KO: When did you start boxing and why?

OC: I started boxing at the age of 9 when I was a young kid and the reason I started boxing was because I got in a street fight and I went home and told my dad, I said 'some guy bullied me and beat me up and took my bike'.  I told him I needed to learn how to fight and he took me to the boxing gym, and I've been in the boxing gym all this time.

KO: What fighters did you idolize growing up?

OC: I liked Ray Robinson a great deal, I like to pattern my style after him and Ray Leonard.  Guys like that.

KO: And how would you describe your boxing style?

OC: I feel like I'm a master boxer-puncher.  I can do both, I can box a guy and I can whoop him down and slug it out with the guy.

KO: Did you have difficulty finding quality opponents early in your career?

OC: No I fought all the top guys in the welterweight division, I had no problem fighting any of the guys.

KO: What were your feelings going into your first title fight with Felix Trinidad?

OC: I felt like I was in good condition, but I felt like I wasn't properly prepared.

KO: And how did you feel after the fight?

OC: I was very disappointed, I came back home and tried to find myself and other aspects of life, I new I was going to be champion one day, but it failed at that particular time.

KO: You're next opportunity for a title came against Ike Quartey when you lost a majority decision, do you feel you were robbed by the judges?

OC: Ike Quartey is a tough guy, i don't feel like I was robbed by the judges.  I feel like the fight was going tit-for-tat but with him being champion, even though I dropped him, I don't think I did enough to pull off the decision in a title fight.

KO: You then got a title shot against Oscar de la Hoya where you were winning on the scorecards until Richard Steele deducted two points, what exactly were the deductions for?

OC: For a headbutt and a low blow, both were unintentional and I feel that Richard Steele was going against me in that fight and it showed as all of the calls he made in that fight were going towards de la Hoya, and I feel that de la Hoya is a good fighter also but I feel like I'm a step above all of the champions that are out there today, but I was put in bad situations at the particular times I was fighting for the titles.  I know I'll fight these guys again.

KO: Did those point deductions change the way you fought de la Hoya?

OC: Yeah it did change a great deal because I had to change my style of fighting and had to approach the guy from a different angle, going towards him more instead of trying to box him and use my boxing skills, I had to fight a whole different kind of fight.

KO: So you feel you would have won the fight easily if it weren't for those two deductions?

OC: I felt at that particular time of the fight  I was getting into the groove of the fight and without those two deductions I would have done some damage as that's how I really come on, having that mental game taken away from me, I wasn't completely mentally prepared to go out there and batter this cat at a way that people would see 'wow this guys really gonna stop him'.  But I was given no real chance to really stop de la Hoya.

KO: Who are you fighting next?

OC: I think we've got a fight June 15th, I don't know who the opponent is but as far as the next big fight I'd like to fight Vernon Forrest, Shane Mosley if he beats this Oscar de la Hoya kid, I've got Shane picked to beat de la Hoya, it's gonna be a good fight and Shane's gonna really have to suck it up but I just feel that Shane's got enough natural ability to pull off an upset.

KO: If you could pick your next few opponents, who would they be?

OC: I would pick Vernon Forrest and I would pick Shane Mosley.

KO: Do you have any thoughts of moving up a division?

OC: I'm pretty comfortable making the welterweight division, I have no problem making the welterweight division, I would do it in the near future yes, maybe in a year or so, but right now I'm in my comfort zone.

KO: You're a 27 year old veteran of 53 fights, where do you see your career going from here and how long do you plan on staying in the game?

OC: I see my career on the incline right now, going straight up to the top because I've got the experience of the championship fights and now I feel that I'm focused in the game and at the particular time where I am right now when I fight for the title I have more experience and more no how, I already know that I've got more skills than them, but the determination factor right there is going to be extreme.  I feel I'm gonna be undisputed welterweight champion of the world, and that's gonna bring me to the point of being pound-for-pound, I don't think any welterweight since Ray Leonard has become undisputed.  Trinidad didn't become undisputed, de la Hoya didn't become undisputed, Ike Quartey didn't become undisputed so I'd like to be the first guy in over a decade to be the undisputed welterweight champion of the world.

KO: Is that what it will take for you to receive the kind of recognition you feel you deserve?

OC: I feel like I receive the recognition, I don't get all the attention but I receive the recognition.  I feel people respect me and recognize me as one of the great champions of the day, but I think that me winning the title would really prove to all the guys that I am the champion that needs to be recognized as one of the premier champions out here, I think it would take me winning all three championships, I lost all three so I gotta go back and win all three.

KO: Are there any final comments you want to say to your fans?

OC: The MotorCity Carr is still rolling, I'm still keeping my eyes on the prize, and God is my life wholeheartedly, that's what gives me the determination to become who I am. 

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