Randall Bailey: Fighting Jeff Horn, Playing the Upset, Getting Ducked & More
Exclusive Interview by Jesse “New School” Wright
“When I go in, I already know I done won the fight. It’s just me going in doing what I gotta do. If I’m properly trained the way I’m supposed to be, I go in and let my hands go and people go down.” -Randall Bailey
In order to earn the nick name of “The Knock-Out King,” you really have to be a destructive finisher. With a career total of 39 knockouts and a knock out rate of 71%, Randall Bailey, deserves this title. He’s been prize fighting for 20 years, but even now Bailey sees boxing as business as usual. There’s no flare of arrogance, but rather a strong confidence. He’s well aware of his one punch knockout power and confident that he can finish any fight with it.
On January 26th, 2016, it was announced that Bailey will be facing Australian up and comer Jeff Horn, 13-0-1, 8KO’s on March 2, 2016. Although this fight is expected to be an opportunity for Horn to build his reputation, Bailey has no intention of waving the white flag. Conversely, he believes as soon as Horn feels a serious power punch, the entire tenor of the fight will change. The last person who tried to use Bailey as a stepping stone was Mike Jones and he didn’t even make it to a decision. To Randall Bailey, it’s all just business as usual.
JW: Jeff Horn is a young rising prospect, he’s only 27 years old and although he hasn’t been fighting completely weak opposition, he hasn’t fought anyone at your level either. At this point, what do you expect from him?
I expect him to come out and try to put a lot of pressure on me. We’re fighting in front of his home crowd, he’s gonna have all the pressure on him, he’s looking to try to impress. I’m gonna let him do what he does because I know once I touch him, it’s gonna be devastating.
JW: As you eluded to, he’s a tough, come forward guy, but what I’ve noticed is when he throws punches while moving around, he gets a little off balance and makes mistakes. Have you noticed this? What other flaws have you noticed?
Until this point in my career, I’ve watched tapes of guys, but they’ve never fought me the same way they fight everybody else. Me, I’m just preparing myself all the way round the table so when I get in there I know exactly what I need to do. If he wants to come forward, I know I’m gonna be there for him. If he wants to try to run around, I want to be able to cut the ring off and attack him.
JW: Do you think that guys change their style when fighting you due to your knockout power?
Most definitely!
JW: If you were to envision this fight in your mind from beginning to end, how would see him approaching you in this fight?
I think he’s gonna try to come forward until I hit him. If I hit him and catch him, good, it’s over. But if I just graze him and he gets shocked, I’m pretty sure he’s gonna try to get on the bicycle and move around and try to win the fight by decision.
JW: You think as soon as he gets a taste of your power, he won’t want to feel it a second time?
Most definitely!
JW: You’ve been doing this for quite a while. Has anything changed in training camp or is it just business as usual?
Just business as usual. Just making sure I get my work in. I’m getting my strength and conditioning all the way up and getting guys that are gonna come in and give me the work I need.
JW: The fight will take place in Australia, you have fought overseas before. Has jet lag ever been an issue for you?
It depends on what time I get in. If I get in during the daytime, I stay up until night and go to sleep, boom, I’m good. If I get in at night, I’ll just go straight to bed. I’ve never had a problem on the road.
JW: What’s the disadvantage when you go to a completely different country to fight a guy in his backyard?
Well, I just came back from Korea, the only people there that looked like we were the military (laughs by both of us). I didn’t have a problem there. I went over to Belgium a couple years ago; the crowd was booing me before I ever came out of the locker room. I finished that fight in 90 seconds. Going to Australia, if they’re booing me before I come out, good or if they’re cheering , good. When I get in that ring, and that bell says ding, I’m on his ass.
JW: Do you feed off of the negative crowd reaction?
It’s like I hear it at first, and all of a sudden I don’t hear nothing. When the bell says ding, I don’t hear a thing.
JW: Against Mike Jones it looked as if you were baiting him the whole fight. Throughout the fight, John David Jackson (former trainer) was screaming for you to throw more punches. Was it part of your game plan to wait for Jones to make a mistake or was there another reason you weren’t being as assertive with him?
Going into the fight, I always knew first hand that if I check him I’ll knock him out. My power at 147 is way more devastating than it was at 140. So going in with that, I say to myself look, I know I gotta throw more punches, but everything that happens in the gym reflects in the ring. If you’re not doing it in the gym, you’re not gonna do it in the ring. That’s just that. When you have a trainer, you want your trainer to implement a game plan for in the ring.
JW: So when John David Jackson was screaming to you to start throwing a higher volume of punches, that wasn’t part of the game plan?
I’m saying, if you’re asking me to do something that we didn’t train to do, how the fuck am I suppose to do it?
JW: When did you know that you had Jones finished?
The whole fight I’m always waiting for the opening. He was never giving me an opening because he was pitty patting and then moving out so I couldn’t get to him. Every time I tried to jab at him, he’d move. I had to let him come in. When he got tired, he sat there long enough for me to touch his glove with the jab and then hit him with the right hand for the first knockdown. So when I go back to the corner I’m thinking to myself, I know his trainer. His trainer is an arrogant guy, he’s gonna send him back at me because he wants him to take control over the fight. So boom, I go out, and what did I do? I threw a crazy overhand right just to get his attention. So then he started jabbing and he was tucking his chin inside his jab so I couldn’t go over it. So the only punch left to throw was to slip his jab and throw the uppercut and bam it’s right there.
JW: It was right on the button.
On the button….
JW: It seemed like in that fight, many people saw you as a stepping stone for Jones. You showed them that you were for real. In this next fight, it seems that they want to catapult Horn into that next tier. They think a win over you would do that. How do you feel about being categorized in to the role of “stepping stone?”
It doesn’t matter to me. All I want you to do is sign the contract and get in the ring. When the bell says ding, we’re gonna see then and there where you go.
JW: You played spoiler the last time they tried to use you as a stepping stone. Do you get extra satisfaction out that?
When I go in, I already know I have won the fight. It’s just me going in doing what I gotta do. If I’m properly trained the way I’m supposed to be, I go in and let my hands go and people go down.
JW: In the case of Horn, he needs this fight to make a name for himself. For you, your legacy is already cemented. With an opponent who needs the fight and you not really needing it, what motivates you to fly to Australia and fight him?
Right now, you look at the guys in the top 10, Keith Thurman, all these guys that’s under Keith Thurman and all these big names, they’re talking about “this the future,” this and that. I’ve asked to fight these guys over here (in the states)! They all say no!
JW: Do you take pride in not taking the easy fights?
Yeah! I appreciate Jeff Horn for taking this fight! It might not come out the way he thinks it’s gonna come out, but he took the fight.
JW: You’ve got to respect a guy who does that in an era where some guys might not take the most challenging fight, but maybe they’ll take the one that makes the most money for them.
I respect the man because he’s doing something Thurman ain’t trying to do, Berto never tried to do it, you know, I’m even gonna go as far to say Pacquiao. I tried to fight Pacquiao after I knocked out Mike Jones and they slammed the door like “man you crazy.”
JW: To give everyone an idea of who you are, let me ask, how do you want to be remembered? What do you want your legacy to be?
I don’t really think about all that. Boxing is my job, that’s what I do. I started from boxing on the streets for nothing, for fun. I don’t come to work looking for a pat on the back or for somebody to say “oh, you’re good at your job.” I’m Suppose to!
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