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Boxing : George Khalid Jones Interview

WithinTheRing.com recently hooked up with George Khalid Jones, the WBA #5 ranked Light Heavyweight in the World as well as the reigning NABA champion. The initial intent of the interview was to discuss Jones’s upcoming nationally televised ESPN2 fight with Darnell “Ding-A-Ling Man” Wilson. The interview does touch on the upcoming fight, but more importantly it goes deep into George Khalid Jones the person who has faced trials in life that very few have.

TR:I know you have an interesting life story even before boxing. Can you tell me about that and how you eventually got hooked up with boxing?

GKJ:Well, I got caught up in boxing basically in jail. It’s no secret that I spent 11 years of my life in the penitentiary. In and out of jail. Jail time three years here, three and a half years, another three years. I gave boxing a chance because in jail they feed you a lot better if you represented the boxing team in the state and county jails so I gave it a shot. Unfortunately, I never got to enjoy the food because I always had to maintain a certain weight to fight at a certain weight. I grew up in a single parent home. My father wasn’t around until later on in my life and having a single parent it allowed me to spend more time to adopt the streets as a second home. If your parents ain’t there to see what you’re doing you start doing negative things and unfortunately being out in the street I got into a lot of trouble, unfortunately. Later on when my father came back in my life we built our relationship that was based on selling drugs and eventually we started using drugs together. We were using crack cocaine. During that time we were selling drugs. After that back in ’89 I was introduced to heroin and I used heroin for 8 to 10 months and I remember praying every day for God to get me off of this stuff. Before that, I started boxing in ’85 in jail and from there I met boxing in jail. Then when I got home I met up with heroin and that went on for about ten months. Then I returned back to jail on a violation and I resumed my boxing career in jail. Getting out of jail I thought I’d give the professional ranks a try even though my only amateur experience was in jail. I had about five or six fights in jail. My father ended up dying after I got out of jail and I had to do a lot of soul searching because I have kids of my own and I never want to get into anything negative in front of my kids. I love my father, but I wanted to give my kids a different life. We live in a middle class neighborhood, they go to an excellent school. If it wasn’t for boxing and my whole support system I would probably be dead right now. My whole life I went from one addiction to another. From robbing and stealing to selling and using drugs, crack then heroin and leaving that alone and going into gambling. Right now I have a great network I’m involved with in Gamblers Anonymous. I have a good support system, I have a good job. I’m one of those fighters who believes, which a lot of fighters don’t, that I want to keep my job. These other fighters, once the big money comes they end up owing most of it back. I keep my job. Anything I need like my mortgage I handle. I don’t box to live, I work to live.

TR:Everyone that follows boxing is familiar with what happened in your fight with Beethaeven Scottland. Can you share your thoughts regarding the tragedy?

GKJ:I was a self-centered person my whole life. I had a chance to do a lot of soul searching after that fight. This guy passed away and my whole life I’ve been a guy that was arrested maybe 18 or 19 times not even counting as a juvenile. I heard nothing but good things about this guy. All I kept thinking was it should have been me that died because I lived that life that I could have die any day from either a drug overdose, robbing and stealing when someone could have shot me to death, being in gambling houses could have been shot to death, at the age of 14 I had shotguns stuck in my mouth. So many things happened in my life, I felt like I should have been the one that died after hearing about this guy’s life. He was a family man. After that fight I knew I was on Earth for a purpose. I said that God took a hero away and reborn another man. This guy (Scottland) I have nothing but a great deal of respect for him because if it wasn’t for him I don’t think my life would be what it is today. I don’t think I would be, you know, I’m reborn again, I don’t think I would be the humble person I am today. I’m more of a compassionate person, I care for people. It ain’t just all about me. I truly believe that God put me here for a reason. I truly believe that God took a good man to rebirth another man. Since that day I am more family oriented, I’ve been in and out of prisons talking to the prisoners, I’ve been at schools talking to kids about making the right decisions in life. I do these things on a monthly or daily basis. I tell the guys in prison that if a guy like me can come home from doing a bunch of time in jail, they can too. I didn’t learn how to read until I was 23 years old. I’m constantly educating myself every day because my kids ask me questions about certain things. It’s not embarrassing but it hurts me not to be able to help them with certain things they need help with. So I try to read a lot and educate myself. I talked to Beethaeven Scottland’s wife this past weekend and I’ve told her that one of my goals is to be able to do something for her family and right now I’m in the process of trying to start my own business, a trucking business through my job. I just want to make a strong impact on Bee Scottland’s family one day. His wife told me I don’t have to do nothing and I told her I know I don’t have to, but I want to do it. I know I don’t have to do nothing, but I feel like everything in life is done for a reason. This guy is in my prayers every day. I pray five times a day and there’s not a day that passes by that I don’t think about him.

TR:I think it’s great that you were able to take such a tragedy and make something positive out of it. It would have been a waste if you didn’t. You’re doing the right thing and I commend you for that.

GKJ:Thank you very much. The biggest thing for me is his wife called me and my family afterwards and said that she thinks a lot of people are taking the tragedy wrongly. She told me I have no hatred towards you. She said for me to get out there and do the best I can in life and that she would rather know me being a good person helps the situation. She knew the tragedy happened, but it wasn’t by a bad guy, a vicious guy. The situation hurt me bad. But the calls that she gave me she always instilled that she had no hatred for me or my family. We call each other during certain holidays. My biggest dream and goal is to hopefully one day do some big deed for his family. My kids can wake up every day and say “Daddy”. They can go to sleep every night and give me a hug and a kiss. That’s the saddest part that his kids can never do that again. My heart goes out to Beethaeven’s family. I was a vicious person one time in my life and I didn’t care if you lived or died, but it came to a point in my life that I became compassionate towards people. When you run the streets that’s just the way it is. But when you change your life and turn it over to God you want to be more compassionate and want the best for everybody. Mrs. Scotland helped me do that. In fact she’s trying to help other fighters right now in helping them get a pension. This woman is stepping up because of what happened to her husband and she wants to make sure nothing like this happens again to another fighter’s family.

TR:Your upcoming fight with Darnell Wilson, can you share with me how the fight came about and your thoughts about him as a fighter?

GKJ:I have a great deal of respect for him, for any fighter that takes a risk stepping into the ring. Darnell Wilson, I did watch a few of his fights. A very strong guy, keeps coming at you. I know I’m in for a tough fight that night. I’m a much better fighter when it’s time to step up to that level and Darnell Wilson definitely brings skills to the table, and I know Darnell Wilson don’t come to lay down, and I know Darnell Wilson wants what I got. I’m rated right now #5 in the World and I know Darnell Wilson wants that. I’m North American Boxing Association champion and Darnell I’m quite sure wants to be on the other end saying I beat him. It was a hard tough journey here but I got the job done. At the same time I’ve got to protect what I got because if you take what I got then I can’t feed my family, I’m going to have to stick to the 9 to 5 and it’s going to be harder to give my family the things in life. I’m in the gym working hard and I know he’s back home working hard. I’m looking forward to a great fight that night and I never been scared of nothing in life. I know he’s going to try and use his strength as a weapon and I know I’m going to use my mind as a weapon. This guy’s got youth on me, but I’ve got experience and knowledge on him. He’s stepping up just like at one time I had to step up. I never underestimate no one and I’m looking for a great fight that night from the both of us. I’m getting a chance to redeem myself on ESPN because I fought Rodney Moore 18 months ago and it was a lackluster performance and I have a lot to prove that I am a World class fighter and I want to move on to bigger and better things after I win this fight.

TR:What do you attribute your performance in the Rodney Moore fight not being up to your level of fighting?

GKJ:I was trying to be too careful in that fight. Rodney Moore was definitely under my level and I was told before this fight that other things were going to happen and I became too careful. Some people asked was it because of the Bee Scottland fight, but this fight with Darnell Wilson will define everything I’m about.

TR:So you’re ready to roll?

GKJ:I’m ready to rock and roll.

WithinTheRing.com thanks George Khalid Jones for being such an open person for our readers and wishes him the best in his upcoming fight with Darnell Wilson and more importantly wishes him great success with the rest of his life.

Courtesy http://www.withinthering.com

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