Rae: I am in the shape of my life for Hydro
Gary’s grateful for support
Barrhead boxer Gary Rae insists there is snow stopping him and his bid for Hydro heroics.
The 29-year-old is preparing for the fight of his life this evening when he takes to the massive Glasgow venue, as part of the undercard for Cyclone Promotions’ Josh Taylor versus Winston Campos bout.
He will face the Hungarian, Zoltan Horvath, who is also looking to protect an unbeaten record following two wins in his first two professional bouts.
But Rae says that he is in the best shape of his life, with the super bantamweight aiming to follow up his recent points victory over Englishman Craig Derbyshire to take himself to seven bouts unblemished.
Rae told Express Sport: “I feel in fantastic shape and I am really confident heading into the fight.
“I feel ready and I have just been absolutely buzzing all week and looking forward to getting into the ring.
“The weather has been horrendous but I put in all the work before this week and it has now just been a case of keeping myself ticking over and making sure of my weight.
“But I am very disciplined and there have been no problems – I feel fantastic.
“My coach Mark Breslin is delighted with the preparation and it has genuinely just been a case of counting down the days until the fight – not that it has stopped my brother from texting me every day with a countdown of his own.”
It is set to be a real family affair at the Hydro, with the whole Rae clan set to be in attendance to cheer on their man. Rae has sold over 200 tickets for the fight, with buses running from Barrhead to catch him in action.
And he revealed that his brother and his friends have even forked out for a flag as they prepare to cheer him on.
He added: “You should see the size of this thing, it is massive so I will probably be able to see it when I walk out.
“The support that I have been receiving is fantastic and I really can’t thank everyone enough. My mum, my sister and my brothers have all been selling tickets and allowing me to focus on the fight, which is amazing.
“Then just the sheer amount of people coming to watch and support me, it is unbelievable and I hope that I can make every single one of them proud of me.”
But with one eye on the fight, Rae admits he doesn’t really know what to expect from his opponent.
Horvath was announced at short notice after headline act Taylor’s original opponent, Humberto Sato, pulled out.
That left everything up in the air, but Rae says he will be ready regardless of the threat posed by his Hungarian counterpart.
He said: “I haven’t been able to watch him in the run-up to the fight but he is unbeaten and has a good buzz about him considering he has won his first two fights.
“I’ll have to be sensible in the opening round and see what he has to offer. I don’t know if he is a big puncher or if he is going to sit back.
“It isn’t ideal but I am really just looking forward to getting in that ring and showing I have what it takes.”
Gary would like to thanks a host of spnsors who have supported him, including Jim Price of Acre Industrial Services, FBM Contracts director Brian McCulloch, The Tenement Bar in Glasgow, and new sponsor Granite Scotland Ltd.
The support I have been receiving is fantastic Gary Rae