I would like to ask you some questions about your scheduled fight that did not take place with Laura Serrano that would have been televised on Fox sports Net September 23….

TL Fox: The Serrano team is saying that you wanted the fight cut down to a six-rounder, did you ask to have the fight reduced from an eight rounder to a six rounder?

McCarter: The doctor said it was going to be hard for me to fight eight rounds. Saying that with my right hand injured that they were thinking of canceling the bout. When I told them I can fight. The promoter asked if they made the fight less rounds would I be able to fight. I told him that would be okay, and that six rounds would be good. (Laugh) Six rounds are better to fight one handed. I tried to tell the doctor, my hand is good, I am ready to fight. I am going to win, I feel confident. I said that I was willing to fight, and that I would have beat her one-handed—but the doctor did not approve it.

TL Fox: Which hand is injured?

McCarter: My right hand, knuckle.

TL Fox: Has this injury affected you in other 
fights?

McCarter: five, six fights. It is sometimes better and sometimes worse. Sometimes when I leave it alone it gets better. I take a lot of anti-inflammatory to help it, and let it rest.

TL Fox: How did you re-injure your hand?

McCarter: I had sparred someone on Thursday/Friday and re-injured it.

TL Fox: What happened at weigh-in when you came in over the agreed weight of 126 lbs.?

McCarter: When I went to the weigh in, the second problem was the weight. It was kind of a short notice fight... I thought I was okay on the weigh-in,  but I was a pound or two off. It was a 126-lb. contract, so I was thinking that you can be one pound over the contract, and that I was one pound off, as I weighed in at 128 lbs. When I did weigh in over the limit, Laura said for them to make me ‘lose it’. And Laura said that I had to lose it all, two pounds. I said that was Bull, that the contract would give or take a pound. They kept debating the weight and so I said, screw it, I will lose the two pounds.

TL Fox: How did you take the two pounds off in that short of time?

McCarter: I went to the sauna and the steam room, I ran around the block, in the rain a few times.

TL Fox: What is your response to Serrano’s team who said that you came to the fight unprofessional, unprepared, and your team was a mess?

McCarter: It was a short notice fight. That I am not in the best of shape, but I took the fight because I knew that I could beat Laura. One handed…. Out of shape…That I would beat her undoubtedly, it was a short-notice opportunity that I thought I should take. Because otherwise there may not be another opportunity to fight her. She is pretty much on her way out. And we needed to resolve this before she quits and I quit. We need to make this war, and put a ‘period’ on it.

TL Fox: Do you think that there will be another chance to fight Serrano after this happening?

McCarter: I think so. Laura is at the peek that she has ever been, you know, but it is not enough to beat me. She’s 33 years old. I’m 22. She just throws punches, she doesn’t even think what she is doing. 

TL Fox: There was rumor that you had said that you felt you had beat Serrano the first time?

McCarter: Anyone who saw that fight would tell you, I won that fight. It was a close decision. I lost a split decision, but, if you watch the fight, no matter how many ways you look at it, I won the fight. I lost the second round, but overall I won the fight. They booed her out, they were chanting my name into the next fight.

TL Fox: Anything you would like to say to the Serrano team?

McCarter: Yes..You know Serrano backed out of a couple of fights already. One in particular we had already signed a contract. I think it was her ankle or bronchitis.

TL Fox: What would you like to tell other women boxers?

McCarter: I just want to tell every woman fighter who are ducking fights, picking dead bodies, they need to fight or not fight. They get to the top and they get beat…so what.

Follow-up with Luis Tapia, Trainer/Manager of Layla McCarter

I just wanted to make a few remarks. I have sent you some emails in the past. I would send you mails and always predicts her fights. Since Layla has been involved with me, I always predicted her fights… Layla would fight so-and-so…Layla would be so-so…and everything I would predict, came true. Because I know what Layla is capable of doing. And right now, I manage and train Layla, because of her skill. No body can beat Layla at her weight. I don’t know for sure, I think she is the only boxer that four times without fighting because the opponent pulled out of the card at the last minute. For example, we went to California we go to the weigh-in, and then the girl right there after the weigh-in, at the Hollywood Park Casino. The opponent was Karen Martin. It was before Karen Martin had the broken hard.

The first time she was okay, Karen was supposed to fight somebody else. Karen's opponent did not show up so they called me at the last minute. So we went over there, when we got over there, went to the weigh-in and everything. Karen was right there but she didn’t want to fight. The reason she did not want to fight was that she said that Layla was too good for her. That she had too much experience---which was true.

One of the things we have been going through to get a fight for Layla. Then another girl, she also backed out, then they called everybody, no body wanted the fight.