Youโve been down in the past. How much has the surprise loss to Heiland affected you?
Iโve taken it well, really. The way I look at it, itโs one of two things. Either Iโm 32 and Iโve been involved in some hard fights and hard training camps and I donโt have the same level of intensity or energyโฆ It wasnโt a massive punch, it was just the pace, really. I was feeling the pace as early as the second; I felt tired. Itโs either that, age or, more likely, I think I was just jaded. Going into the fight I thought I was in great shape and everything else but you donโt know until you know on the night. When I look back now itโs been a long, long year. Itโs not just training in the gym, itโs good to be in the gym ticking over but I wasnโt ticking over, I was training for a fight. When you think boxers are training for a fight and they are training at that level of intensity all the time itโs not beyond the possibility that I was just a bit jaded. Iโm not saying I overtrained for the fight because I think Iโm too long in the tooth for that, just maybe that I was jaded from a long year โ or itโs because itโs been a long, hard career. I could see what was coming. Itโs not like he was particularly slick or hard, it was just the energy levels.
Was Heiland better than you thought he would be?
No not really. Everything he was doing I could see, the only thing that bothered me was the pace, the relentlessness and I just didnโt have the energy. My body wasnโt doing what my mind was telling it to do. From that point of view itโs either a) from a long, hard career and wear and tear or b) itโs overtraining from being in the gym so long all year without having a break. Itโs one thing ticking over, itโs another training for a fight each time.
Obviously I thought [Felix] Sturm was going to happen, then there was talk of [Peter] Quillin, then possibly Andy Lee was going to happen, then I was training for the [Daniel] Geale fight, then that fight got pulled about two weeks out [then there was talk of Matt Korobov], then I was training for the Heiland fight in August, then [trainer] Jamie [Moore] got shot, then I had a week to 10 days off, then I was in Manchester, then I had the fight in Germany, had a week off, was back in the gym after that, so itโs been a long year. Look, I trained hard, I looked in great shape but if anything maybe Iโd trained a bit too hard, too often. I donโt think I was allowing myself enough rest and I think at 32 you canโt train like you could at 25 or 26. When you look at Hopkins and these guys theyโre still going on, theyโre still supremely fit and in great shape, but they donโt train like they did when they were 25. They train differently. You canโt train an old fighter the same way you train a young fighter, I never really understood that properly or that deeply but Iโd certainly look to change things and give myself more rest. Obviously youโre going to train hard on a particular day but Iโm not going to, say, train as hard the next day. I donโt think you should train as hard, as often. Less is more. I trained as hard for that fight as I have for any fight. Maybe I was so driven, focused and determined I trained too hard because I trained like a dog. I really had a great mindset but on the night of the fight I just didnโt have the energy or the strength, which is not something youโd usually associate with me.
Have you watched it back?
Yes, Iโve watched it. I watched it on the Monday and havenโt seen it since and went on holiday. I will wait until the New Year and then I will start thinking about things a lot more clearly then.
The finisher was reminiscent of the Jamie Moore ending?
Yes. Iโve taken better shots. It wasnโt a massive punch, I was just completely fatigued at that stage.
ON THIS DAY: Moore beats Macklin in savage fight
Did you think you were going to lose by that point in the fight?
Iโm not really that kind of person. Iโm not sure if I knew what the scorecards were on the night or not, I think I was two rounds down, but at that stage I was trying to salvage something. Iโm never going to quit. Youโre always hoping, youโre in their fighting. You donโt really think of it like that, youโre just fighting each round as best as you can hoping you can turn something around. I knew it was slipping away from me. But it was hard to do anything about it because I just didnโt have the energy.
Have you made a decision over your future?
No, definitely not and Iโm not even going to try to just yet. I will certainly wait until the end of January-February at the earliest. As I say, thereโs the age factor, the hard career factor, but then thereโs also the fact that this has been a very long year. There are a few things to analyze and look at more closely but I donโt want to try to do that too soon after because you donโt know what youโre thinking. I think itโs important to give myself a good rest and in the New Year I will be able to come back and look at it with a clear mind. From then, I will be able to make an informed decision rather than a rash one.
Billy Joe Saunders–Chris Eubank Jnr, did you watch it?
I didnโt because I was in Dubai. I followed it on twitter.
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They are probably guys who would be targeting you in the future because I take it you would not be interested in them?
Not instantly. I havenโt given consideration to who Iโd fight or what Iโd fight for. I donโt think Iโd be looking to fight before May or June. Iโm going to give myself a really good rest. Since I turned pro at 19, last year itโs the least rest Iโve ever had. If anything I trained harder than ever and at 32 thatโs a mistake but itโs hard to see that for yourself until after and I havenโt thought about who Iโd fight or a career path. If I was to come back the important thing would be to alter a few things in training and just come back and get a win and then youโd have to see after that.
There will be options, Andy Lee is fighting Matt Korobov on December 13,ย Martin Murray has your old foe Gennady Golovkin and David Lemieux is fighting Gabe Rosado this weekendโฆ If Martin loses and you come back with a win maybe that can happen?
Yes, and if Andy loses and I come back with a win… Listen, the landscape changes every few months in boxing when thereโs a few fights happening. You just mentioned Andy Lee, Korobov, Golovkin so the landscape in March could be different from what it is now. Youโll have to look at it then.
It might be age, you might be jaded. Which do you believe it is?
I think itโs that [the latter]. I wonโt know until I fight but if I retire Iโm retired a long time so I donโt want to retire and in five years have doubts thinking about giving it another go, thinking Iโd overtrained. Maybe it wasnโt that. You can torment yourself then. If I do decide to fight again if I fight and I win and itโs not there I will retire because Iโm not going to carry on if I donโt feel Iโm the same fighter. If I come back, I feel fresh and I win and I perform really well and I feel a million dollars then definitely Iโll be ready to go and take anyone on again.
Who do you think wins Korobov-Lee?
I definitely think Andyโs got a good chance because heโs a southpaw, he has the height, the reach. With Korobov he likes to come forward and make you lead and counters you but with Andy being a southpaw as well he wonโt be as good at doing that and I think Andy will be able to get his jab of. So Andyโs got a chance but heโs the underdog and rightly so. I favour Korobov in the fight but Iโm really rooting for Andy.
Back to the Heiland fight, the atmosphere was great and you were clearly pumped up. Were the next couple of days hard to take?
Iโm fairly long in the tooth so I know a loss isnโt the end of the world and if I did retire now I would be very disappointed I never won the world title. I did really against Sturm, but obviously I donโt have it on my mantelpiece so Iโm proud of what Iโve achieved. Iโve had a good career and that walk to the ring in Dublin is a moment I will keep with me forever. The atmosphere was just off the scale. It was disappointing because I know if Iโd got the win it was a world title eliminator and it would have been a massive platform to really build on with the crowd that was thereโฆ It is what it is. I didnโt win and obviously Iโm thinking now maybe I need to retire, maybe I was jaded, maybe I just need a good rest. So thereโs a lot of things to take in all at once. Iโm not too down on it because whereโs that going to get me. I donโt cry over spilt milk, whatโs the point? I think itโs more important to get things in the right order and I think the rest now is the more important thing. Christmas is only round the corner anyway, letโs get Christmas and New Year out the way and come January-February when the time is right Iโll sit down and come to a decision one way or another.
Are you away again before Christmas?
Yes, Iโm going to the fight in New York [Lemeiux-Rosado] and Iโm there for more than a week so I might got to Vegas the following Thursday for Lee-Korobov. I think I fancy Rosado to win in New York, unless Lemieux does him early. I think Rosado will beat him. Rosadoโs lost a few but heโs a proper fighter. He will give anyone a tough fight on any night and beat most. And he knows that, he knows heโs a proper fighter and knows that a loss or a bad night doesnโt mean the end. I shouldnโt be losing to someone like Heiland but if I was jaded that explains it. Itโs not like he was doing anything particularly quickly or I didnโt see things coming. I could see everything coming, the only thing I couldnโt deal with, really, was the pace of the fight.
This has been the last three-four of you, Martin Murray, Andy Lee and Darren Barker. Thereโs been a lot of talk about you fighting each other and now it seems unlikely. Does that disappoint you and would you feel like youโd missed out?
Probably not as much as the others actually because I still fought Wayne Elcock which was a big Birmingham derby at the time. I still had that great fight with Jamie Moore, which was great; I was training in Manchester, he was in Manchester, it was a highly-anticipated fight so at least Iโve been involved in that. Of course, all that lot you just mentioned having been elevated to world level it will be a shame they never happened but I think it would be a bigger shame for the other guys that they had not been involved if no-one fought each other at all. But I could still fight Martin. I could still fight Andy. Theyโre still possibilities but I canโt be thinking about that for now. If I do decide to fight I need to get in there and see how it goes and then take things from there.
RINGSIDE REPORT in BOXING NEWS, established in 1909
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