Maurice Hooker gets set to make the second defense of his WBO crown against Mikkel LesPierre this weekend in New York.
Despite fighting in his opponent’s backyard for a third successive bout, ‘Big Mo’ has promised to produce a dominant performance at Turning Stone Resort & Casino, Verona.
Ahead of fight night Hooker exclusively spoke to World Boxing News and said: “Training is going good. We have some good sparring partners, some good young guys come and try to knock me out so we’re prepared. We’re training hard and we didn’t overlook this guy. We’re ready.
“I’m very confident in myself and I’m ready to put on a show. I know I’ll out box him in some late rounds and knock him out.
“I want to go in and just be Mike Tyson. Get him out and be angry at him, at the world, everything. I want to be like Mike Tyson.”
Hooker – who is undefeated from 28 bouts – including a classy victory over Briton Terry Flanagan -hopes to for a homecoming fight in Dallas at some point in 2019 before conquering the 140-lb division.
And the American has admitted he has a unification in mind. “I want the best out there. Anyone who’s got a title. I want the best or the winner of the tournament. Jose Ramirez from the WBC title – I just want the best
“I don’t want to move up. I want to take over 140 before I move up. Make my name big at 140 and then move up,” he said.
While Hooker doesn’t have much interest in moving up, the 29-year-old is certainly interested in taking on P4P superstar Vasyl Lomachenko.
“He’s a good fighter. I can’t take nothing away from him and I would love to fight him so I hope we get the deal done. I hear a lot of people talk about it. Let’s do it,” he concluded.
Joe Hewlett is lead writer for World Boxing News. Follow Joe on Twitter @Hewlett95
