Matthew Rico nore🦍 3namez Sports interview on Casey Dixon

The Matthew Rico nore🦍 3namez Sports interview with Keith Jason covered the disputed Casey Dixon decision, the move to Coach Lugo’s gym in Georgia and Rico’s refusal to avoid a difficult fight early in his professional career. The New York-born boxer also discussed his amateur background, his pressure-heavy style and why he plans to build his record before pursuing bigger opponents.

What did Matthew Rico nore🦍 say about Mike Tyson and life outside boxing?

Matthew Rico nore🦍 said he would have chosen football if he had not boxed, partly because he liked hitting people. He picked Mike Tyson to portray him in a movie after seeing similarities between them in Mike Tyson: Undisputed Truth, and described New York corner-store food as a favorite when he returns home.

Rico told Keith Jason that New York is home, although he now lives in Atlanta, Georgia. Asked where he would eat after a hometown win, he described burgers with egg and avocado and the corner-store sandwiches he used to assemble with extras such as chips. Cinnamon Pop-Tarts were another addition he named.

Nike is his preferred boxing-shoe brand. He said Coach Lugo had bought him a pair, though he could not recall the model. Asked who had made him laugh that day, Rico named his aunt, who had asked questions to test his temper and then laughed with him.

What did Matthew Rico nore🦍 say about the Casey Dixon fight decision?

Matthew Rico nore🦍 said he felt heartbroken by the decision against Casey Dixon in Atlanta and believes he won the fight. He attributed the result to boxing politics, but made clear that his disagreement was with the decision rather than Dixon personally. Rico said he watched the bout repeatedly afterward and remained convinced of his performance.

The announcement in the ring

Rico said he expected to hear his name when the decision was announced as unanimous. Jason recalled seeing official Malik Waleed begin to move toward Rico’s hand; Rico said he believed Waleed had seen enough from his position in the ring to know who had won. That was Rico’s interpretation, not an account of anything Waleed told him.

After spending time at his coach’s home, Rico went home upset. He said Coach Lugo later watched the fight and agreed they had won. Rico values that assessment because, he said, Lugo has previously told him he lost an amateur bout even though the judges awarded him the win.

Respect for Casey Dixon

Dixon contacted Rico afterward with an encouraging message, according to Rico. The gesture mattered to him, and he called Dixon a good person, while still saying he wants another chance to beat him in the ring. Jason agreed with Rico’s view of the decision but stressed that his opinion should not take anything away from Dixon.

How did Matthew Rico nore🦍 begin his amateur boxing career?

Matthew Rico nore🦍 said his cousin Marquise Williams helped draw him into boxing, and that a coach in New York contacted him when he was young. Rico first competed as an amateur super heavyweight, later moved through lower weights and said he won a national championship in Lafayette in 2023.

Before committing to a boxing program, he had boxed as a child, played football and fought outside the gym. Watching Williams box gave him a path to follow. Rico said Williams later went to jail, while he continued with the sport.

He described spending part of his amateur career at 203 pounds and above, then discussing other weight classes as he developed. His account of the weights he entered later was not entirely clear, but his plan for the professional ranks was: he wants to reach 160 pounds eventually and does not intend to go lower. He said doing so will require more discipline despite the time he already spends in the gym.

Rico distinguished his 2023 national championship from qualification for the Olympic trials when Jason asked about the event in Lafayette. He also recalled a later national-tournament bout in Albuquerque against another boxer he respects. Although Rico felt he had done enough to win, he said he accepted the result and wished his opponent well.

Why did Matthew Rico nore🦍 join Coach Lugo’s gym?

Matthew Rico nore🦍 joined Coach Lugo’s gym in 2022 after leaving a previous Atlanta gym following an incident in which, Rico said, a man associated with his former coach pointed a gun at him. Lugo already knew Rico from sparring with his boxers and visited him at home before offering him a place to train.

From New York through Virginia to Atlanta

Rico said his family moved from New York to Virginia before he settled in the Atlanta area. He spent roughly three to four years at his earlier gym while looking for a boxing home. He said the gun incident made staying there impossible, even though he would have worked through an ordinary disagreement.

Sparring Nathan and Elijah Lugo

Before the move, Rico had sparred Elijah Lugo and Nathan Lugo. He remembered extensive rounds with Elijah and a particularly hard session with Nathan. Coach Lugo, he said, liked his speed, explosiveness and punch output, while also seeing areas he needed to improve.

Lugo drove from Marietta to check on Rico after hearing what had happened. Rico said the coach did not pressure him to join. Once Rico arrived at the gym, Lugo gave him time to settle in before resuming sparring. Rico described the work with Nathan and Elijah as competitive without jealousy: hearing someone hit the bag harder pushes the others to respond.

How does Matthew Rico nore🦍 describe his boxing style?

Matthew Rico nore🦍 describes his style as sustained pressure, speed and combinations rather than cautious boxing built only around his jab. He said Coach Lugo tells him to establish the jab but also trusts him to overwhelm opponents. Rico took the Casey Dixon fight as his third professional bout because he wanted meaningful competition.

Explaining why he accepted Dixon so early, Rico gave the clearest statement of his approach:

So I could have fought some bumpy guy, but that's not my style, man.

Rico said he was 2-0 when the Dixon fight was proposed and asked for it immediately. He criticized the practice of protecting unbeaten records with repeated fights against opponents with many losses, though he also said he is now building his own record before seeking bigger matchups.

Discussing a recent first-round stoppage, Rico said he came forward behind combinations and finished the fight in one minute and 24 seconds. He sees speed and repeated punches as the parts of his game opponents struggle to handle. After the Dixon decision, his takeaway was that he needs to make future results harder to leave to the judges.

Lugo’s corner advice, as Rico recounted it, is to use the jab and then fight his fight. If an approach stops working, the coach supplies tactical changes. Rico said he enters bouts with a sense that he has something to prove, but he rejected the idea that outside critics understand his style better than the people working with him.

What did Matthew Rico nore🦍 say about Devin Haney and his next fight?

Matthew Rico nore🦍 did not name a confirmed next opponent or announce a date. He said he wants to build his record and then fight anyone, while expressing interest in a pressure fighter he called Billy. Rico also weighed a proposed matchup involving Devin Haney, favoring Haney’s skills and experience over the challenger’s punching power.

When Jason asked how Coach Lugo would fare in a hypothetical sparring match with Bill Haney, Rico emphatically backed his coach. He also said he likes Bill Haney and respects the way Bill and Devin pursue fights. His answer was a prediction about a hypothetical matchup, not a report of one.

Rico said a fighter he called Tiger hits hard, but he would favor Devin Haney because of Haney’s speed, skills and experience. He identified Ryan Garcia as a particularly difficult matchup for Haney because, in Rico’s view, the two know each other well. These were Rico’s assessments, not announced fights.

Asked whom he wants for himself, Rico first said he is concentrating on his record. He then named Billy, whose pressure style he considers similar to his own, as someone he would like to face. Rico said another fight was coming soon but declined to give a date before it was settled. He closed by thanking his family, Coach Lugo, his teammates and the people supporting his career.