Jamal James could complain but he won’t.
The welterweight contender was scheduled to face Thomas Dulorme on April 11 at the Armory in his hometown of Minneapolis but the fight gave way to COVID-19. It was rescheduled for July 25 and then pushed back again because of the start of the baseball season, this time to this Saturday at Microsoft Theater in Los Angeles.
Is James frustrated? Nah. He looks around him and feels fortunate.
“It’s definitely different,” James said on The PBC Podcast. “… I try to keep a positive outlook on whatever gets thrown my way. It’s very easy to complain about stuff but when I look at the position I’m in, the blessings I’ve received, it’s a lot better than people I know and stories I’ve heard.
“… So I try not to complain too much.”
James (26-1, 12 KOs) is definitely in a good position in terms of boxing.
The one-time national-level amateur fighter took up the sport at 5 years old, which means he has been grinding for 27 long years. And, today, he’s only a victory or two away from the opportunity to realize his dream of winning a world title.
The re-re-scheduled fight with Dulorme (25-3-1, 16 KOs) is for the WBA “interim” title, which will put the winner in a position to challenge titleholder Manny Pacquiao.
The problem is that everyone wants to fight Pacquiao and he seems interested in facing only opponents with the biggest names at this stage of his career. James understands that. He also understands that a victory over Dulorme will be a giant step toward truly big fights.
“The welterweight division is so stacked with big-name fighters,” he said. “You know, you could make a decent living in that weight class or decent boxing career in that weight class if you have the skills for it. So I’m down to get in there with anybody as long as it makes business sense.”
Of course, he has to get past Dulorme first, which is no given.
The 30-year-old Puerto Rican was stopped by Terence Crawford in 2015 but has fought well since then even though he’s only 1-1-1 in his last three fights, losing a close decision to Yordenis Ugas, drawing with Jessie Vargas and then outpointing previously unbeaten Terrel Williams.
Dulorme is talented and experienced, and he seems to have found a grove.
“He’s a veteran in the game,” James said. “He’s fought world class opponents, been in there with the Terence Crawfords and other guys. He has his own natural, special abilities. When you get in there with a guy who’s been around the block a little bit against other tough opponents, has a winning record, you can bet they’re going to come to fight, they’re going to have tricks you have to watch out for.
“But I’ve been in there with tough guys, too, I have my bag of tricks as well. So we’re going to see what’s up.”
One fight in which James learned a great deal was his only loss, a unanimous decision against Ugas in 2016.
James took that fight only a few days beforehand. He was prepared physically, in part because he fought less than a month earlier, but he realized after the fact that a few days isn’t necessarily look enough to get in the proper frame of mind to face an opponent as gifted as Ugas.
Lost a fight. Learned a lesson.
“You don’t overlook or underestimate anybody,” James said. “You gotta be 100 percent prepared when you step in there with anybody, especially at this level. I took that fight on very short notice. We looked at the guy, we looked at Ugas’ record, but we didn’t do my full research.
“I was still healthy, in decent shape because I just got done with another fight, but I wasn’t mentally focused and in the zone like should’ve been. Once you’ve been in camp for a month or more, when you come out of that camp you have a different hunger to you, a different focus to you.
“I had a focus but it wasn’t to that level. He definitely had a focus because he had been preparing. … I’m not a hater. He did what he’s supposed to do, he won. His career has been blasting off. Hopefully in the future I get a rematch in if the business is right.
“But like I said I’m happy where I’m at now. And I’m going to try to get more and more.”
You can bet that James will be ready Saturday – physically and mentally.
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