James Johnson Reveals Why The Real Reason He Started Fighting

So Cheyenne, Wyoming, you know what I'm saying? Growing up in Cheyenne, Wyoming, obviously you here in Miami, but talk about your childhood and growing up in Wyoming and you know, all that. Cause if I'm not mistaken, did you move to New York? Nah, we moved to Wyoming. You moved to Wyoming from New York? Yeah, from Cali actually. From Cali? Yeah, my pops was all, that was where all that came from. But, you know, out there was cool. It was really focused out there. You know, no really big trouble out there. You can, you can, you can move around the streets and all that and not have to worry about watching your back everywhere you went. So, you know, growing up out there, you know, it was a blessing in disguise. You know, my parents, my mom hated it at first, but you know, my pops made it home. And uh, and that's what it was. But like I said, it was definitely a blessing in disguise out there. So it was 80 y'all, seven, seven boys and one girl. All of us. So it's a lot of fights in the house. Yeah. That's how we, that's how we handled everything. There was times where, you know, you be fighting with your brothers and boom, pops come home or you must not respect them enough or you must think that you can walk with them. You know, that's the only time you really talk back to somebody or you disrespect somebody in any kind of way. We was taught, you know, right to the, right to the gym, right to the ring and handle that. Always ended out in hugs, but yeah, but you know, when you was younger or if you took that beat and you always, you always held that. Oh yeah. That's that. It's stuck with you to the next time. Yeah. That's stuck with you for the next whooping. You gave somebody else, you know, it probably wasn't even that person's fault, man. Let me tell you, let me, let me, let me tell you something. Cause my, my pops was the same way. Like we, we handled it like men, you know what I'm saying? Like if there was any issues, but my pops went in the goddamn hall of fame for kickboxing. There's a difference now between my pops handling it like business is your pops handling like business. So how was that? Because I heard some crazy ass stories. Your brother, everybody grew up. They feel like they could try their pops. Yeah. I got to that point where I tried my pops. I got my ass folded up real quick. It wouldn't even last 30 seconds. So as you get older and you get to this point where you feel like you could try your pops, you're like, I ain't with pops cause I know what time it is. At this point, you know, that's not even a thought. That's like a student trying to fight his sensei at the very end to prove something. I would touch on that too. I heard a crazy story about one of your brothers, a student trying to fight a sensei and he bowed and took his eyes off. Can you tell that story for me real quick though? Took his whole meddling for real. Yeah. You know, brother was disrespecting moms, you know, and to my, and to my pops, that's like, you know, thinking that you could beat him if you could disrespect your mom, let alone set aside moms, you know, that's like his wife, his woman. Now you know what I'm saying? He took it in a different way. Right. So they went into the ring. No, I don't even know. I didn't even go on knowing this wasn't even in the ring. I think it was just out in the front yard. It was just out in the front yard. They lined up, you know, and my brother thought he was going to keep it, you know, keep it traditional, I guess. Keep it traditional, I guess. Then he went for the bow. And when he bowed, he put his eyes right on the floor. He did that. My dad hit him so hard and so fast. I think when he dropped, he was like still folded. It was like one of those nasty. Was it an uppercut? Was it a kick? Was it an uppercut? And it was a clean one too. And it was a quick pop. You know what I mean? It wasn't no, like you could have really did you wrong, but it was more of like two lessons in one. Hey, we got, we got to pull that clip up when Tommy Hearns hit Martin with the uppercut. With the uppercut, it flew out of the ring. That's crazy. Like I said, he killed two birds with one stone. Taught two lessons with that one punch. So if I'm not mistaken though, Pops was a, but Miles was a disciplinary in the crib. I did a little research on you, JJ. I did a little research on you now, dawg, before you pulled up. Mom was the gangster for, you know, Pops. He, he, he put that, that discipline down when it was needed, but most of the time he really practiced what he preached when it came to like that self-control, you know what I mean? Meditative state of mind type. Man, a few words. Right. More actions than words for sure. Yeah. So, you know what I mean? We got the discipline from him, but the one that was, we feared the most was definitely Ma Dukes. She was, like I said, she was the gangster in the household. And your mom's has a background too in martial arts and different things like that. Is that she started because of your father or was she already involved? Nah, she started with my father. Obviously my father was teaching her, her brothers and all that. Damn, that's real love. They don't make them like that no more. Hey, Faith, you would do martial arts for me? You would do martial arts for me, Faith? Nah, but uh, yeah. So she got into it, her brothers got into it. That's beautiful. Kind of showed her a different discipline as well. Yeah. And it's also a way to bond and connect. You know what I'm saying? Right. I mean, they say you work together, stay together. Exactly. So how was that with moms? Cause I heard she, uh, it wasn't you, but it was one of your brothers or something. With throwing things and being accurate. Yeah. So, you know, brothers would act up. My mom's just quick reflexes. She'll grab whatever's in her way. Like anything around, she's grabbing that. First and foremost, let me, let me tell everybody out. Yo, my parents were loving and daring and caring people. Listen, these are just part childhood stories, man. Yeah, for sure. I got some stories too. But she'd pick up anything that's in her vicinity. You know, so one time it happened to be a knife. And a butter knife or a butter knife. Okay. We throw them all the time. That's one of many. Yeah. We throw them all the time. Objects flung across and hit. Yeah. So when she picked that up and flung it, I don't think she realized what it was or, or if she would even get lucky. She just reacted. Yeah. Lucky enough to stick. You know what I mean? The sharp, there is a sharp part of the butter knife, but hit, got my brother right here on the arm. She got another one of my brothers in the back with a fork. Oh man. Like I said, she was accurate, but yeah. Possibly we'd have to come home and discipline nobody. We was already shook. So where basketball come? Cause I mean, you grew up in martial arts and since you were, when did you start martial arts? Like five, five or six? I'm saying martial arts. So when did, when did basketball come and why? Basketball came out with my best friend, Tyrese, Tyrese Gatling, man. He was about to play on us playing some three on three tournament. I think it was in Colorado. You want to be on my team? You're tall. I don't play no basketball. I mean like I go fight people. Oh, so your boy, he asked you that. Yeah. Yeah. I wanted to go to go play. I told him like any other time I played basketball, it was really just at the park. Yeah. I mean, I never really just went in. It was organized things like that. So it was three on three was the most organized thing I ever tried to do or whatever. And um, like I said, I told him, I don't play no basketball, man. Like that's for y'all. Like I fight people. I gotta go train. You know what I'm, you know what I'm saying? So you're like, nah, you should come. It's this weekend. You should come just be on my team. Trust me. I'll help you out. You're big. All I need to do is grab rebounds. Like I said, I don't even know what rebounds. So you ain't with the game at all. Nah, I ain't even know basketball like that at all. I think I was like, well, 11, 12, I don't know. And then, and then, um, I went, I was decent. I was grabbing rebounds. I was just more physical than the other kids. You know what I mean? I wanted that contact, all that. So, um, we ended up doing well. We went to the championship game. And, um, his sister had drew up a play. Tiffany got laid. Shout out coach Tiff. Yeah. Drew up a play. Um, and it had me getting the ball and just laying it in. So they ran this play. I set the screen. And when I set the screen, I slipped. When I slipped, I caught the ball. I was so open and so shook that I didn't know what to do with that joint. And so I like traveled and then passed it. I'm like, I'm right here by the hoop. It was nothing. And then, ah, man, that fire in me burned different after that. You know what I mean? But even then getting to middle school, I never really played basketball. I went to alternative high schools to try to get it right, get grades right, whatever. So when you say alternative high school, I mean, you, you, you was, you was a bad ass JJ? Nah, I wasn't, you know, I wasn't focused. Okay. I ain't know. I ain't know what it took. It was different. Like, you know, growing up, being a fighter and all that. I'm looking at like Mike Tyson. I'm looking at Lennox. I'm looking at, you know what I mean? Yeah. Mayweather. I'm trying to be like that. I was about to get it fighting. You want it? Yeah. That's it. I was about to get it fighting. I didn't know any other way. So it was going to be boxing or was it going to be kickboxing or was it going to kickboxing was back then? It was just so, so like it wasn't really occupation. You were more like this day and day. It was like 2024. If it was booming like that, I probably wouldn't have even picked up a basketball. Really? I can see that right now. Boy, God damn. I don't want none of that. So anyway, fast forward, if you ain't start to 12 and you had your, your maturation and the way you picked up the game had to like, really like, or like really like move fast because you was the, when you got to wait for us and wait for us, don't just recruit anybody. Right. So you had to get nice with that, with the quickness. Right. So like once you got in and you traveled and blew the money after that, you said that you'll never want to, I'll never want to feel like this again. Never. You know what I mean? It was a, it wasn't even a bigger feeling than I ever got from any fight. For real. I was, I was, I was still training hard, but like the feeling of how I lost it from my guys was different. Cause you know, fighting you versus that man. Yeah. I mean, you got your team that trains and all that. But at the end of the day, you jumping in that zone alone. You're right about that. And I tell people all the time, like in, in NBA and basketball, you can lose a step. You got four other guys out there and you can manipulate the game. If you're smart enough and you're mentally tough enough, you lose a step in boxing. You lose a step in kickboxing. That's your ass. Man. I'll tell you, we done seen some of the greatest man. Once they lose that step, it's like, it's the quickest decline that you'll see like from the top. And all of a sudden it's like getting knocked out two, three, four times. That ain't no joke. I don't want no parts of that.