavyweight 
          champion of the world. He was the right size, he had the right reach,
          he punched hard enough, he seemed to take a hard enough shot from the 
          guys he had faced, so therefore I felt as though he was ready for 
          that type of fight. However, you have to fight the fight, everything 
          looks good on paper but you still have to fight. For example, it's 
          the same thing in pro football, you could be in the superbowl but you 
          still have to play the game in order to win it. 

Ike: How would you describe your fight with Mike Tyson? 

Ferguson: I was just coming off the ESPN  tournament, he was the hottest 
          fighters at the time everything was in his favor. I really wasn't 
          that mature in the game. I felt as if I was just a fighter, anyway, 
          he caught me with a good shot I went down and the rest is history. 
          You would have to see the fight in order to understand that 
          particular fight. I try to win but I just didn't win that one. 

Ike: Any words to your fans out there? 

Ferguson: I want to thank all of them. I want them to know that I still got 
          a lot left in me, don't judge a man by his age because there are 
          people in the sports world that is 40 and above that are still doing  
          great. For instance, Darryl Green who just sign with the Washington 
          Redskins and runs a 4.2, 40 yard dash. I think that's great how he 
          took good care of his body to be able to do that. I feel if guys like 
          Darryl can do that then so can I. 

Ike: How was your fight with Ray Mercer? 

Ferguson: I would rather not talk about that fight because of the 
          circumstances that occurred  in the fight, but I went ahead and I 
          beat him and I beat him the second time too. However, they gave it to 
          him because he had a name for his self, he was the Olympic gold 
          medalist and part of that was against me. 

Ike: Who would you like to meet in the ring soon? 

Ferguson: I'll fight any of the heavyweights out there, I would fight David 
          Izon, Derrick Jefferson, Oleg Maskeav, Mount Whitaker, Michael Moorer 
          or any of the Klischkos and any other challenge that brought to me. 

Ike: Your prediction on Trindad-Vargas Bout? 

Ferguson: Truthfully, I like Vargas for that fight, he doesn't have to move 
          up but Trinidad is moving up to his weight class 154 pounds. I know 
          Trinidad can throw a lot of punches but I'm in favor of Vargas, don't 
          get me wrong I not trying to take nothing away from Trinidad, he good 
          too. 

Ike: Please, describe your 10th round victory over Obed Sullivan in New York 
     City, December 1998? 

Ferguson: It was an easy fight for me mentally even though it was a split 
          decision. I was in Atlantic City at one of his fights, Obed didn't 
          recognize me until he came closer, he told me that we both need to 
          get it on and that I'll be in deep water and will drown if I were to 
          fight him. No fighter has ever talked to me that way. I told him I'll 
          destroy him if we should ever fight and  that's just exactly what I 
          did. 

Ike: What do you like about the Boxing game? 

Ferguson: There is a lot that I like about the sport mainly, the money, 
          training. 

Ike: Do you hate anything more about the sport? 

Ferguson: There's a few things,  first,  I hate sparring mostly, as you 
          know it's necessary but I wish sparring wasn't so important. 
          Secondly, I hate bad decisions, managers doing wrong to fighters, I 
          hate last minute notices, anybody that wants to be the best, should 
          fight the best and be given the same time to prepare. 

Ike: Your favorite fighters? 

Ferguson: I like Shane Mosley, Roy Jones, Jr. and many more. 

Ike: Your hobbies? 

Ferguson: I like bowling, play billiards, NFL, Westerns and I'm interested 
          in Real Estate. 

Ike: What do you want to see done differently in Boxing? 

Ferguson: I would like to see more strong heavyweight matches so the public 
          can get and idea of real fighters. 

Ike: Your greatest sports moment? 

Ferguson: Getting a shot at the world title and watching George Foreman 
          knock out Ken Norton and Joe Frazier. 

Ike: What's your thoughts of the Shane Mosley-Oscar De La Hoya fight? 

Ferguson: Honestly speaking, before the bout, I picked Oscar to beat Shane 
          because Oscar looked a little bigger, we seen Oscar in some good 
          fights but Shane's hand speed was fierce! 

Ike: What's your prediction if there's a rematch? 

Ferguson: Shane will still beat Oscar again, Shane has very good hand 
          speed, Oscar can't hit him, I wouldn't be surprised if one of them  
          get knocked down. I don't see Oscar beating him. 

Ike: What did you think of De La Hoya-Quartey bout? 

Ferguson: The only way Oscar won is because of who he is. Quartey was in 
          the fight from round 1-12 but because Oscar has a name for himself, 
          he got the win. Even the Whitaker-De La Hoya fight was close, but we 
          all know that Whitaker beat him. 

Ike: Your thoughts on Lewis Tua upcoming bout? 

Ferguson: I think Lewis will beat Tua, but I'll give Tua a chance because 
          he's consider a  puncher. Lewis is seven inches taller, with a  5 to 
          6 inch reach and he shouldn't have a problem beating him. 

Ike: Is there any thing you want to achieve in Boxing you haven't 
     accomplish yet? 

Ferguson: I want to be like every other fighter out there. I would like 
          more than one chance at the title because I truly believe that I can 
          win the title. I think that it's possible because the title can  
          change hands at any given time with the heavyweight that out here 
          today. 

Ike: I must thank you for giving us this opportunity to chat with you. 

Ferguson: Ike would just like to sum it up like this, a lot of these guys 
          are getting by without doing anything to make the sport what it used 
          to be. The heavyweight division was strong, it was what everybody 
          wanted to see. Now it's what everybody don't want to see. The lighter 
          weights all the way up to the light heavy weights are what the people 
          wants to see. There is no one out there that can make a statement the 
          way Mike Tyson made it when he came into boxing. There was one guy 
          who was that way and his name was Ike Ibeabucci, but look what happen 
          to him. The saddest thing in life is wasted talent. I thank you again 
          Ike for this interview. 


Ike Enwereuzor

JacBoxing@hotmail.com