Interview with
Royce and Helio Gracie
& Pedro Valente
after fight with Yoshida Hidehiko, August 28, 2002
from SRSDX
10/10, 2002
Note: If you are reading this translation of
the SRSDX interview with Royce and Helio Gracie
on judoforum.com or anywhere other than Global Training
Report, it means it was ripped off from Global Training
Report by judoforum.com and other sites that are too lazy to
create their own content and too dishonest or dumb to request
permission from Global Training Report to use it. |
Note: Despite the cover date
of 10/10, 2002, the magazine actually hit the news stands on
September 4, 2002.
|
Translated by Roberto Pedreira
"I'm disappointed with Yoshida.
He's a liar!!" [Yoshida ni shitsubou shita!
Aitsu wa usotsuki da!!]
--Helio Gracie
[Note: a comment enclosed in brackets like these: [
] indicates additional explanatory material provided by the translator]
***
Helio: This newspaper came out today?
What the hell is this! First, listen to what I want to say about
yesterday's fight.
Q: Yes.
Helio: We regret the hasty decision given by the
referee. Moreover, Yoshida lacked courage and morality.
Q: Morality?
Helio: Yoshida
didn't admit the misjudgment by the referee. Royce wasn't unconscious at
that time. Yoshida himself, he understood that well enough. and that's
why I say he has no morality. Can I continue to talk? Unless
the fight ends as a "No Contest", I regret to say
that we will consider the Japanese people to be unfair just like the
referee.
Q: All Japanese people!?
Helio: Yes. That's why I
want the fight to be "no contest".
Pedro: And there is one
more thing we want you to understand. An interview is acceptable, but
Royce won't answer the questions. So either Helio or me will do it.
Q: I understand. I also think the decision was a
complete misjudgment. And....
Royce [Abruptly]: Can I ask you something? What
is written in this newspaper? [note: the newspaper in question stated in
its headline on the front page that Yoshida killed Royce with a choke:
"Yoshida Royce wo shimekorosu"]......Don't you think that's
strange? All this kind of newspaper write that Yoshida won, don't
they? However, all the reporters who came for an interview today
admit that it was a misjudgment. Then how come the article comes
out like this?
Q: I think it's because at that time the decision was
that you lost, so it was written like that. I think it must
be regrettable for you.
Royce: Hmmmmmmmm.
Q: But, after the fight, Yoshida said that he felt
that the power was coming off from your body.
Royce: If Yoshida said that, he is a liar. That is
only thing I can say about it.
Q: Well then, you didn't pass out, right?
Pedro: (to Royce) I will answer it. The reason why
Yoshida is a liar is that he tried to apply sleeve choke [sode guruma],
but it was not a complete sleeve choke. He was just preparing for it.
Royce was defending it. So at the moment when the referee stopped the
fight, the choke was completely ineffective.
Royce (to Pedro): Show them how the choke was [Royce
demonstrates how he was defending the sodeguruma, showing that Yoshida's
second hand was blocked from Royce's throat, and thus he was in no
danger].
Q: After all, you
couldn't be choked unconscious?
Pedro: That's exactly right. Royce was completely
defending the choke. Even thought the newspaper wrote that he was KOed
unconsciously, such a stupid thing could never happen. After all, Royce
immediately got up, didn't he? If he had really been unconscious, he
couldn't have been expected to have gotten up like that.
Q: Did you watch the video of yesterday's fight?
Pedro: I watched it.
Q: This is my impression
of watching the video with my unprofessional eyes, but
when Mr. Yoshida was applying the choke, the hand of Mr. Royce
appeared to have lost its strength.
Pedro: That is completely wrong.
Because he was blocking Yoshida's hand. In jiu-jitsu, power
is not used. If it looked like Royce was out of power, it was because he
was relaxing so that he could catch Yoshida's movement.
Royce: In a fight there is a
win and a defeat. But being said that I was defeated the way like this
is past my endurance. I admitted my loss in the fight with Sakuraba,
didn't I? Therefore, I don't mean I'll never admit my loss. What
is regrettable is I was compelled to be a loser by a misjudgment. I have
pride.
Q: Does Mr. Helio think the same way?
Helio: Of course.
Q: With such a result,
it is meaningless that the meeting on the rule was continued until one
day before the fight, isn't it?
Pedro: Regarding the meeting on the rule, there
is something I want to say. Royce didn't demand any change in the
rule. I want to make this point clear. What Royce have been emphasizing
was that he wants to fight by the rules determined at the first
contract. It was the promoter's side that wanted to change the
rules. That is the truth.
Q: I understand. Apart
from the outcome, what was your impression of fighting with Yoshida, a
judo gold medalist? Was [his] judo strong?
Pedro: Yoshida was an Olympic champion and Royce was
the UFC champion so I thought it
would be a great fight. (Suddenly Royce tries to leave the room.)
Q: Oh, excuse me, could you give us one word
about your impression of Yoshida?
Royce: I don't want to hear anything about Yoshida. I
am too excited to talk about him. At first I wanted Yoshida's autograph.
Because I was a fan. But not any more. I'm disappointed. He's a
liar. (Royce leaves).
Q: Well then, Mr. Helio, how did you see Mr.
Yoshida's judo?
Helio: He didn't do any judo at all, did he? He just
seemed to try to be doing some bad jiu-jitsu.
Pedro: Yoshida tried to do a leg lock, but that
technique isn't a judo technique, is it?
Helio: In the fight, Royce was the one attacking. Yoshida
was only on defense, wasn't he?
Pedro: I think you can understand if you watch the
video, but Royce grappled Yoshida at 7 seconds after the fight started
and went for a leg lock at 10 seconds. Even looking at the entire fight,
it developed in a manner that Royce attacked and Yoshida defended,
didn't it? Except for his attempted leg lock, Yoshida didn't attack at
any time.
Helio: Speaking clearly, Kimura, unlike Yoshida, came
attacking me. He was truly a man with
courage. [yuuki] and sincerity [makoto] He
was great as a human being too. Besides, in the fight with Kimura,
Carlos threw in the tower, and the referee asked me to make sure if it
was OK with me. Everything was different from the fight this time.
Kimura attacked, but Yoshida only defended.
Q: After the fight, Yoshida announced that he
had confidence. Probably, he meant "this is all there is to Gracie
jiu-jitsu?"
Pedro: Yoshida has confidence because the referee
helped him. I think that's a shame. I don't think Yoshida could sleep
well last night.
Q: Is it because Yoshida was lying about Royce being
out?
Helio: Right. In this fight. It is Yoshida who
was afraid of losing in this fight..
Q: Concerning a rematch, do you insist that this
first fight must be declared a "no contest"?
Pedro: Yes.
Helio: It was really unfair. If it is not declared
"No contest" there won't be any next time, I think.. We are at
a loss to understand the promoter's judgment.
Pedro: In this situation, the Japanese people will
never know the truth.
Q: Therefore, don't you think a rematch is in
order?
Pedro: First, it should be declared "no
contest". After that, we can think about it.
Helio: Can I show you the choke now? I want to
show you what a real choke is. I'm so frustrated [kuyashii]. A man who
has been made unconscious cannot quickly stand up. Even if he gets up,
his mind will still be vague.. So that means that he [Royce] wasn't
unconscious.
Pedro: I proclaim that "He was 100%
conscious"
Q: Immediately after the "Stop", what did
Royce say?
Pedro: He turned to the referee and said
"why did you stop it?", you know. "Why? why?" he
said.
Q: While grabbing Yoshida, Royce said something to
the sponsor. What did he say?
Pedro: He said that Yoshida should tell the truth
to the referee. He said he wanted Yoshida to testify that it was a
mistake.. Yoshida was an Olympic champion, so he should have noticed the
referee's mistake.. He wanted him to admit it honestly, but he didn't do
it. It is disappointing.
Q: The Yoshida team and the Gracie team seem to have
completely opposing positions about this.
Pedro: There are many opinions, but there is video
now. If you watch it, everything will be clear. To an expert of
kakutougi, when they watch the video, they will understand that Royce's
claim is correct. This is what we are saying. Royce was defending the
choke successfully. To repeat, the fight should be declared the improper
result of the referee's misjudgment. And what we want to say to Yoshida
is, "are you OK with this result?" Everyone! Please watch the
video!"
**
Other Interviews and articles on GTR about Royce and
Helio Gracie
Royce
1
Royce
2
Royce
3
Royce
4
Royce
(Herois do Ringue)
Royce
& Rorion
Helio
Note: If you are reading this translation of
the Playboy interview with Royce and Helio Gracie on
judoforum.com or anywhere other than Global Training Report,
it means it was ripped off from Global Training Report by
judoforum.com and other sites that are too lazy to create their
own content and too dishonest or dumb to request permission from
Global Training Report to use it.. |
(c) 2002, Roberto Pedreira. All rights
reserved
|