Brad Rea was in a funny place after his last outing, the spiteful fourth-round finish over Liam Cameron causing him to experience mixed emotions.
On the one hand, he was delighted to have won in Manchester, on home turf, while showcasing his ability to a sizable audience in May.
But then, shortly after scoring a crowd-pleasing stoppage, Rea was suddenly confronted with the realisation that Cameron, who he knows and respects, had found himself on the receiving end of such violence.
At the time – or while in ‘the zone’, if you will – he had little regard for his opponent’s health and wellbeing. In the immediate aftermath, though, it was as if Rea had been administered a generous dose of ‘nice guy’ pills.
“I’m a nice kid – I don’t want to do harm to anyone – but when I get in that ring on fight night, I find it very easy to flick the switch.
“I’ve just got a job to do at the end of the day. Whoever’s in front of me, I’m trying to knock them unconscious. I might feel a little bit guilty afterwards, but so be it.
“I put my mask on for those 10 rounds, or however long I’m fighting. Then the mask comes off and I’m back to normal.
“Some people struggle with that. They might pretend to not like their opponent at a weigh-in or a press conference, whereas I don’t have to do that. Whether I like you or not, I’m coming to knock you clean out.”
Friend or foe, it would seem that Ezra Taylor, at least in Rea’s mind, has been subjected to the same fate as Cameron.
Only this time around, the 28-year-old has treated himself to a week in Spain while training for his upcoming assignment, so as to temporarily escape the gloomy conditions of his usual surroundings.
“It was nice to just break the camp up. I love my training, I love being in the gym, I love what I do … but it’s very repetitive sometimes, so it was nice to run down the beach instead of in the wind and rain over here.
“It was really hot out there as well, so the first session was a bit of a shock to the system. But I got used to it as the week went on and felt fitter than ever coming back home.”
The only redeeming aspect of returning to the UK, it seems, was being reunited with his “running partner”, a Springer Spaniel named Tilly, who has been known to put Rea through his paces.
And while he makes it seem all very glamorous – spending a week in Spain; running with his dog – there is no mistaking the focus with which Rea is approaching his assignment this Saturday.
Others may underestimate Taylor, who comes off a wide points defeat to Willy Hutchinson in March. As someone who has suffered previous defeats to Tyler Denny and Lyndon Arthur, though, Rea fully expects ‘The Cannon’ to come out firing at the Manchester Arena.
“I feel like this is a dangerous time to fight him, because I know how he’s feeling – I know how I was after my first loss; I know how I was after the Lyndon fight.
“You go back and dissect your performance to an extent that you don’t really do when you win, so I can’t watch old Ezra Taylor fights and think that’s the version I’m going to get. For all I know, I’m going to get a completely different fighter on fight night.”
While recognising his opponent’s strengths, Rea ultimately believes his experience – having boxed since the age of eight, while Taylor took up the sport at 19 – will prove decisive in their light-heavyweight encounter.
