LEE HASKINS looks almost lost as he sits on the stage inside Las Vegasโ Mandalay Bay. He canโt quite believe what is happening. He glances to his left and he can see Oscar De La Hoya addressing the bustling media. Haskins is startled as Bernard Hopkins grabs his shoulder and poses for a picture alongside him. Behind them is a sprawling poster of Cotto vs Canelo, and in two days, the Bristol bantamweight will challenge for the IBF title โ against unbeaten Randy Caballero โ on the undercard. Haskins looks around again and, smiling briefly, attempts to take it all in.
โItโs so hard,โ Haskins tells Boxing News about the surrealism of the occasion. โWhen youโre actually in the build-up to a fight itโs so unreal. It just feels like itโs not real. When Iโm back in England and I sit down I might think, โWow, Iโve done all that?โ It will be major but at the moment, it just ainโt real.โ
Haskins has come a long way. Gone are the days when he would not train properly, and cheat his natural gifts out of the chance to perform. Itโs nine years since Tshifhiwa Munyai hammered him into defeat in six rounds, and eight since Ian Napa took a round longer to repeat the feat. With just over one week to go before he turns 32, the two-weight British champion admits there were times when he considered packing it in.
โIโve come to that point in my career a lot,โ Haskins admits. โItโs been up and down. I never knew what was coming for me. But the thing is Iโm an unpredictable guy; sometimes Iโll try and steal the fight, sometimes Iโll turn up and want to fight, and Iโm that kind of guy. Back in the day I never used to train properly and it was bad preparation by myself and that will transfer into the ring. If you donโt put it in in the gym then it definitely wonโt work in the ring.โ
Despite the gargantuan scale of Saturdayโs event, Haskinsโ quest for a world title has not attracted much attention. He will open the TV broadcast on Saturday โ which can be seen in the UK BoxNation โ at 4.15pm local time, far down the bill and before the majority of fans are in attendance. The 31-year-old insists his โspeed, footwork and powerโ have the beating of Caballero but back in Britain, fans seem more interested in Martin Murrayโs shot at Arthur Abraham in Germany, or Anthony Crollaโs return with Darleys Perez, than they are in Haskinsโ remarkable bid for glory.
โTo be fair, I like that,โ Haskins says earnestly. โItโs okay that people donโt always watch me, or support me, it doesnโt bother me. I do this sport for me and my family. Everything I do, I do for them. Iโm happy to be under the radar as long as Iโm picking up money and Iโm winning titles.โ
His family sit beside him โ wife Claire and children Nadine, Acelee and Anton โ and the fighter insisted that they were with him. Certainly their presence brings some much needed reality to Haskins’ world here in Sin City.
โI feel absolutely amazing,โ he says, as if everything, the world title, the occasion, has suddenly dawned on him at that moment. โThe opportunity Iโve had is crazy so Iโm going to do everything in my power to win this fight and bring the title back to the UK. It could change my life if I win this fight. I could maybe have some big fights back in the UK. Itโs life-changing to win something like this, especially with the magnitude of the show that Iโm on.โ