Joe Dubuqueis an American amateur wrestler commonly referred to as "The Champ". He was originally from New Jersey... (wikipedia)
My high school coach convinced me to go. He said it's basically like a paid vacation and I was like 'OK.' I came out here and knew it was the right place.
I hardly ever get nervous. I get in the spotlight and I just have fun. I see those people, I feed off their energy. It's just great. I love being in the spotlight. I love being on top.
I take losses in a positive way. I learn from losses. I dwell on them for about 10 minutes, and then that's it.
Other wrestling fans that think it's a fluke and other kids should have won it. That pushes me, that people doubt my ability. Nobody here, nobody in Bloomington, but other wrestling critics kind of overlook me.
I've already got the belt. Guys have got to take me out. Right now, I'm feeling good.
I've already done it. Right now, it's fun. I'm just having fun. I'm ending my career and having fun doing it. These guys, they've got another year. They want to win it so they can have fun next year.
It was real hard. I worked hard all year long and just to have a string of injuries toward the end of the year and one keeping me out, it was real tough watching my teammates wrestle out there without me. But I think it was a good thing that happened to me; it helped me to work harder.
It's no slouch schedule. You got eight dual meets and it's probably going to be the eight hardest dual meets of the year.
It's a pretty big rivalry. We're both returning All-Americans. We're both the top lightweights. It's always a good match when we wrestle.
I want to be the best in everything I do and I want to work hard. That's what drives me.
I know he's going to be fired up. He's going to try to get some revenge for the NCAA finals. He's probably been looking forward to this match since last March.
A lot of wrestlers will tell you they hate losing more than they like winning. It's that nature I don't want to lose.