On November 5, Jens Pulver will step into the cage against top featherweight contender Leonard Garcia.  In this Bighouseboxing exclusive Jens talks about his up and coming fight, boxing, mixed martial arts, and much more.  A brutally honest Jens also takes time to talk about his battles outside of the cage with depression and anxiety.  This is a must read interview for all Jens Pulver fans, and for all people who are fans of genuine, courageous, and honest people.

By Jonathan Brown
 
JB:  How’s training going for the Leonard Garcia fight?

JP:  Training is going well just trying to work on the little things.  You know getting the speed back, and getting the bounce back in my feet.  You know I fought flat footed against Faber, so I’m trying to correct all those ‘‘I wish I would of done things’’.  I will be more prepared for this fight.

JB:  Everybody is looking for this fight to be a brawl, but the truth is Garcia only has 2 KO’s, and has won most of his fights by submission.  How do you see this fight going?

JP:  I know walking into this fight that it seems like guys bring there A-games when they fight me.  We never saw Gomi stand up with someone like that until he fought me.  We really didn’t see Faber use to much stand-up until he fought me.  For some reason I’m the marquee fighter that everyone wants to knock out.  So, do I think he’s going to go after submissions? I doubt it, and the reality is I’m not going to let him.  I know he throws a lot of punches.  I know he throws a lot of kicks.  He did with Huerta.  I was watching that fight saying to myself man these guys are tattooing each other, but they’re not hurting each other.  They’re not even knocking each other down.  You got to wonder about the power?  I’m not worried about submissions.  I walked in there against B.J Penn and he got me, but in reality how many B.J Penn’s are there?  Who knows where he’s going to want to take this fight.  We got the option to keep it standing or go to the ground so I’m assuming both.

JB:  I heard the WEC is merging their light-heavyweight and middleweight divisions with the UFC.  What’s the deal with that?

JP:  As far as I know these guys have always been looked at as the minor leagues of the UFC, so the logic is let’s bring these guys into the UFC and see how good they are.  The WEC has always been known for producing some of the best fights at the lower weight classes.  This merger will allow the WEC to have more fights on their cards for the little guys that have no where else to go.  The guys at middleweight and light-heavyweight have some where else to go, so why not step it up.  They’re just giving us small fighters more of a chance to build our names.  That way we can have more great match-ups in the smaller divisions.

JB:  Do you know if the WEC is trying to get “Kid” Yamamoto?

JP:  I don’t really know.  I know he’s big in Japan.  I think if people want to fight him they’re going to have go to Japan to do it.  It’s tough fighting over there.  You know you deal with that Jet lag; it’s like nothing anyone can really imagine.  No person here would stay up all night long and than go out there and fight.  That’s what it feels like when you fight over there.  It’s a tough thing to do you really got to “nut up” so to speak.  That’s why you don’t see too many of them coming over here and really putting it on people; because you know they have to be going through the same thing.

JB:  What do you think about Randy Couture’s return to the UFC?

JP:  He’s back!  Dana got him back one-way or another, and to me that’s cool.  You know he gets to keep fighting.  His window is closing.  He has done amazing things in this sport, but how much more pushing can you do when your 44 or 45 years old.  I’m just happy I get to see him fight again.  I know he’s still hungry, anxious, and still wants to compete.  I’m happy to see him fighting in the cage rather than sitting around and fighting litigation.

JB:  Who do you like in the fight between Couture and Lesnar?

JP:  It’s a mismatch in one aspect, and that’s that Brock hasn’t been in the Octagon as much as Randy.  The reality is Randy’s strengths are his clinching, and using his wrestling to keep you off balance.  Brock’s been doing that his whole life, and it’s really going to be hard for Randy to knock that bulldozer down.  Brock’s a big powerful guy, and he proved against Herring that he can hurt you with his punches.  The other big guys Randy has gone against he could press against, use his dirty boxing tactics, and he could use his wrestling.  I just can’t see him doing that with Lesnar and if he does he’s going to get flung all over the place.  Can he catch him?  Yeah Brock hasn’t shown he can take a punch or get into a “brawl”, or even a boxing match.  By the same token if it’s Randy’s job to out wrestle Brock I wouldn’t want to do it.

JB:  Lets talk boxing for a moment.  What did you think about Antonio Magarito’s victory over Miguel Cotto?

JP:  I love Magarito’s confidence!  He’s just going to walk straight through whatever you got, and he knows the beating he gives you will eventually take its toll.  He’s like ‘ok I’m going to eat 40 to 50 of your shots dead on the chin, but you know what I’m going to keep beating up your body the entire time.  He’s there for the full fight.  He’s not just coming out there and trying to take you out with one punch.  He’s just trying to punish you, and the longer the fight goes the more it’s going to take its toll.  When you got a guy that just keeps getting in your face no matter what you throw at him that wears on you.

JB:  Do you think Floyd Mayweather Jr. can beat him?

JP:  I think he can, only because the one thing Floyd does better than anyone else is blast you faster than anyone else you have ever seen.  You can go out there and get all the sparring partners you want and it doesn’t matter, because he is the fastest thing you are ever going too see, and you’re not going to know that until you fight him.  Look what happen to Hatton he started to let his hands go early and Mayweather just lambasted him.  Same thing with Gatti I mean the first time he threw a jab he got hit like 4 times before he was able to get his hand back to his chin.  Gatti is sitting there going ‘he just hit me faster than anyone I have ever seen.  How do I beat this?’ Believe me this is worst time you want to try to figure this out.

JB:  Who do you like in the Oscar De la hoya vs. Manny Pacquiao match-up?

JP:  I’m going to go with Pacquiao just because he has heavy hands, and unlimited energy.  At this point in Delahoya’s career he likes a nice slow technique type fight.  Pacquiao is just pure aggression.  He’s going to be throwing from everywhere he can.  Whenever he has a free glove he is going to be dropping it.  I don’t see them clinching too much, so I’m not worried about the size difference.

JB:  I know one of your big sponsors is Call of Duty 4.  How good have you gotten at this game, and how can your fans play against you online?

JP:  I’m not the greatest player, but I’m definitely not the worst either.  I’m definitely not one of those noob shooters that just sits back and throws grenades.  I get out there and can honestly tell you I can compete with the best of them.  I play on the PC mostly.  If you want to catch up with me it’s called the Cathouse TDM 1.  That’s one of the servers.  I am part of the ACH Crew.  I’m on there at night after practice for a couple of hours. 

JB:  On a more serious note I have heard about your struggles with depression and anxiety.  Many people are surprised when they hear that high profile individuals that seem so well rounded on the outside suffer from depression or anxiety.  Where does it come from?

JP:  The anxiety comes from the openness.  I’m definitely no superstar or anything like that, but at the same time it’s not hard to just Google my name and know everything there is to know about me.  As an athlete I spend all my time gearing up for one moment.  For three months all I think about is that 15 or 25 minutes.  Then you do the fight and it is such a high.  If the fight works out in my favor it’s more bearable, but either way you’re sitting there going what’s next?  It’s always a low after a big high.  It makes life tough.  With depression I don’t know how it creeps in.  I’m just trying to find a calm and peace, but the reality is I can’t.  When you have anxiety, you are depressed, and are dealing with panic attacks you can just never relax.  Even when everything is going great you’re just sitting back waiting for the shoe to drop.  You’re like when’s the bad stuff going to happen?  You just keep waiting for it while life passes you by, and you never get to stop and smell the roses.  Your constantly just waiting for that next battle, and it just drives you nuts.

JB:  Has seeing a sports psychologist helped you? I know it helped GSP.

JP:  The first thing I learned was don’t say anything to yourself that you wouldn’t let anyone else say too you.  That’s like the front line from everything else I’m learning.  I am my own worst enemy when it comes to that.  I can’t shut myself up.  Finally when someone does say ‘you suck’ you just ignite, because you have already heard it so many times from yourself.  You ruin your own day so much that all it takes is one person to do one thing, and that’s the straw that broke the camel’s back.

JB:  I know you and Matt Hughes are good friends.  Hey seems like a very surface level person which is the total opposite of you, but you guys still seem to connect very well. 

JP:  Yeah growing up on the same team as Matt has been fun.  He doesn’t worry about anything.  If something comes up he’s like, ‘yeah we will get it fixed.’  Monty Cox is the same way.  He’s like ‘it’s not the end of the world’.  To me it’s like ‘O my god what are we going to do!’ And Matt’s just like ‘dude it’s ok’.  It so important for me to have these people around me.  I’m smart enough to know that I can learn from that, and I can feed off that.  You can’t push it away, or hide from it, you can only learn from it.  You know I have never been able to turn to drugs.  I don’t touch alcohol.  I don’t do any of those things.  I refuse to let myself quit!  Now that I have children, and am getting married I owe it to them to be a strong person.  When I see my fans I feed off them so much.  I’ll give my shirt off my back to them, because to me it is such an incredible feeling that there are willing to take 30 seconds out of their day to come say hi to me.  It really pushes me, and motivates me, because all I can do is battle depression.  I can’t beat it.  I’ll never get rid of it.  That’s why having people like Matt Hughes, Monte Cox, Tamaqua, and my mother are so important.  When I get lost I just follow them, and I know everything will be ok until I get my bearings back.

JB:  Depression is something that is very real.  The best advice I ever received about it was that a lot of life is a choice.  I can give in and choose to focus on my depression, or I can choose to focus on good things: like all the great friends I have, or the fact I have got the opportunity to become lawyer.  These are things that bring a smile to my face.  With you, you got beautiful children, and have had the opportunity to be a world class fighter.  You know with that “internal dialogue” you struggle with sometimes you just have to shut that shit the fuck up, and go listen to music or something. 

JP:  Yeah that’s where some people turn to drugs.  Just to silence that noise.  I don’t have that luxury, so what do I get?  I get to go for a run, or just take it head on.  That’s what’s great about this sports psychologist he has taught me to identify these negative thoughts and replace them with something more positive.  You know like if your car beaks down.  Instead of getting all pissed off like I use too.  I look at it now as an opportunity to improve my mechanic skills, or I get to run more that day

JB:  Is Matt Hughes still planning on fighting Matt Serra?

JP:  I hope so. He needs to realize regardless of his recent history he will always be consider one of the greatest fighters of all time.  You will always be able to have that.  That can never be taken away from you.  At one point I was one of the best fighters in the world.  Now I’m fighting, because this is what I love.  Once he can find that joy and simplicity of it he will be ready to fight again.  Those belts will always be there, and he will always be remembered.

JB:  Do you have any beef with Matt Serra?  I know Tim doesn’t like him either.

JP:  No, we have always been fine.  They’re just rivals in the same weight division.

JB:  They’re a lot guys at our gym thinking about taking a fight.  Any advice about dealing with the pressure and anxiety you get going into a fight?  Have you ever dealt with that?

JP:  O my god I still do.  I still feel like I’m going out to give a speech and I’m going to show up with no clothes on.  I still think that I’m going to walk into a fight and just get kicked and punched until it’s over.  I still feel that way, but the reality is you have to believe in your coaches and believe in your training.  You signed the date you’re climbing in there whether you like it or not.  Now you have to go out there and give it a 110%, if you let that feeling beat you’re not giving yourself a chance.  The truth is there’s no better feeling than going out there putting everything together, and getting that W.  Don’t run from your fear.  Accept it. Realize it’s going to make you train harder and, fight harder. That way it’s just a feeling, and it’s never going to be your reality.

JB:  Jens thank you very much for talking to me.

JP:  Anytime bro. 

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