I’ve had all different kinds of sparring for Daniel Dubois. I’ve had probably 10, 12 different sparring partners. So it’s gone really well. I’m getting 12 rounds out in the gym, fighting at a high pace. There’ll be no excuses. There’s been no injuries, when I walk out July 13 at the O2 every box is ticked and your mind’s clear. Ready to walk out into that fight, you know for a certain fact there’s no more you can possibly do. So I’m just counting down the days now. All the hard work’s basically done. We’re there now. We’re here.
I want the atmosphere to be really, really bouncing. I want it to be packed out. Because I’m going to thrive off that. That energy. I love that energy. Hopefully it’s buzzing. I’d love for the O2 to be packed out, first time ever to be walking out in a big massive arena and I want to absorb all that energy and use it.
I’m a really relaxed fella anyway, day to day, general stuff. So I imagine I’ll be relaxed walking out for sure. Ricky Hatton, my trainer he’s been there, done it and got every single T-shirt, hasn’t he? So he’s giving me little pointers. Use that energy for your own perspective. Use it for you. So that’s what I’m going to do. I’m going to draw the energy off the crowd, the atmosphere and use it for me.
Obviously if I get hit, I go down, I don’t get back up, I don’t win the fight. But what I do beats him every day of the week. All I’ve got to do is just do me.
Everyone knows he’s not the fastest in the world, but he can punch. But on the other hand, it’s no strongman competition is it. You’ve seen on numerous, numerous occasions you’ve got to box to be really, really good in this game.
When we go on the scales together, fans will write me off. But this isn’t a body building competition, it’s boxing and fighting.
‘Boxing technique and brains win fights’
Andy Ruiz doesn’t look great. Same as myself, I’m not ripped to shreds or anything. But it doesn’t matter does it? He’s now the unified heavyweight champion of the world.
If I was Anthony Joshua I’d get a rematch but on the other hand it’s a very, very dangerous fight again. Because Ruiz is a very, very good fighter. I said before that it would be a close fight, that I’m backing Joshua to win obviously (he’s a fellow Brit of course I want him to win) but I won’t be surprised if an upset comes. Because Ruiz, he’s the type of trickster. You notice what he’s done, trying to take a picture with your belts, he makes you feel comfortable. But when he gets into the ring, he turns into a different animal and that’s what happened. I think he got in Joshua’s head, used ‘Mr Nice Guy,’ can I have a picture with your belts, handshakes, blah, blah. I think Joshua slightly took his eye off the ball, underestimated him.
Boxing technique and brains win fights.
I had my first amateur fight at 11, I was always big for my age, 60 odd kilos so you can imagine how many 60 kilo 11 year olds there were in the country, a handful. From 11 to 13 I had three fights and then I had a break because I broke my hand. I came back into the gym at 16 and I was a super-heavyweight, 94 kilos plus. I had a couple of fights there, won the Youth ABAs, the Three Nations, went to the Youth World championships, got on the GB team, represented them at a few tournaments, a few senior tournaments for GB. That’s how basically it happened. I was just passionate about boxing. I never thought I’d be able to make a living out of it or anything like that. I was just very passionate about it. It’s a thing that I’ve always loved and sometimes I have to pinch myself now. I’m very fortunate for it to be a career, something I can earn a few quid out of as well.
I want to go all the way. That’s my mindset with everything. In life I’m very, very tunnel-visioned. I want to go all the way.
