Two weeks before his fight against Alexis Rocha and Blair Cobbs shows up on video for an interview with DAZN News wearing a wardrobe reminiscent of WWE legend "Macho Man" Randy Savage. Cobbs is wearing the headband and a coat like the former WWE champion. None of that is by accident.
Cobbs' nickname is "Blair The Flair," like another WWE legend, Ric Flair. He does Flair's legendary catchphrase and says his nickname anytime he gets the opportunity.
Cobbs (15-0) has had an interaction with his idol. During a fighter meeting a few years back, Cobbs talked on the phone with the 16-time world heavyweight champion.
"There's been a couple of times where I have reasons to believe that he had called me (laughs) because it'd be some old man would go ‘Woo Woo’ and then hang up," Cobbs told DAZN News ahead of Saturday's main event tilt against Alexis Rocha, which you can see worldwide on DAZN. "I'm like, ‘What was that?’ But this time we actually introduced each other, and that was a very special moment for 'Blair The Flair.' I'm always being the person to bring homage to the people in our past. I'm one of the best entertainers and in the time before mine was Ric Flair, so I call myself 'Blair The Flair.' And to be the person to actually talk to the great one; one of the greatest entertainers in history, Ric Flair was definitely one for the books for me."
You often hear the catchphrase, "Everything is pro wrestling." It's becoming more prevalent in boxing. The fighter's job is to help sell the bout so people will buy tickets or watch the event. You have to give people a reason to care about you and your opponent. You need to talk so people can get emotionally invested. Boxer interviews are slowly and surely starting to get better.
MMA has progressed faster than boxing in terms of the art of promotion. There's still a lot of work to do for boxing to get to that point. That's where Cobbs comes into the picture. He gets it better than most.
"Every once in a while, I talk with my promoter (Oscar De La Hoya) about this," Cobbs said. "This is something that he said out of his mouth. He was like, ‘Look, there's a fighter that comes out of nowhere, every 20 years or so, that is the “it.” The “it” factor. The guy that is beyond the sport of boxing.’ You have these fighters every once in a blue moon that shows up, and they're there to dazzle the world. That time is right now. That guy, that person is me. Unfortunately, a lot of people believe it might be this, or it might be that. It’s not. It’s 'Blair The Flair.' That's just what it is. A lot of fighters are really good fighters, and they might be really tremendous athletes. But there's a difference between being a great athlete and just being a good athlete. How much work are you really putting in?
"When we talk about the UFC, there is so much work that was done when Conor McGregor became a megastar. And that transition from Conor McGregor nobody to a Conor McGregor megastar in the UFC. And that's what I'm doing. I come over here, and then I put out the best I can do. I work twice as hard, harder than everybody else. Not just in the ring, outside the ring, everywhere. Interviews, this way, that way, movies, music, entertainment, social media, everything. I put everything out, and I'm giving the world all of me instead of just some of them. I'm not hiding behind any layers of who I truly am."
Flair's big run in wrestling was in the 1980s as the NWA heavyweight champion. While a big star in his own right, Flair was considered the underdog. The WWE (then WWF) was the pro wrestling giant led by Hulk Hogan, the WWE champion for the latter half of the decade and a global attraction. Flair wasn't tall or muscular by any stretch of the imagination, which gravitated fans towards Hogan, and he didn't have the promotional muscle that "The Hulkster" had, which always put "The Nature Boy" at a disadvantage.
Despite being undefeated, Cobbs is often the underdog heading into his fights, and his contest with Rocha is no different. Rocha is a sizable favorite to hand Cobbs his first professional defeat. But, to the 32-year-old, it's nothing new and par for the course.
"I get a kick out of it," Cobbs said. "Honestly, it's one of the best things about 'Blair The Flair.' We turn 'boos' into 'woos.' That's just what it's about. We need to have naysayers and doubters, and then we change their reality. It’s just how it is. I get it. I get a kick out of it. It seems like the biggest thing, and that's why I call myself 'The Great One.' You can't call yourself great without being faced against great opposition.
“'Blair The Flair' is faced against great opposition going into almost every single fight. We don't see that. A lot of these young athletes and a lot of these young fighters that called themselves great or called themselves the best. You can't call yourself the best if you haven't beat the best. 'Blair The Flair' is the best right now. Why? Because again and again, he's faced against great opposition. The main event is 'Blair The Flair.' He's fighting against the odds once again and the main attraction is 'Blair The Flair.'"
A win over Rocha (18-1, 12 KOs) in his first-ever main event would put Cobbs in a position to have a banner 2022. Cobbs isn't trying to get too far ahead of himself and start thinking about title shots. However, that hasn't stopped Cobbs from thinking about other things that come with being a star like Flair.
"I have to leave everything in God's hands, honestly," Cobbs said. "But I truly believe that time is coming. I truly believe that even this year, I might be walking out with a very big amount of money, a big amount of exposure, a big amount of resources, a big amount of opportunities. I don't know if a world title is going to come up, but I think is possible. If I knock off a couple of these top contenders again and again, sooner or later, people will take notice of 'Blair The Flair,' who is the most exciting man in boxing. I don't say it just to say it. I go out there, and I prove it. Every fight, day in and day out."