23 year old Paris, Arkansas resident, Delray ?The Rainmaker? Raines is preparing for the toughest fight of his career against Ronald ?The Chosen One? Hearns (24-1, 18 KOs). He claims that he draws the most inspiration from his idol, Manny Pacquiao.
Raines’s career has been a tough road so far, largely due to the fact that he never had a single amateur fight before beginning his professional career.
He is trained by Paris native, Stacy Goodson. Raines (17-7-1, 12 KOs) promises to work his way up through the rankings and become a world champion.
On Monday, I spoke with Delray about his fight with Hearns and other upcoming events.
LS: Hi Delray. Tell me about the big fight you have coming up.
DR: I’ll be fighting Ronald Hearns on April 17th in Atlantic City, New Jersey.
LS: He’s got a pretty good record with 24 wins, one loss, and 18 knockouts.
DR: Yeah. He’s nothing like his daddy. He don’t have anything that his daddy had. He does have a good record, but I’m going to expose him on the 17th. I really don’t know how to put it…I’m going to do my talking in the ring. I could talk all day and not do anything, but I’m just going to stick to doing my talking in the ring.
LS: Sounds good. I was talking to Stacy, and he said you don’t have any amateur fights. You just jumped right in with the pros.
DR: Yeah, I just started training a few months before I turned 18, man, and then turned pro. I thought I had the right trainer at the time, but I’ve switched to Stacy and now I know I have the right trainer. Right now it shows with not having any amateur fights, having 7 losses, but I’m not adding any more losses to my record. I’m that confident, and my head is on straight now. I will show everybody in the world what I’m made of because it’s now time for The Rainmaker to shine.
LS: Alright man. It makes sense. When you start out in the pros, you’re bound to lose a few.
DR: Yeah, I wish I didn’t have the losses, but there are plenty of champions with 9 losses…10 losses…
LS: Yeah, and you’re just 23 years old, so it’s not like it’s over for you just because you’ve lost some fights. Name some boxers that you look up to.
DR: Pacquiao…really, man…he’s my idol! Jermaine Taylor. I grew up loving him. I tried to mimic his jab, you know? His jab was the best in boxing at one time. Pavlik. I’m one of his number one fans. Man, I love Pavlik. He’s a middle class man, just like me. He’s just a normal guy, so I like him. Those are the guys who really inspire me to do something.
But Pacquiao, he came out of nowhere, you know? He came from the Philippines, one of the poorest countries, but he’s on top. He’s a world champion now. He’s doing what his dreams are, you know? When he put his mind to it, he could do it. That really shows me that if I put my mind to it, I can do whatever I want?anything in the Universe.
LS: We’ll get back around to Pacquiao, but first, what do you think about Mayweather vs. Mosley?
DR: Man! Mosley is phenomenal right now! There’s no telling what he could do right now. He’s forty-something years old and he’s never been this good. At his age, he’s in the top prime of his career. But Mayweather and Mosley, I would have to go with Mayweather right now. Mosley’s a bad man. He’s got everything, and he’s just now peaking out. But Mayweather’s got it, and he’s always had it. Right now, all he needs to do is study what he needs to do to beat Mosley. Mosley has to get to where Mayweather’s at and then figure out what to do. Mayweather don’t have to spend that extra time to try to get up to Mosley’s level. Mayweather’s been at that level. I think he’ll get it. That’s going to be a fight you don’t want to miss. I’ll definitely be watching.
LS: Ok. If Mayweather beats Mosley and fights Pacquiao…
DR: (Breaking in) That right there, if you think about it, Mayweather’s the hardest man to hit in boxing. Pacquiao’s never fought anybody as slick as Mayweather. But Pacquiao, he’s the hardest man to make him stop punching. Mayweather’s never had anybody to punch at him like Pacquiao will. I don’t know who would win that, but I’m still going to go for Pacquiao. I’d love for Pacquiao to win. He’s my man. That’s how I try to fight. He’s the underdog, and I’ve always been the underdog.
LS: What would you like to say to your fans?
DR: Just look out for me. Just watch. I’ll be on top soon and I’ll never forget where I came from. I’ll be the people’s champ. Just keep on looking out.
