‘TELL ANTHONY JOSHUA I WILL SPAR HIM’
Former heavyweight contender Derrick Jefferson looks back on his career with James Slater and decides – at the age of 49 – he’s making a comeback
ONCE upon a time there was a heavyweight called Derrick Jefferson, who had swapped basketball for boxing after being shot in the leg. Big, athletic, brutally powerful and loaded with courage, Jefferson was a popular slugger at the turn of the century. He engaged in a number of thrilling slugfests – his 1999 war with Maurice Harris remains a cult classic today – but he fell short of winning at elite level, and was exposed somewhat when he was beaten by Wladimir Klitschko in a 2001 bid for the WBO title.
Jefferson, who retired in 2005 with a 28-4-1 (21) record after a stoppage loss to Davarryl Williamson, is now set to try again as he approaches 50 years old; aiming, he says, for a 2018 comeback. As with so many restless souls in boxing, Jefferson, it seems, is struggling to live happily ever after.
Let’s go back to the start – you were shot in the leg, which curtailed a basketball career.
Yes. I was shot in the leg while I was in college. I was actually on a break, at home, and my brother was also shot, in the head. It was an argument at a party store and thankfully we both survived. I couldn’t go back to college, and the next thing I knew, I had found myself at the boxing gym.
You only had a short amateur career.
I had a year-and-a-half, but I was moved fast and I managed to win the National Golden Gloves. I beat Michael Grant on points, and I KO’D Davarryl Williamson in the first round. We fought again right at the end of my [pro] career [ Jefferson being stopped in the second-round], but by then I had so many issues going on and I was not anywhere near to my best, and he beat me.
You were trained by Bill Miller, a trainer James Toney says was one of the best ever. What did Miller teach you?
Well first of all, he was a great trainer – a legend. Bill Miller really was one of the best ever. I fought at a high pace, especially for a heavyweight, and he taught me how to slow it down, how to think in the ring, how to place my shots. I became a different fighter thanks to him.
‘I WAS SHOT IN THE LEG, AND MY BROTHER WAS SHOT IN THE HEAD. WE SURVIVED’
The fight you are most celebrated for is the sixth-round KO win you scored over Maurice Harris. You exchanged three knockdowns in the second round and you finished him with one of the most famous knockouts in recent history as your left hook almost took his head off.
Yeah, he brought out the best in me [ laughs]. It was a tough fight. That was my first time on worldwide TV, my first big fight, and I knew I had to KO him. He had a lot of good boxing experience, sparring so much with Lennox Lewis, and I knew I couldn’t, or didn’t want to, go point-for-point with him in a boxing match. I knew I had to knock him out. The left hook was one of the best I ever threw, yes, but I landed a whole lot more great left hands in my earlier fights, fights that probably never got seen. I can’t believe that fight was 18 years ago, wow! That’s why I know it’s time to make a comeback.
Come on. Seriously? You plan to fight again?
Yes. I feel absolutely great at age 39 [ Jefferson is actually 49] and I’ve been back in the gym. I’ve been sparring, but more so conditioning training; some yoga as well. I was definitely rushed back in the day [three big fights back-to-back from November 1999 to May 2000, this after six fights in 1997 and five fights in 1998].
I just did what the promoter told me, I never knew any better. I was a fighter and I just fought – whoever and whenever they told me. No doubt I could have been given a break before the Wladimir Klitschko fight. But now I’m wiser, more mature and I’m definitely a different fighter from the one who fought the likes of Obed Sullivan and Oleg Maskaev. I want to fight again three months from now. Tell Anthony Joshua I will spar with him. He needs an experienced pro such as myself to work with.
Is Joshua the best heavyweight in the world right now?
I’d say him and Deontay Wilder is a 50-50 fight. They’re both strong and powerful. That’s a great fight. But I like all the big heavyweights from over there in the UK: Lennox Lewis, Frank Bruno and Joshua. I’d love to come over there and show my experience. I’m definitely coming back, and soon!