Exclusive Interview with Josh ‘The Punk’ Thomson-Contimued

Exclusive Interview with MMA fighter Josh Thomson
"I think we are just going to come out and go at it. Someone is going to finish someone". --Josh Thomson

By:Jeff Townsend, Boxing/MMA writer Bayareasportsdrive.com
June 12, 2008

Bay Area Sports Drive had a chance to interview Mixed Martial Arts (MMA) fighter Josh ‘The Punk’ Thomson at American Kickboxing Academy in San Jose where he is currently training for his upcoming fight against Gilbert Melendez set for June 27 at the HP Pavilion in San Jose. Their main event fight will be for the Strikeforce Lightweight Championship and is widely expected to be an all-action war between two of the best fighters in the sport.

We also had the privilege of watching Josh work out at the American Kickboxing Academy (AKA) with his very well-regarded trainer, Javier Mendez. Several other MMA fighters were also in the gym that day including Paul Buentello, Bobby Southworth and Josh Koscheck

Jeff Townsend (JT - BASD): Thanks for taking your time to talk with Bay Area Sports Drive today.

Josh Thomson: No problem.

Training & Physical Conditioning

JT (BASD): Let’s start by talking about how your training has been going for the Melendez fight.

Josh Thomson: It has been good so far. My shape is good. I was so focused on getting into shape. In the beginning, I think I even killed my body. I came off a long layoff so I have been really focused. The training camp has been good. There has been a bunch of nagging little injuries from trying to rush into the training camp right away. Overall, it has been pretty good. You always think that you are going to end up where you left off, after an injury, and it never happens that way.

I have this image in my mind of how clean and crisp everything was looking before I got hurt and then I had surgery. Then I came back and I am thinking, “I should be right back where I was”. But it does not happen that way.

JT (BASD): I know that you had a separated shoulder which is what caused you to pull out of the original date with Melendez which had been scheduled for a Strikeforce card on February 23. Did you end up having surgery on the shoulder?

Josh Thomson: Yeah, I hurt my shoulder in early October, a week after the Playboy Mansion fight. I was supposed to fight in November. I tried rehabbing the shoulder but the shoulder wasn’t getting better and then I dislocated it in early January. I made an appointment for surgery a week later with Dr. King and I have been rehabbing it since then.

JT (BASD): I am assuming that you had to do a fair amount of physical therapy.

Josh Thomson: I am still doing it (physical therapy) twice a day, every day except Sundays.

JT (BASD): What was the exact injury to the shoulder?

Josh Thomson: I tore the labrum on the back side. The labrum is the cartilage that holds the ball in the socket. They put two anchors through the cartilage to put the ball back in the socket tight. They put two anchors in the front and two in the back. While I was trying to rehab it, I was still training and it had slowly torn all the way to the front. So the ball was sort of flopping around. I can’t say that it is as good as new but it is close.

JT (BASD): Are you finding that you have any limitations due to the injury and surgery?

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