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Jamie Hearn: 'If I’m having fun in there, I won’t knock Smith out until his corner tells me to'
17 Mar 2010
By Jim Page
Former professional boxer, Jamie Hearn is one of the most fearsome MMA fighters I’ve ever met. At press conferences and on fight day, he exudes an aura of barely-restrained menace and potential explosive violence.
A vicious striker with refined knock out power, Hearn recently demonstrated some of his best work by smashing Essex fighter, Tam Khan with one punch – leaving him sleeping on the mat with a small river of blood pouring from his mouth.
‘The Wang’ now faces a very serious test as he steps up to heavyweight in order to face the incredibly powerful grappler, Ben Smith. This promises to be a fascinating clash of styles; Smith and his aggressive top game against Hearn’s destructive fists.
Is it alright to talk about your boxing and its transition to the cage?
I started boxing when I was 8. I fought for England when I was an amateur. I fought against Cyprus, Ireland… then I went pro. When I retired I think I was number 4 in England and I was rated number 15 as well by the WBC. I retired for a couple of years from boxing, but I was used to going at 100mph. when I retired I had nothing to do with myself and the thing that everyone was talking about was this MMA. I never had a clue what it was, did not have a clue!
I got in contact with [original ‘Bad Boy’] Jeremy Bailey and he arranged a fight for me. I hadn’t done a day’s training for that fight at all, I just thought my boxing would be enough… and in that one it was! And it gave me a greater understanding of what MMA was all about. Before, I hadn’t watched it on telly, I didn’t even know what the cage looked like.
Fair play, that’s a big step, not knowing anything about it, but stepping in to see what you could do. Did you feel at all nervous going into your first fight?
I don’t get nervous at all, no.
Why do you think that is?
Well, in boxing I fought the best in the world. I mean, what new can happen to me now that I haven’t already come into contact with? It’s a simple fact; he’s going to try to knock me out, I’m going to try to knock him out. It’s show time. I’m not going to waste any nervous energy worrying about it.
One thing I’ve noticed, you seem to be the hard man the whole time, do you get into any trouble when you walk round the streets – do you get into street fights?
No, not at all, no. I put that persona on, obviously, for fighting. People pay a lot of money to come and watch me fight – they expect me to be a certain way, so I like to give people what they think they’re paying their money for. Out of the ring, you’ve just got to be a normal guy.
Now you’re fighting MMA, how do you think you’ve progressed with the wrestling and jiu-jitsu?
Well, up to this point, it was pretty non-existent. It was only what I watched on TV. But I’m sure I have a great talent, so to get the best out of myself – a lot of people have put a lot of time, money and belief into me – so the best way to pay them back is to actually pull my socks up and get on with it.
I’ve been training really, really, really hard on the ground. I’ve got one of the best trainers in the world doing my ground work. I mean, even Roger Gracie can’t tap this man. He’s the British and French Olympic coach in judo.
Tam Khan – how did it feel for you when you knocked him out?
A knock out is a knock out. It was a little bit sweeter with Tam Khan; there’s not a lot of people who are not liked in UK MMA, but Tam Khan is one of them. I’d never even heard of Tam Khan before I got the phone call for the fight. At the weigh in, he was fairly arrogant, but you’ve got to expect that, because that’s the persona, but when the cameras and that were taken off, he wouldn’t even shake my hand - and he pissed off my trainer, he really did piss my trainer off. I dedicate that shot to my trainer Gary Banks.
You’re going up to heavyweight to fight Ben Smith – are you feeling OK about that move?
Yeah, I walk around at 88 kilos when I fight at light-heavy [93kg weight limit]. I’m about 91 at the moment, but I’m going to try to get to 92, 93 before the fight. Ben Smith’s size does not faze me one bit.
How do you think you are going to fare against his takedown?
When you watch Ben Smith, when he actually takes someone down, he takes them down from the top of the chest. He shoots in from about 4 metres away, he’s got the speed of a snail. If Ben Smith thinks he’s going to take me down like that… I can hit Ben 20 times before he’s got his arms to my chest. I honestly believe that – and if he thinks he can be that slow and that lazy against me…
They think I’m the underdog, but I will bet any man in there, if they think that Ben Smith is going to beat me.
Have you met Ben before? What do you make of him?
I’ve spoken to him a few times and again, some people seem to think Ben’s cocky and arrogant, but I really like Ben, we get on really well. I respect Ben. I like Ben as a person, but as a fighter, I think he’s ridiculously boring. He’s so boring. Even when the man speaks he fucking sends you to sleep.
What dangers do you think you will pose in this fight?
We all know what Ben Smith wants to do to me, he’s going to do one thing – that’s try and take me down - we know that. What else can Ben Smith do?
You and other people have just seen the brute side of me so far. I prefer getting on my legs, throwing the jabs, uppercuts. I can throw shots from all angles. I can hit Ben Smith from anywhere. Doesn’t matter, on the front foot, back foot, from the side, as long as I hit him on his head, it doesn’t matter. Ben Smith can get punched anywhere.
My kicks are good, I’ve got good solid kicks. There’s nothing flashy about my kicks but they’re solid. I am actually very strong on the floor, strengthwise, although, I don’t want to be demonstrating this next Saturday.
Ben Smith has got a lot to worry about, while I’ve only got one thing – and I don’t even think Ben Smith’s ground work is that good, is it? You don’t actually see him pulling off things, he uses his strength and just sits on his opponents.
If he does get you down – do you reckon you’ll be able to get up?
If he takes me down and I don’t get up, I’m in trouble. So it’s not a case of ‘do I think I can get up’ – I have to get up.
You tried to rile Valentino Petrescu before your scheduled – but eventually cancelled – fight, are you going to play a psychological game with Ben?
As you are probably aware, I like to go to the cage in different outfits and play a few jokes at the press conference… I don’t want to give too much away, but there are going to be a few surprises for Ben Smith.
When the crowd sees you come to the cage, what can they expect from you?
On the 27th you are going to see why the Real Deal was rated number 15th in the world. You are going to see the best out of me when I fight Ben Smith.
Have you got a prediction for the fight?
I’ve got the power to knock Ben Smith out any round. But if I’m having fun in there, I won’t knock him out until his corner tells me to. I’m going to put him though that much punishment, his cornerman, or he, will look at me and tell me to end it – and then I’ll end it.
Your nickname has made a bit of press for you recently. How did you first get known as ‘The Wang’?
It was a name that my pals gave me. I make no secret that I’ve had a problem with women before. It’s got in the way of my fights before. I was just terrible. Women was to me what crack is to a junkie. I’ve received a bit of counselling over that… and while I’ve been training for this fight, I’ve managed to stay out of all brothels.
I’ve met a nice girl now and I can honestly tell you, I’ve been 100% faithful – she’s not even here, so I don’t need to lie. I’ve been 100% faithful to her. The fighting is going well, the training is going well.
But yeah, back to the nickname, I done a porn film and my friends nicknamed me ‘The Wang’ because apparently, in America, if you’ve got quite a big tool, they call you the Wang. One of my pals lived in America for a while, so he called me that, I done a porn movie and it stayed with me.
You mentioned on the Jeremy Kyle show that you once went on a trip to Amsterdam. Sounds like an interesting trip... is it alright to say anything about that?
Yeah, sure. Back in the day, money was no object to me. I was at the height of my boxing around the time that I went. A lot of lies were told for me to get over there… at the time, my girlfriend thought I was somewhere down the coast watching some fighting – yeah, and I snuck off. I had 18 women in the course of 32 hours – but I was terrible back then when I was a young boy, I was terrible.
Bloody hell, that must have cost an arm and a leg.
I think I spent £1,600 in that 32 hours.
Quality. Brilliant interview. Is there anyone you’d like that thank?
I’d like to thank my sponsors Athlete King.
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