Raymond Daniels: The nicest guy you never want to meet in the ring

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I’D BE TELLING A STORY IF I SAID I WOULDN’T BE GETTING A LITTLE GRATIFICATION, SOME VINDICATION, SOME REDEMPTION.

Raymond Daniels: I’d be telling a story if I said I wouldn’t be getting a little gratification, some vindication, some redemption. It’s a great feeling to have the opportunity to go in and fix mistakes that you made.

Imagine if you could go back in time and tweak the outcome of things just a little bit, not that you would ever take that away, because that is what makes you who you are. I’m looking forward to showing him, to show the world, who I really am and what I look like as a fresh fighter.

TAP: Recently, we’ve seen Melvin Manhoef and Joe Schilling take brutal knockouts, Joe even lost a valuable spot on the upcoming Dynamite card. When you look at guys like him getting knocked out like that, do you feel they’re ultimately not making the wisest choices with their careers and their health in a sport they seem to struggle in?

Raymond Daniels: I would never try to tell anybody what they should do with their career. As a fighter, it is your job to believe in yourself, because if you don’t believe in yourself, who will? No matter what arena you put me in, if you said, ‘Raymond, we need you to go box this guy who happens to be the best boxer in the world,’ you know what I would tell you? I’d tell you, ‘I’m gonna beat that guy.’

It’s the job of the people you have around you in your camp to tell you, ‘This is not a smart fight for you to take.’ It’s important to have those people around you; not just your coaches, but your managers and friends, too. Those people need to look out for your best interests and aren’t afraid to tell you when it’s not good for you to compete in certain styles, etc.

TAP: If you don’t end up going through an all-out war with Nieky, would you like to get a spot on that card? Have they already reached out to you about it?

Raymond Daniels: No, currently, I don’t have a spot on the card, but I’m sure after the show I’m about to put on, they’ll definitely want me to be on that card. I plan on handling my business and putting on a great show. I’ll be the champ after that, so it will be interesting to see what kind of doors open for me. I’ll be on a week’s vacation in Austria following the fight, but I look forward to getting back on the training wagon, so I’ll be ready if they come knocking.

TAP: We interviewed Daley a couple weeks ago before his last Bellator fight, and he mentioned he wanted a high profile name for an opponent on that Dynamite card. Your name was one of the ones he mentioned. He said,

“I’ve previously been asked about a bout with Raymond Daniels and although he’s an opponent who can bring some spectacular knockouts, he’s going to be dancing and spinning around and I don’t think he would bring the type of excitement a good solid Mexican-style fighter could. I mean look at your legends like Roberto Duran, guys who would just stand there and hit each other until someone drops. I prefer that to having to chase someone around the ring.”

What do you think of comments like that, and would you be interested in facing him at some later date?