‘I’VE PUT MY LIFE ON HOLD FOR THIS’
It’s not been easy to get this far but I cannot wait to beat Demetrius Andrade
IT’S really nice out in Florida but I can’t say I’m here enjoying myself. That’s not what I’m here to do. I’m here to do a job and that’s what I’ll do.
My body clock and the sleeping was an issue coming out here, like always. But now, on Monday [April 12], I’m 80 per cent there. I’m just getting a bit wiped out in the afternoons but that’s what we expected.
My confidence is growing every day, I’m even more confident than I was before. I literally cannot wait. I am so excited for this opportunity. I feel like this is going to be, not my coming out party because people know what I’m about now, but this is when I arrive on the world stage, on a massive stage like America. This is my big opportunity to shine.
In a way, you could say I have a lot to prove. But on the other hand I couldn’t give a f**k what people think about me. If people are writing me off, even better, that’s what I want. I want Andrade to write me off. He’s going to have the shock of his life.
I’ve always taken note of Andrade. I can’t say I’ve been a fan but I’ve been aware of how good he is for long time. Even from way back, when he beat Brian Rose, I’ve always thought, ‘Bloody hell, this guy is pretty good.’ And he is good but he’s very sloppy in other areas too. We have picked up a lot of things that we can and will exploit.
There is no secret to my improvement. There’s just hard work, commitment and dedication. I’ve really focused myself on the sport, I’ve put my life on hold in many ways to bring myself back to the top and where I know I should be and need to be.
It’s not easy. When I’m training I’m in Sheffield, I’m four hours and 240 miles away from where I live. That’s hard. But if you want something badly enough that’s what you do, you do whatever it takes. I moved there for five days a week. I do miss people, I miss my little girl, my missus, my family in general. But to be the best you have to make sacrifices to appreciate the benefits of everything else.
When we first got out here last week, up until Friday and Saturday, we were still doing some decent training sessions. We made sure we were adjusting to being here. Now it’s Monday, it’s fight week, and this morning I did a bit of pad work and whatnot. It will be the same tomorrow, a bit of skipping, shadow boxing, pads. It’s about an hour’s work but not solid rounds, it’s about staying sharp, working on little things.
It’s only Monday so I’m not dealing with much media at the moment. That will likely increase as the week goes on. I don’t mind really, I’m used to it, it’s part of the job. It can be a pain in the arse, it’s not always what you want to do when you’re tired and hungry but you get used to it. I’m just sucking up my big moment; I’m confident there be will many more of these events to come.
First I have to get through this. I think it could be a tricky fight for a certain amount of time. Watching him, you see a pattern. At the first bell he can come out quickly and try to put people in their place. Though I’m not ruling out him trying that with me, I think he’ll come out and have a feel around because I don’t think he’s going to bring all-out attack to me – he knows I’m dangerous and he could run on to something. I think he’ll try and win the first couple by boxing and moving. When it comes to the crunch, I’ll have too much for him. I’ll catch up with him and start bashing him.
‘IF YOU WANT SOMETHING BADLY ENOUGH YOU HAVE TO DO WHATEVER IT TAKES’