Johnnie Cortez Edwards Ready To Shine On Showtime Boxing

By The Professor

Veteran trainers and boxers will tell you that in this game you have to stay ready because you never know when an opportunity will present itself. Aiken, South Carolina born featherweight Johnnie Cortez Edwards (11-0 7kos) has recently found this to be sage advice. Edwards, know as Cortez to his friends, gets the opportunity of a lifetime when he meets undefeated prospect Elio Rojas (18-0 13kos) on Friday, March 2nd, at the Belterra Casino & Resort, in Belterra, Indiana. What makes this such a big fight is that it will be the main event on a Don King promoted card and will be broadcast live on the Showtime Network. I had the chance to interview Johnnie Cortez Edwards over the weekend and he was gracious enough to answer some questions that I had for him. Here is that interview:

Professor: When did you get the call for the fight and how did you feel when you heard the news?
Cortez: I recieved the call tuesday afternoon after getting out of class. I was suprised because they had turned down a bout with me a few times already.

Professor: What was your amateur record and biggest accomplishments as an amateur?
Cortez: I had about 100+ amateur bouts. Making the 2004 Olympic Trails.

Professor: Were you a member of the Marine boxing team?
Cortez: Yes, I was a member of the All-Marine Boxing Team, and I did serve as the Captain from 2001 until I left in 2005.

Professor: There seem to be several members of the Marine team making a splash in pro boxing, can you name some of them?
Cortez: Yes I can, we have Joey Vandaniker, Gerry Grelish, Blake Prevost, Mike Martinez Jr., Anthony Little, Christopher Tillman, Cliff Rashard, Chris Govan, those are just a few of the guys that I can recall that turned pro.

Professor: Do you stay in contact with welterweight contender Paul Williams and his trainer George Peterson who are also out of Aiken, S.C.?
Cortez: I try to stay in contact with those guys but as you know they are always off training and I don’t want to be a burden, so I keep up through friends but we talk from time to time.

Professor: Did you feel coming out of South Carolina would hurt your chances of professional success?
Cortez: Honestly I was never concerned with turning pro, until I was put in a situation that caused me to have to bring in some extra income.

Professor: What advice can you give other fighters coming up about staying ready at all times?
Cortez: The answer is simple if you want to be the best than you have to sacrifice, and stay committed to the job.

Professor: You have made amazing progress in such a short time. In the year and a half since you turned pro, you have gone from 4 and 6 round fights to fighting 12 rounds in your last fight. Is there a chance you could fight for a world title before your 15th fight?
Cortez: As my trainer tells me we are ready for all of them from 126 to 130.

Professor: What can you tell us about your trainer J.C.Davis?
Cortez: He was a former boxer himself, he began training fighters in his mid twenties, he pulled Ken Norton off the football field to have become a boxer, He is good friends with Don Turner and is the Gift sent to me by god.

Professor: What gym do you train at and where is it located?
Cortez: I train in two gyms, one being the Marine Corps Boxing gym and the other is Don Turner’s gym, we mainly go there for sparring.

Professor: I know you were looking for a big fight, but is this even bigger than you expected?
Cortez: Not bigger because all fights are big and you can’t underestimate anyone. But this fight has a lot more for me than I expected for my 12th bout.

Professor: With this fight being on Showtime, is there added pressure to do well?
Cortez: No it is no more pressure than any other fight, this is what I train for and I am going to do what I do best, perform. The only difference is that people other than the crowd in attendence will be able to view the fight.

Professor: Was it hard to see Eric Aiken (former IBF Featherwight Champion) getting big fights even though you beat him?
Cortez: Yes, it was a bit discouraging knowing that I just beat this guy a few weeks before(After the loss to Edwards, Aiken won the IBF title from Valdemir Pereira after beating former bantamweight champion Tim Austin), but it just shows that my time will come.

Professor: Who are the fighters past and present that you admire?
Cortez: Mike Tyson was my first favorite, Sweet Pea, Roy Jones, I like Mayweather’s style, Sugar Ray Leonard, Ray Robinson, Jack Johnson, Marciano

Professor: What do you know about your opponent Elio Rojas?
Cortez: I don’t know much about him, but it doesn’t matter what I know because when we get in the ring he will be just another opponent, like all the others I knew nothing about.

Thanks for the interview and I wish you much success on fight night. All of us in South Carolina will be watching and cheering you on!