BOUNCING BACK

IT looked grim for Fielding following a firstround reverse to fellow Liverpudlian Callum Smith in 2015, yet he regrouped with wins over Christopher Rebrasse (sd 12), Istvan Zeller (rsf 2), John Ryder (sd 12), David Brophy (rsf 1) and Karel Horejsek (pts 8), before securing a shot at Zeuge.

Although soundly defeated in a single stanza, he is grateful that he managed to come back from what was a devastating defeat.

Going into it, he knew that his grandfather was suffering from cancer yet did not know that his mum, Carol, had been diagnosed with the disease – she kept it from him until the fight was over.

“It hasn’t been too bad for me outside of the defeat to Callum, when my mum and grandad both had cancer at the same time around the time of the fight,” he said. “Finding out about my mum did me in more than losing the fight. You are hurt by the defeat, yet you still have to deal with it. That is just how things happen.”

After the loss, Fielding took a trip to an iconic American city and visited an equally iconic venue. “After I fought Callum, we went to New York for a trip,” he said. “We did a tour of the Garden. I’d had those late nights as a kid watching fights live from the Garden. I had a photo taken outside of it and put the hashtag: “One day”. Four years later I’m getting the call to go over to fight there – a photo became the reality.