AIR DATE:
EPISODE: Episode 1
In this episode of Knuckle Up, Mike Orr talks to Jalen “Sky” Walker, a rising star in the featherweight division who has a perfect record of 7-0, with 6 knockouts. Jalen shares his journey from Los Angeles to Ring City, his training regimen, his inspirations, and his goals for the future. Mike also asks Jalen about his nickname “Sky Walker”, his fighting style, and his upcoming bouts. Don’t miss this exclusive interview with one of the most exciting prospects in boxing today!
Transcribed
What up talk and fight fans thanks for tuning in to today’s return episode of Knuckle Up? And yes, I have a good one for you today, we’re sitting down with young man that I’ve been profiling over the last couple of years, a man that I told you is going to be a world champion.
One of these days, a man who was undefeated and still is years later, please help me welcome to the studio for this wonderful interview, my man Jaylen Skywalker, yo.
What’S the deal, man the myth and the legend welcome.
Thank you for having me man.
You were right.
The intro was a little different, a little different, a little different.
I kind of like this one, this a little better than the last one yo man, it’s been two years.
You know we sat down a couple times a couple years ago.
Go you know.
I’Ve been been talking about you, since you know you turned Pro telling everybody out there, you’re the one to watch you’re, the yo man.
You are the Jedi of the featherweight division as as I like to say it and doing it well, very well, um, honestly, Let’s uh, let’s just get right into it! Man, two years ago, till now what has been uh? What have you been up to man? I’Ve been fighting, I’ve been fighting to get a fight.
You know.
Last year I had 13 fights count on me this year.
I thought I was out of the woods, but had other bad um management contract and just dealing with that, but I finally got away got with my guys from um England and the future is bright, EXC excellent.
I know we were talking about it there off camera.
I don’t know if you you’re allowed to say it yet out there, but official yeah, it’s official today, partner with matchroom, my jeis Churchill, boxing club in Santa Monica California, and we’re partnering up and the the future is right.
You know we’re going to have a lot of guys coming from England or even their USA, based guys – and this is going to be the first gem that they could train at.
So it’s a lot gon na be coming my way: oh man, Flor.
Finally, fi F.
Finally, we’ll get you some fights.
He because, honestly, you were super busy.
2021.
2022.
One fight.
You had 13 cancel on you right.
Something like that.
Like I could tell you a story.
I had a fight scheduled believe April March and I made weight.
Did my weight cut woke up in the morning got out the shower? I get a call from my manager at that time and he was like you won’t believe this, but your opponent on the buzz drive over here the cartel stopped them and he got pistol whipped.
So I don’t know if that’s real but yeah, my opponent got pistol whip and I had to refund all the tickets.
It was a mess either either he either he got pistol whiper.
He didn’t want no smoke man, because, honestly, J, I got to tell you man, your footwork has improved impeccably over the last couple of years.
What what are you doing to work on it? What like? Let the fans know how you’re working that man, because, honestly the way you can spin out the way that you’re moving around the ring now it just it shows like a veteran.
It could be kind of ironic, because my coach is Pedro Pedro NE he’s from Argentina.
I started training with Pedro at the age of 19 years old, okay and I started training with him.
He basically broke my style down added to what I was already good at and he was teaching me how to be more relaxed, because before that I was very stiff.
I still have Tendencies of that right and it’s kind of ironic because he’s from Argentina Argentina is like known for having you know the best soccer players like Diego Mar Leo Messi and they have like great footwork.
So it kind of I know it’s two different sports, but we found a way to like mix it in in a way and he’s um very size insane um.
What’S the word, I’m looking for um, meticulous about the exact things that I have to do.
You know.
Okay, so he’s got he’s, got like a real regiment in place, makes you stick to it to a te, very meticulous training, yeah, it’s you know what it’s paying off, it’s paying off.
What what? What do you? What do you believe has been your best Improvement since uh switching over experience becoming an adult? I was a teenager, I’m 21 years old.
You know um the thing that threw me off with this coach is we woke up in a morning A lot of times a lot of 500, a training training sessions, a lot of preparing and setting my night out before you know it’s like I’m a professional fighter.
It’S a lot of sacrifice.
You know driving because I live in LA driving to where we have to meet.
It would be like 30, 40 minutes and learning how to wake up early [, __, ] three hours, four hours sleep and just just going through it.
I learned lot of things man, I trained really really hard.
I trained so hard.
I trained myself into a hospital.
My body shut down how hard I was training so um into my body.
I’M learning things I spared with Deon Haney um before he fought lomachenko and I learned a lot of things from that guy.
I give him my hats off to him.
I learned a lot.
I learned how to work without overworking but being a.
He knows how to do that perfectly.
Okay, so would you say that’s probably the best thing that you took away from that experience, yeah and uh how to utilize a good jab which which I noticed I noticed man yeah I’ve, I’ve improved on that, because man he’s just popping me with that.
Damn jab pop pop pop and I’m like I’m not used to it, I’m not used to Bing or being in the ring with other slick Fighters.
I’M used to sparring the typical Mexican style come for or like a spin off of that type of style.
His style was a little different, I’m not it was.
It threw me off the first two rounds because he’s similar to me just as fast, but he was trying to box me.
You know what I’m saying he so I had to make the adjustments after the first and the second round.
You know so I was very curious to see about the reges fight, because reges is a softball, so I’m like okay, is he gon na keep that head down, or is he gon na bring it up right honestly? What a great I want to talk about your last fight, you know first one this year did you did you feel that you had maybe a little bit of ring R, because I’ll tell you right now, you did not look like it.
They were mentioning it in the commentary that you were off for some time and that ring R could set in.
But honestly I didn’t see it.
I saw a very new and improved uh different boxer from from from years ago, honestly you’re really coming into your own.
That fight, I want to break it down.
You know, round by round it was only two man.
You know what I mean.
So it’s you know you very you’re, very calm, you’re were very calm.
I noticed um, you know how do how do you stay calm in those situations and do you find it um, harder or easier now that you’ve been in the game long enough to get get your nerves down when you’re fighting in front of those big crowds? Again, I’ve been fighting for 14 years.
I’Ve I’ve been raised as like a gladiator Spartan from America.
You know I’ve.
My whole life has been about that about the fight game.
Right doesn’t matter what happens in the ring.
I know I can handle it.
You could throw wolves, you could throw me to the Sharks I’ll, be fine.
I know I how to weather the storm.
The first thing that was on my mind was I wanted to look impressive, but I didn’t want stress that I was gon na be impressive, but when I seen how slow my opponent was, I knew I had him yeah.
The only way for him to hit me is for me to stay right there.
Yes, I noticed that I that when I noticed he couldn’t hit me on his own, he only hit me and when I engaged – and I stayed there too long – I’m like oh, no, I’m gon na pick you apart, I’m not going to cross this line and the Difference between me and other, like you, could say, slip Fighters.
Is that mean like? I want to not trying to sound like a weirdo, but I want to hurt you and get you out of there.
I don’t want to keep you there longer.
That’S not my thing.
I’M pretty old school, it’s like okay box box box, but I’m going to beat you up.
Yeah yeah bring bring that old school boxing back old style of fighting and definitely you’re bringing it yeah people.
They always wonder about punching power.
Some guys are like one hitter sleepers me.
I never cared about being a one uh hitter sleeper, I’m the type of guy.
Where I rather beat you up.
I know if I up, I could get the knockout either.
I G to catch you with a body shot.
You’Re going to fall asleep or the referee is going to show mercy and that’s that’s.
What happened is.
Is that your favorite, the body shot the favorite? No, my favorite is when the referee shows Mercy like when it’s 30 40 punches and I’m um, putting my will on you right, love like implying my will on my opponent.
That’S my favorite part of it right.
So what was the game plan going into that? Last fight, just just bring it fight, I knew the guy supposedly was supposed to be a hard puncher.
He had Knockouts out of 14 wins yeah and knew that I couldn’t well.
I could have stayed right there, but I would have made the fight harder right know.
I’M from California, so a lot of my style comes from um like a Mexican style somewhat.
I like to thing, but I know that wasn’t the right, the right choice for me.
So when I went out there, I’m like okay, let me use my speed.
That’S my advantage and, and then when I felt this power, I’m like okay.
This is not much because I’ve been in there with punches, but he’s not fast enough.
You know a fast Hard Punch is more dangerous than a slow, hard puncher to me.
Yes, that’s like explosive and set traps could give you nightmares.
Yeah like you, you can definitely see you can see the traps you’re setting man, I can see them, definitely becoming a Jedi.
That’S for real man.
You are you.
You are a Jedi of this division.
Man yo, I see big things for you in the future, um, what’s uh, what’s the plan going to look like for 2024? How many times are you expecting to get in there? I believe at least four four time.
Next fight is going to be January February around that time, maybe I’ll be under the undercard of Connor Ben.
We have, we have the same manager named Charlie, Sims.
Okay, so should be easy to get on that card.
The next fight, I believe, is a 10 rounder.
Okay, I still think it’s gon na be maybe for a junior title.
That’Ll be good’ll, be excellent.
You know man, I I I swear the fact that you haven’t fought so much in the last two years is, you know, know the fans are just missing.
You I’m telling you, because when you came back, you came back and you just showed that dominance that I know you have in the ring that I’ve been telling these people.
Since you know you turn pro, you know yeah.
You can really see that you are really coming into your own man.
Thank you.
Thank you for all the support man.
I really appreciate.
I appreciate always always man.
I give the support where it needs to be due.
I got ta show you know these.
I got to show love to the youngans man that are coming up.
You know you are the future of boxing.
You know you’re the future you’re you’re going to be the guy we’re watching for the next 10 years.
Hey always up reach out to me.
I always give you an interview.
Yo, I love it.
I love it.
I can’t I can’t wait.
I can’t wait and we got to get you to win this knockout of the week award to yeah.
Let’S do it by yeah man, probably probably in that next fight, we’re gon na have to see it for sure yeah.
So um, what’s uh social life, do you got one, or are you really just living in the gym these days? My past three weeks, if you like, follow me on Instagram on my stories, I’ve been a lot of places like I’ve been to Catalina.
San Francisco went to the amusement park yesterday with my siblings.
I was basically being a Sho room.
It it was.
They don’t expect nothing when my brothers, I roll with an iron fist, but my sisters, you know I can’t do nothing so they kind of exactly EX at the same spot for 40 minutes yeah walking towards us.
But never was you know, but I have a social life.
I believe life is.
I try to live my life fully, but there’s time but there’s times where you have to be extreme and you have to cut everything off right, I’m the type of fighter when I’m in Camp I’m in Camp.
I don’t like to do nothing I like to be in the gym.
Leave me alone.
I stay in the gym.
I liter sleep upstairs from the ring and that’s how I live like the last five six weeks of my Camp.
I want to be here.
I don’t want to be home, I don’t want to do nothing.
Don’T talk to me.
Leave me along it’s.
I have to be away, I’m that type of guy, but out of Camp.
I love.
I love life.
I love dancing with people.
I love going out.
I don’t drink, I don’t smoke, but I like to have a good social life.
Yeah man have a good time.
Yeah, that’s good, that’s good! So this last Camp.
How did you like run us through the last camp for this fight? The last C was too damn long.
I was supposed to fight in August or September, and then it got pushed back to whenever my fight was.
When was my last fight November.
It was November yeah, no November 18th.
I believe it was okay yeah.
I got pushed back, so I was in like a 14 Fe camp and then halfway through it.
I was sping all these guys going 10 rounds and halfway through it, I got sick.
So I had like bad chest: chest congestion.
It was like six weeks out and it kind of worried us a little bit because I started getting tired out of nowhere, but took some medicine everything got back on track when we finished hard.
Did you find it hard to to uh to bounce back after that? That, like Hospital, stay and medical stay, no, because I took some prescription medicine.
I did this like online doctor told them.
My symptoms went to the CVS got my and I was good about that week.
I was good got my energy back and I was killing it in sping awesome.
So what else has been going on in the two years? Man, it’s a long time, man long time, any any other sparring stories, any great uh, great sparring that you’ve had other than Haney been sparing all the Russians and Filipinos and wild cart all them guys, man, the Filipinos.
I tell you they have these monster tree trunks of legs.
I know they can really sit down on those punches eh.
Oh my god dude it’s.
I was sping these guys in the it’s like missiles, goinging past your freaking head dude, it’s like like, if you want to test yourself, sparso Filipinos, they goingon, to give you some work really so they’re the work they’re, the workhorses, the sparring world.
No, it’s not the work rate, that’s the problem.
It’S the natural gifts that they have.
Okay, Filipinos and Puerto Ricans are one of the hardest punches I’ve been in there with.
You know rest in peace to my friend Sammy, but he was a year younger than me and he died a motorcycle accident come so you hear that yeah and our fathers used to train together and his punching power was ridiculous, like he I’m telling you he had Like hands of stone like Puerto Ricans, every Puerto Rican have been in there with they just they hit hard.
They like they have like one of the hardest.
Punchers, like you know, um ra, fro Gomez or even bar langa or Felix triner, that they just yeah [ __ ] are like it.
It makes it makes you really th, okay, when you get hit with one of those yeah and then the Filipinos like I’ve, spart, marles, apal, spart, Mark MSI, dude, they’re, Heavy Hitters yeah.
You know Mark yeah, Mark Mark Ms, he does look like he’s, got heavy hands.
Man, he had an amazing knockout like two days ago, yeah prob a guyy with a left hook, and I was I looked.
I show my dad I’m like Dad.
You had me sparing this guy at 18.
Look back! I’M like do you even love me yeah.
He does that’s, why he’s putting you in there with him so early right, like damn man like you, got ta, give me my props for like free a lot of times.
You know yeah yeah like I’ve been paid for Spar, but now I don’t like it.
I don’t like to get paid because it’s it’s okay to be a spar partner, but I don’t want to be a spar partner right.
You know me so I’d be sparring.
These [ __ ] monsters, yeah for sure they can climb freaking, coconut trees and but they’re just a different breed man.
That’S what it is different breed right.
So what what’s the goal for the uh the end of 2024? What are you gon na set? What kind of goal are you gon na set for yourself for end of 2024? Hey man, the gold, the gold, the the belt? That’S it could be next year and then next year early next year, but I’m right there yeah, I had a long layoff, but I’ve been working this whole time this whole time.
It has to been a vacation for me, so I don’t believe it will be long for me to get my groove back.
I already got my groove, but to get things going right, step, I’m gon na get closer to that title shot and I’m gon na take it home.
Definitely and with your gym now joining the max room, the match room, stable, that’s going to be! You know a lot of a lot of big opportunities for you to think you know I don’t think you’re going to have any trouble finding any more opponents.
You know it’s just, oh no.
I still I had a hard time, but I I paid my opponent out of my own purse for him to accept the fight seriously.
He wasn’t GNA accept the fight because it wasn’t enough and he was and already like three four guys said no before him wow, but on to take it.
So I’m like all right boom.
My purse, I gave him $ 2,500 just that your purse just to join a and get in there yeah.
I don’t care about the money.
Well, not yet you know I closure, it’s not the most important thing to me: yeah yeah! I could get myself in a ring, then I know I’ll start making money but of course, it’ll all it’ll all come it’ll all come in time.
Man, I would have fought him for free if I had to Yo and honestly, if you would have fought him for free man, it was still a great a great opportunity right honestly.
He look, you know, like you, hear, the commentary in the beginning of the fight fight and everything and they’re, like you know, oh, this is going to be a good test to see where you’re at I’ll tell you where you’re at is far above, where he is I’Ll tell you that’s that, that’s for sure, and I can’t wait to see you more this year coming up man uh, you know four times.
That’S gon na be a great great big difference from the last two years and the matchmakers like dang.
We had to step up the competition because we were expecting this to be like a hard, tough, eight round fight for me right.
So I’m glad I was able to impress the guys definitely defin defitely, so you say your next fight’s going to be a 10-rounder.
Yes, so that’s going to be the first one.
So what are some of the preparations that you might take to do that you know considering this gon na be a couple extra rounds round man, so I right now we’re dropping intensity, increasing the volume and then, when we get closer in Camp, we’re going to drop The valuee increase the intensity, meaning we’re going to.
Let’S say if I do 10 12 rounds on the bag, we’re going to make it shorter to about eight or five but hard.
Okay have to play it by play, because my body is my temple, my health.
My body can fail on me if I’m not doing the right things like drinking.
So that’s what kind of scares me is my body my body show up, so I have to properly stretch and eat the right things, and so what’s what what’s the eating habit like like bad eating habits? It’S that I have to eat more, that’s my! I have to eat more and I got to eat higher quality food right as like avocado nuts, good meats, good proteins stuff, like that, like I very um low body fat percentage right, do you uh? Do you take like uh like any supplements or stuff like that? Or you just strictly like food kind of diet, kind of guy I’m usually food and diet, but at the time I’m taking a multivitamin.
But I’m not no supplements.
But when Camp gets really hard.
And I feel like I’m out of breath like not out of breath.
Um second winded hard, and I feel second winner throughout the day that’s assigned to me, I have to take supplements like Crea a team not but to act as like a style recovery recovery for myself right right, so who would be the dream fight next year? If you could have it dream fight next year, dream fight next year.
First off I want the belt, whoever I could get the belt from it could be WPC ibf, whoever the Champions are, is constantly changing, but my dream after I get my belt and I move up to 35.
I would love to take out pitb Cruz.
Honestly.
I think that would be a brilliant fight.
He is definitely uh he’s.
Definitely the Energizer budny.
When it comes to work.
He does.
He does move forward a lot.
You know he does thr those um I going be respectful, but I don’t think much of him.
I don’t think a guy.
His height should be fighting at 135, he’s like 52 yeah, very tiny, and I think it’s kind of like you’re just being fat.
You don’t want to lose weight, not disciplined enough.
Well, he should fight at like 122 126 at the most and even his last fight with my friend Gio V.
I seen a lot of flaws and there a lot of errors and all I would love that fight actually that’d be that’d, be an awesome fight.
Man I’ll tell you that’d, be one to uh to watch for sure.
Definitely your footwork would come into big big play right there.
You know being able to man he’s spinning out like a ballerina these days, bro you let you light on those feet.
No wonder you love dancing, you take all those ladies out and spin them like that too.
I love dancing.
Recently.
I’Ve been learning how to do salsa like Mach dancing, so my should have improve you know.
I that’s awesome, that’s awesome.
Do you find uh? Do you find you’re really coming into your own now, like with strengthwise? Do you find that you’re getting more of that that becoming a man, that’s what it is yeah just becoming older, my body’s fing out, you know I’m getting a little more wider backs widening out.
So yo abs are looking like a washboard yo.
How hard is it to maintain those abs very easy? I I’ve had them since the summer of 2010, okay, okay, I was in the shower and I got out.
I got out the shower.
I was a little eight-year-old and my dad was like oh [, __ ].
You got abs and I really know what like he said six-pack I didn’t know what a six pack was like.
I thought it was like beer or something but looked at me and I’m like yeah been at these and a part of who I Who I Am yeah man forever.
Definitely well Jaylen.
I’M not gon na.
Keep you too much longer brother um.
What I want to do is just you know, for all these young kids out here, watching just give them some advice.
What they need to do to follow in you know kind of your footsteps.
What what what should they do? They want to be you what the advice I give to.
The youngsters is be yourself, be honest, be strong believe in God.
Fear.
God know that God is always watching.
Don’T do bad things, don’t lie, don’t cheat people be honest, your life will be good.
You know people want to always say Good Guys finished last no pushovers finished last, but if you’re a man and you got principle and you carry yourself well, people will respect you.
You know you have to be a soldier, but you also have to be a good man.
You got to have principles, certain things you don’t do.
You know you don’t do for pame and money.
All that stuff is cheap.
You got to have honor in this world and I feel my generation likes that they like principal, you know, yeah.
You know I do find that I do find that they do like principal man, it’s uh, it’s it’s a sad thing, but you know as long as they have people like you.
You know in this game that they can look up to who do have the values of these older kids.
You know, maybe there is a hope for your generation.
You know definitely um yo how’s, your dad doing man last uh.
He was on here for your first interview.
He was he yeah yeah.
I think he was on with you oh um.
He was here he left um like an hour ago.
He was here gy he’s doing well.
The e had a problem with his appendix so yeah.
We had that taken care of.
He should be having surgery soon, but my father he’s good.
He had his, U 41st birthday, so he’s.
Finally, in his 40s, well yeah, that’s uh! That’S that’s a boat that I’m on already I’ve been I’ve been there.
You know what, though 40 is fun.
I’M gon na tell you.
The 40s are fun at this at this point.
At this point, you’re established enough where you can enjoy yourself so yeah, but he has you that uh he’s constantly uh you know with and and – and you know, backing you and pushing you to do what you want and it’s great man, it’s great honestly.
So next fight January February uh, definitely I can’t wait to see you get in there.
Man and bang him out and uh yeah I’d love to see that strap around your waist by the end of 2024 man for sure I you know you’re deserving of it.
Man, I’ve been telling people this I’ve been telling people about you for a long time, and hopefully they listen.
This time when I say this people out there watching man right here is the real deal: people the real deal, Skywalker man, the Jedi.
I really appreciate yo no worries.
I appreciate you too man.
Thank you for taking the time out I’ll.
Let you get back to it.
You know you’re still at the gym.
I know you’re uh, you’re you’re you’re bit of a gym.
What’S that in Canada right now, yeah I’m up in Canada, baby! It’S it’s snowing like a it’s! It’S not snowing yet, but out to the Canadian fans, much love I love to go out.
Maybe do some hunting.
If I learn how to do that, uh, let’s do it yo! If, if you up, if you up in Canada in Toronto, yo hit me up we’ll take you hunting for sure we’ll get you we’ll get you some guns and we’ll we’ll go out and shoot some things yeah, but yeah man so I’ll.
Let you get back to it brother.
It was a great talking to you, man.
I will always be in touch.
You know that I’m always watching you from the background talking fight, you know we’re behind you all the way: 100 % and uh.
You know what the future is.
Yours, man, it’s just what you you make of it right.
Yes, sir.
Thank you all right.
So, next time, y, all right brother have a good one, all right peace to all the talk and fight fans.
That’S it man, our man, Jaylen Skywalker, the Jedi of the featherweight division, undefeated 120 And1.
You know what it is man he was here, live for an interview.
We’Ve been following this kid for time.
I’Ve been telling you guys for time.
Listen when I tell you the future of boxing is already here.
You just got to know who to watch, and I’m the guy to tell you so make sure you tune in next time for knuckleup Mike or you know what it is your man with his ears to the ground, finding the new prospects for you to watch for The future of boxing, you know what it is man I’ll see you next time, fighting solves everything.
Remember that knuckle up, we’ll see you again: [ Music ], oh [, Music, ], oh [, Music, ],
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