Following his first sit down with FightNews Canada, Tony Luis stepped inside the ring once again in Montreal, Quebec taking on a strong Mexican journeyman of sorts for up and coming fighters in 27 year old Isaac Bejarano. Luis dominated the fight on the scorecards shutting out Bejarano 60-54 twice, with the third card reading as 59-55 in the lopsided unanimous decision. FightNews Canada revisited Tony “Lightning” Luis following the victory to get his take on the fight and to see who Tony Luis wanted to fight next being he now had a clean slate in from of him to work with...Here is round 2 with our conversation with Canadian lightweight sensation Tony "Lightning" Luis.

Round 2:

First of all Tony, congrats on your latest victory...

On paper, at least, your most recent opponent in Montreal, against Isaac Bejarano of Mexico who was 9-6 with 7 Ko’s, would appear to be the most experienced guy you’ve faced as a pro, how would you assess your last fight Tony?

“Based on skill, I didn’t really find it to be a huge step up from what I have faced in the ring before. I still think that of all my opponents based on skill and experience that (Jorge) Banos was the most decent fighter I’ve faced so far. Bejarano did bring more experience to the table than some of the other guys I faced based on the fact that he has gone 12 rounds before and 10 rounds a few times. They brought him in inorder for me to get in the ring with a guy that could stick around in there for a few rounds, rather than a guy just blowin’ over.”

What would you say that you gained the most in this last fight?

“Well just the fact that I haven’t been past the 4th round, this was the first fight where I went six. So in this fight, I was able to prove to myself, which I already knew because I had put the rounds in the gym, that I can go 6 rounds and finish out strong, maintain a pace and finish the way that I had started in the 1st. If anything, I feel that I actually started slow for the first couple of rounds. I’ve always generally been a slow starter and I think that’s why I didn’t get the stoppage. I had him on his heels in the end but it was only because I started stepping it up after the 3rd round. I feel he was out on his feet in the 6th and I just ran out of time. I felt good, I felt strong, and I would have felt good enough for an 8 rounder. I get stronger as the fight goes on. That tells me that I start too slow. It also tells me that I am ready for 8 round fights in the near future.”

Looking back at your division here in Canada, and being that now neither McGuiness nor Grant, will be appearing on the first pro card in Ontario in 2010, would you like to elaborate on your thoughts on the Buzz Grant versus Logan McGuiness fight not happening, and how willing are you to step in the ring with either of these guys..?

“First of all, I think that this Buzz and Logan fight was getting way to much trash talk and hype surrounding it. They were talking like it was going to be a fight in Vegas, when really it’s just a 6 rounder... Not to take anything away from both guys, because it’s not so much the fighters, but the people around them, that are talkin’ way too much, and building this into something that doesn’t warrant the kind of attention that it’s been getting. You’re going to quote me on all this right?”

Oh you got it...

“Good! ’Cause I don’t care if it comes out... having said that though, I would love to fight a guy like Buzz Grant. Let’s say we put the Quebec championship against the Ontario championship. You know nothing has really been thrown my way as far as offers or anything, and I don’t know if that is something that has been in pursuit by my promoter either but that is something that I’d like to do if it comes around in the new year. As far as Logan, yeah Logan is a good fighter, he has a very good trainer in Chris Johnson, and that fight is something that I would definitely be looking forward to down the road, say for example for a Canadian title or something like that. Not now for a 6 or 8 rounder. We wouldn’t get paid enough. We’d put on a great show for the fans and we wouldn’t get paid what we deserve to do it right now, so down the line, definitely!”

Do you know when your next fight in Montreal is going to be?

“Not yet. I have been told anything specific but either February or March I imagine. There’s no shows in January so it will be either February or March up at the Casino in Montreal.”

Is there any talk yet about who you’ll be fighting?

“I’m not sure yet. I imagine I’ll do one or two more 6 rounder’s then jump up to 8 when spring time comes around. Like I said, before the year closes out, sometime in the second half of 2010, I’d like to go for a Canadian title if everything works out and that’s if my promoter and my dad are on the same page.”

Any thoughts for the new year on the pro boxing scene? Are there any fights that you want to see happen this year from a boxing fans perspective?

“Pacquiao versus Mayweather. The fight has been on again, off again, but I think that is a fight that needs to happen. It’s not like it’s the fight that’s going to save boxing or anything but it is a fight that has to happen. Look at what they are predicting numbers wise for the Pacquiao, Mayweather fight The problem is that there are not enough Pacquiao’s and Mayweather’s out there to have boxing overtake some of the other sports that are big right now. I think that the last couple of years, maybe it’s the fact that the UFC really does always have Super Fights almost one after the other, the sport of boxing has really woken up. It’s good in a way because I think that we’ve been getting a lot of really good fights over the last couple of years, sort of a boxing comeback. Even if all of the media aren’t recognizing it right away, I think it’s starting to get around. We have some more main stream guys now, after De La Hoya retired, we thought what is boxing going to do without its biggest cash cow? When Tyson retired a few years back they had said the same thing. Jones is almost completely out, not that he was ever a big, big mainstream guy anyway, a lot of people still don’t know who Roy Jones is....you know what I mean. I think with guys like Mayweather and Pacquiao, especially Pacquiao, they are willing to fight anybody. I think that boxing is starting to get back in its feet again. The welterweight division is super hot right now and we’ll see what Cotto has left. Cotto has already given us a few good fights that we didn’t expect out of him after the Margarito fight, with Clottey, and Pacquiao, even though that was in a losing effort. You know Paulie Malignaggi finally came out of his shell too, and he beat Diaz in their rematch. So we’ve also seen some underdogs that are rebounding. So yeah, I think that boxing is definitely here to stay. If anything, it’s only going to get stronger. Look at the Super 6 tournament as well at 168, that’s smoking too. TSN is playing it a lot, and a lot of people are getting into it, even the casual fan. That’s what we need, we need more free TV exposure because that’s what the UFC has got on us right now, is that you don’t see boxing on free TV anymore, but with TSN airing the Super 6 and stuff like that, boxing is going to, like I said, make a comeback again! ”

I agree completely. The last question is a free for all... is there anything that you’d like to say to your fans reading this at FightNews Canada and in the Talkin Boxing with Billy C Magazine?

“I’d just like to, for anyone that’s followed my career and that’s supported me, I’d like to give a shout out to them and thank them for their continued support. I’m looking to do big things in the next couple of years and hopefully, I’ll have people to come along for the ride with me, who believe in me, because it’s no fun when you are riding alone. I’m just looking to prove myself to the fans in Canada and eventually on a world wide scale, and to making the most out of my career in the ring.”

Tony, thank you for all of your time.

“You too and thanks to you and to everyone over at FightNews Canada and Talkin’ Boxing with Billy C!”

If you wish to contact the author of this article, email John Robbins at FightNews Canada