ROCKY FIELDING plans to open the door to big domestic fights with a win over Brian Vera at the Echo Arena in Liverpool on Friday night, while the Texan plans to upset the party.
The 27-year-old Liverpool man is looking forward to what will be the biggest test of his career to date against the durable Vera, who holds wins over Andy Lee and Sergio Mora.
The 33-year-old however has lost his last three, to Julio Cesar Chavez Jnr twice and Willie Munroe Jnr in January, and Fielding hopes to make it four losses from four.
“If I stop them, then it will be a good statement because Julio Cesar Chavez Jnr never did and neither did Willie Munroe,” he told Boxing News.
“But I’m not going out there with the thought to stop him, I’m going out there to outbox him and if I catch him I know I can do a bit of damage.
“He comes forward and he comes to work and chop you down but I’ve got to stick to my boxing like Munroe did and hopefully he can walk onto some shots and I can catch him. Any fighter that comes to knock me out gets knocked out themselves.”
With a showdown with domestic rival Callum Smith, who also fights on the bill, pencilled in for September by the BBBofC for the vacant British title, and with a burgeoning super-middleweight scene on UK shores, Rocky is well aware of the importance of this fight.
“This is a massive fight, it’s like a world title fight to me. I’m ranked high with the IBF, James DeGale just won that title, George Groves is fighting for a world title,” he said.
“Callum Smith is in the same position as me, on the verge of fighting for a world title so I’ve just got to get Vera out the way in good style and it will open the door to big fights for me.”
Vera meanwhile remains confident he can upset the odds and hand Fielding his first loss as a professional, and insists his advantage in experience will be a decisive factor.
“I haven’t seen too much of him, my manager has show me a few videos, but he looks like he makes a lot of mistakes,” he told us.
“He’s tall, he’s long but he still looks green to me so I’ve got to expose that on fight night. My experience will see me through, he hasn’t fought the type of guys I have so there are many ways I can overcome him.
“I’ve travelled to fighters’ backyards plenty of times, I’ve upset the odds in those fights many times so it doesn’t matter to me, at the end of the day we just get in there and fight.”
While Fielding is a career super-middleweight, although did weigh in heavy for his fight with Charles Adamu last year, Vera has previously campaigned at 160lbs but insists his future remains at the higher weight.
“I’ll be at 168lbs for the rest of my career. I can’t keep bringing myself down, there’s no way I can make 160lbs anymore.
“At 160lbs I lose my strength and get stopped from time to time, sucking myself down and draining myself, losing 15lbs the week of the fight.
“I just don’t see how he could think he can stop me but it’s a good thing for me, I feel stronger at this weight.”
Fielding rejects that claim and does not feel Vera will carry much punching power at the higher weight.
“From what I’ve seen, he’s not had much power at middleweight so I don’t think he’ll bring much up to super-middleweight, it’s an extra 7lbs for him and I don’t think he’ll be bringing an extra 7lbs of muscle of power with him.
“It’s a good fight, I’m looking forward to it and we’ll see how his experience holds out.”
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