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"Showtime" is Just Beginning for Anthony Pettis
On December 16th, 2010, with one minute remaining in a hotly contested five round WEC lightweight championship bout that would also be the final fight of the company’s storied tenure, arguably the most sensational athletic move was attempted and successfully delivered: the ‘Showtime kick.’
After 24 minutes of back and forth action with the title on the line, then challenger Anthony Pettis seemingly defied all known laws of physics by leaping towards the cage, spring boarding off of that cage with his right foot, and delivering a mid-air whip kick with that same right foot, which caught then champion Benson Henderson in the face. It didn’t knock the champion out, but it did drop Henderson and was the declarative statement that Pettis won the epic contest.
About the only person in the entirety of the MMA community who is not still hypnotized by that captivating moment is the man who did it. “I don't want the ‘Showtime kick’ and the WEC belt to be the highlight of my career,” affirms Pettis, who understandably is working towards a long, successful career as a professional fighter, and not resting on his 23-year old self’s accomplishments - as great as they were. “I want to be the UFC champ. I want to do well in this and I believe in myself. I want to show the fans that I am a skillful fighter and I can be the best at 155.”
If UFC light heavyweight champion Jon Jones had the most impressive year in MMA history in 2011, then there’s a case to be made that Pettis had the second best in 2010. Coming off a split decision loss to Bart Palaszewski at WEC 45, which was also the first loss of his career, Pettis entered 2010 a relative no name 155er who found himself being followed around by a yet-to-debut documentary television show while preparing for his third WEC bout. At WEC 47 against Danny Castillo, Pettis scored an opening round head kick knockout, which earned him “Knockout of the Night” and provided a scintillating ending to the World of Jenks MTV show. But that was only the beginning to his year, as Pettis would win three more fights, a “Submission of the Night”, a “Knockout of the Night”, and was crowned the last WEC lightweight champion.
An added stipulation to the Pettis/Henderson bout was that the winner would face the winner of the UFC lightweight championship fight between Frankie Edgar and Gray Maynard at UFC 125. The title fight ended in a draw, which earned Edgar and Maynard a rematch with each other, but left Pettis without a dance partner for the foreseeable future. Instead of waiting for the eventual winner of Edgar/Maynard (which was finally decided last October), Pettis chose to take on another top contender. Long story short, six months later, Pettis debuted in the UFC against veteran grinder Clay “The Carpenter” Guida and suffered a unanimous decision loss.
“It sucked,” tells Pettis. “Going from fighting pretty much every two months to having six months off - I didn't like it at all. A lot of stuff changed. Having Mr. Andrew Jenks follow me around, my popularity definitely went up, and having six months off I didn't have anything to look forward to. My fight camp and I decided I should take a fight and luckily we did because I wouldn't have been fighting until this year. Taking that fight didn't turn out how I was hoping, but there were a lot of factors - time off, gameplan, and a lot of stuff factored into why I lost that fight.”
It wasn’t the UFC debut Pettis expected, but he is a professional, and four months later he was inside the Octagon for a second time looking for that first win. “The biggest thing for me was to not get another loss,” says Pettis, who took on the heavy-handed Jeremy Stephens at UFC 136, a bout which did not go as expected either. “Going into the Stephens fight, we were expecting a standup war. He was talking big stuff like he was going to knock me out and welcome me properly to the UFC, so I was expecting a standup fight. It didn't turn out that way.”
No one would have guessed the ultra, dynamic striking of Pettis and the 14 knockouts, power punching of “Lil’ Heathen” would end up in a wrestling match in Houston. “He goes and takes me down in the first round, twice I think, but I wasn't expecting him to shoot on me - I was expecting him to throw big bombs,” divulges Pettis, who didn’t start the grapple-thon, but definitely ended it by showing off his takedowns in the later rounds. “He takes me down and he goes up on the judges’ score cards right away. In the corner, Duke [Roufus] told me, ‘if you can take him down then take him down and grind him out.’ In the second and third round, I came out and I did just that.”
Although, 2011 was slow for the Milwaukee, Wisconsin native, going 1-1 in two wrestling matches in the UFC, 2012 is shaping up to be very exciting. At UFC 144, in the UFC’s first event in Japan in over a decade, Pettis faces five-time Submission of the Night winner Joe Lauzon at the Saitama Super Arena. The submission magician from Massachusetts is entering the bout on a two fight win streak capped off by a huge 47 second upset victory over Melvin Guillard at UFC 136. At 20-6, the Ultimate Fighter season 5 alum is in the mix for a title shot, and Pettis knows a win over him would put him back near the top of the lightweight pack hunting for gold.
“He’s a very intelligent fighter and very dangerous,” says Pettis. “He's got some good striking, he's getting better all the time, he's been around a long time, he's got the experience factor on me, and he's very good on the ground. He's one of those fighters who is dangerous everywhere. I wanted someone of his caliber and of his skill set. He's coming off a huge win against Guillard. He's going to put me right back where I need to be. A win over Lauzon will be huge for my career. Coming off of a win you have better mental preparation going into a fight. You're not doubting yourself, you're not thinking about your last loss. I'm coming off of a win, so I'm better mentally. I know that I can go out there and do what I usually do. I can't go out there and play it safe. I need to go out there and bring the fight and break his will.”
The type of fight that only “Showtime” can bring is a uniquely flashy, but effective, one that is fan-friendly and knockout-centric. It’s a style that is as atheistically pleasing as it is deadly for Pettis’ opponents. Nevertheless, Pettis fights with a controlled chaos, as seemingly high risk maneuvers like the ‘Showtime kick’ are actually thoughtfully practiced with legendary kickboxing coach Roufus, and they come naturally to Pettis because of his background in traditional martial arts like Taekwondo (3rd degree black belt).
“People ask me all the time, ‘am I trying to go out there and be ‘Showtime’ or am I trying to go out there and show off a new kick?’ Nah, this is the way I practice,” states Pettis. “I practice flashy because I've been doing it my whole life. Jump kicks, spin kicks, I've been doing them my whole life and they're second nature to me. For a boxer to throw a 1-2 is nothing for them because they've been doing it their whole life. For me to throw a spin kick is nothing to me because I've been doing it my whole life. A jump spin kick has been something I've using in my whole martial arts career and it's just something that carries over into my fighting. When someone is getting ready to fight me as an opponent, they definitely have to bring in some sparring partners who throw crazy moves. But the thing is I have very good basics, which allow me to go out there and throw spin kicks. I don't just go out there and throw spin kicks and spin kicks and spin kicks. I set them up with a 1-2 and a low kick, mixing in with a high kick, and I'll see the opening and then I'll go for it. The kicks that people have seen in the WEC are kicks that I've done my whole life - the spin kicks, the capoeira kicks - that all comes second nature.”
For the training required to make himself elite, Pettis doesn’t even need to leave his hometown of Milwaukee because of Roufusport Mixed Martial Arts Academy. Within the hallowed walls are the gym’s namesake, Roufus, who is both head coach and striking coach, as well as a cast of steadily growing up-and-coming talent like UFC featherweight Erik Koch. One of the newest members of the fight team is the highly decorated, former 2x NCAA Division I National Champion wrestler from the University of Missouri, Ben Askren, who is 9-0 as a pro in MMA. Also, Pettis’ younger brother, Sergio, is a 3-0 flyweight on the Roufusport team.
“It's huge,” says Pettis about the motivation he gets from training with his brother. “For me and my brother training together we have a bond, we're both pushing each other to the limit because we want the best for each other, but we're competitive. I don't want to lose, and I don't want my little brother whooping my ass, so I have to stay on top of my game. I know he looks up to me, so I know I have to do the right things and set the right examples.”
Lastly, out of all the fans that he earned from the TV show, the exciting finishes, the kick, and the title, Pettis’ biggest fan didn’t get to see any of that happen because she’s only seven months old: his daughter Aria. “You hear it all the time that when you have kids that they're your ultimate motivation, but it doesn't really make sense until you have one and you see,” says Pettis, who is going to have to work harder than ever to outdo what he’s already done, but with his daughter in his corner he’s ready for the task. “I have a baby girl, she's amazing, and I'm more focused than ever.”
On February 25th at UFC 144, Pettis is bringing “Showtime” to Japan and Lauzon better be prepared for that arsenal of creativity. “I have a fight style that is different from everyone else’s and from what everyone has ever seen,” asserts Pettis, who wants to eclipse his previous WEC accomplishments and the best way to start doing that is a win over Lauzon. “I think coming out here and having a great performance shows that I'm one step closer to my goals. I've got the basics, I've got the flash, and I'm trying to be the most well-rounded fighter in the UFC.”
Who knows, maybe it's possible to jump off the cage into a flying triangle choke, back flip kick. If anyone is going to do it, Pettis can.
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Joe Lauzon - Shedding The Underdog Tag
They called it a major upset. Why? That’s a mystery, considering that Joe Lauzon had gone 7-3 in his previous 10 UFC bouts, ending five of them via the ground game that was opponent Melvin Guillard’s Achilles heel in the Octagon.
But when October 8, 2011 rolled around in Houston, Texas, many fans and pundits feared for Lauzon’s health against the Louisiana knockout artist dubbed “The Young Assassin.”
New England’s “J-Lau” wasn’t shaking though.
“I knew that Melvin was most dangerous when people are scared, so I wasn’t gonna be scared,” said Lauzon. “I might have gotten knocked out because of it, and he might have beat me, but I wasn’t gonna make it easy. I was gonna come forward and fight hard, and if I lost, I lost. At least I didn’t make the mistake I knew beforehand, which was if I came out tentative, then he would eat me up.”
Lauzon did a complete 180 from tentative, dropping Guillard early and then finishing him off with a textbook rear naked choke. The whole fight took just 47 seconds. And while the fans screamed upset, Lauzon didn’t take the lack of pre-fight faith in his abilities personally.
“I think a lot of people were surprised by it, but I wasn’t surprised at all,” he said. “I didn’t think it was gonna end exactly like that, but I one hundred percent expected to beat Melvin. And I wasn’t insulted. What I may see as a clear cut advantage on my side, other people might think that I’m way outmatched, or vice versa. They might think I have a clear cut advantage on something, but it’s a lot closer than they think. So I don’t really get too upset on things like that. It was definitely an upset in a lot of people’s eyes, but I was really confident.”
More than four months later, Lauzon’s days of creeping up on unsuspecting opponents appear to be a thing of the past. On Saturday night, he faces dynamic rising star Anthony Pettis in a UFC 144 main card bout at Saitama Super Arena in Saitama, Japan, and the talk isn’t of Lauzon upsetting “Showtime,” but of him being in the lightweight title picture with a victory. That’s heady stuff for the 27-year old from Bridgewater, Massachusetts, one of many things on his proverbial table at the moment, including the fact that he’s fighting in one of most fighters’ bucket list destinations – Japan.
“I’ve always wanted to fight in Japan,” said the eight year pro. “Before MMA was real big here, Japan was always the place to go. It’s turned around now, but before, when the UFC was just getting going and gaining all that momentum, Japan was the place to fight, so it’s pretty cool to go back there and be part of such a big card. The quiet fans are going to be a trip. I always hear my corner very clear and I’m very accustomed to their voices, so I can pick them up, but listening to the other corner and all that kinda stuff is all gonna be pretty cool. I think we’ll hear (commentators) Joe (Rogan) and Goldie (Mike Goldberg), and I’m looking forward to all of that. I started training before I started watching the UFC, and honestly, I think I watched a little bit more PRIDE in the very beginning than I did the UFC. There were the entrances with the drums and there were so many people there and the whole entire thing is just a surreal experience.”
And in a place where the fighting culture celebrates not just the winners, but those who deliver compelling fights, Lauzon and Pettis are a perfect fit. Plus, Lauzon believes that though he has been painted as the groundfighter going up against a striker in Pettis, things may stray from that perceived script on fight night, not surprising considering that Lauzon’s standup has looked extremely sharp in his last three bouts against Gillard, Curt Warburton, and George Sotiropoulos, and that Pettis’ wrestling was solid in his recent win over Jeremy Stephens.
“I think Pettis is good everywhere,” said Lauzon. “Everyone knows him as the kid that jumped off the cage, and he’s obviously got good kickboxing, but he’s good on the ground too. I think people forget that part about him. Also, I don’t think he’s got a clear-cut advantage on the feet, like a lot of people are thinking. Everyone looks at me as ‘oh, he’s got so many submissions,’ and this and that, but I think people forget that I’ve been hurting people with my punches and that’s been setting up my submissions. The last couple fights, I smashed guys on the feet, and then I took a submission once it hit the ground. So I don’t see it as this clear-cut striker vs. grappler match that a lot of people are seeing. I favor the ground over standup and I think Pettis favors standup over ground, but I think we’re both pretty even in a lot of areas, and I’m expecting a tough fight and an exciting fight. Most likely, the fight’s gonna end somewhere absolutely crazy, so I’m excited.”
Yet despite Lauzon’s penchant for highlight reel finishes, the way he sees it, none of that is possible without having a firm grounding in the fundamentals – both standing and on the ground – that he works on with guys like boxing coach Steve Maze and grappling guru Ricky Lundell.
“The fundamentals are the most important thing,” he said. “I learned early on, doing jiu-jitsu and grappling and things like that, rather than being really, really good at a couple moves, I wanted to just know 50 moves and be able to impress people and do things like that. But as I got better, those 50 moves weren’t working on people. I had maybe a couple moves that would work on someone that was good. So instead of me trying to learn all those different moves, I just try to focus on the fundamental stuff. That’s all I really care about. You’ll never see me do anything super fancy in a fight, boxing or wrestling wise. I want to be really, really good at the fundamentals. Grappling, I could do a little bit more because I’ve been doing it for so long and I’m so confident and things like that. But if I’m in camp, I’m not trying to go ‘oh, this is a new, cool move;’ I’m trying to do all the things that I already know and tighten things up and get better. One of the things BJ (Penn) said to me on The Ultimate Fighter was that it’s just advanced basics. You have to know the basics inside and out. Whereas someone might know a couple details on it, you’ve got to know all the details on it. You have to know it better than the other guy, and that’s how you’re gonna win. You’ll shut down his basic movements, which are the building blocks for everything else they do.”
In other words, you have to know the rules before you can break them. And now that Lauzon has put in endless hours in the gym and has compiled close to 30 pro fights, he has earned the right to mix things up a bit and add his own particular flair to the basics.
“People think I do a lot of crazy stuff now,” he said. “I used to do so much crazier stuff before. I toned it down, but because I’ve got nine years of doing off the wall stuff, it works out for me. If you’ve got really good fundamentals, then it’s easy to figure out some of the crazier stuff and go outside the box a little bit. But if you don’t know those very basic building blocks, it’s really, really tough to start doing more advanced stuff.”
It’s around this time that it’s safe to start getting excited about this fight, not just because it’s a meeting of two of the top 155-pounders in the game, but two of the most exciting. Yet after nabbing post-fight bonuses in nine of 11 UFC fights, does Lauzon start expecting them?
“I don’t start counting the money, but it’s gonna be sad when I have a fight and I don’t get a bonus,” he laughs. “But I’m more focused on putting a good fight and winning than I am about saying ‘oh, I’m definitely gonna try and get a bonus.’ And the way I fight brings lots of bonuses my way, so I don’t think about it too much.”
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After A Year to Forget, Fukuda Aims to Make 2012 Memorable
In breaking down 2011, you have to wonder what was more painful for Tokyo middleweight Riki Fukuda: injuring his knee in a June car accident or his UFC debut loss to Nick Ring in February via highly controversial decision.
A year after the Ring bout, Fukuda has recovered from both setbacks, grateful for the support he received from the fight community, especially those who lit up internet message boards and Twitter with outrage after UFC 127.
“I was very happy to hear that most people believed I won the fight, but it was a close match and I did not feel I won 100%,” said Fukuda through manager / translator Fumihiko Ishii.
Fukuda, Ring, and the three judges may have been the only ones who didn’t see him as the clear victor in Sydney that night, with UFC President Dana White even chiming in with the tweet “Fukuda got robbed.” But White didn’t stop there.
“As you may know Dana treated me as a winner of the fight,” said Fukuda, “and gave me a win bonus, which I sincerely appreciated.”
It was almost as if Fukuda’s seven fight winning streak wasn’t snapped, at least in terms of public perception, but if you think the 31-year old is resting on that perception, that’s not the case, as he definitely saw holes in his game that needed sewing up, and when asked what he would have done differently, he says, “I would be more aggressive and throw combination punches in the standup, and try to control the ground game.”
And though his next outing at UFC 133 last August against Rafael Natal was scrapped due to the aforementioned car accident, he gets his second shot at a first UFC win this Saturday night against Steve Cantwell, and as far as he’s concerned, the Ring fight is simply a thing of the past.
“It was not difficult for me to change my mindset to look at the next fight,” said Fukuda, who will be in with a young man in Cantwell who is in dire need of a win. Currently on a four fight losing streak, the former WEC champion may take even more risks than usual to heighten his chances to break his skid, but Fukuda sees himself just as hungry for victory at Saitama Super Arena in Japan.
“I am honored to face a former WEC champion in my hometown,” said Fukuda. “But all of the fighters are looking for the win, including myself since I lost my last fight, and Steve is just one of them.”
Unlike some of his countrymen on the UFC’s return to Japan, Fukuda hasn’t been too far removed from his homeland professionally, having fought in Tokyo as recently as August of 2010, when he stopped Ryuta Sakurai in two rounds to retain his Deep middleweight title. But at the same time, a lot has happened since then, both personally and professionally, most notably the earthquake and tsunami that devastated the nation in March of last year. So coming home for this fight means even more for Fukuda.
“I am very happy to fight in front of my friends and fans and everyone who helped me to get back in the Octagon after my traffic accident,” he said. “Many friends and family are not able to see my fight due to overseas venues. But this time, they said, ‘I'm going to cheer your fight,’ and it is very encouraging to me. In addition, I would like to deliver my message through my fight to all the people in Japan who are working together to help the victims from the earthquake disaster.”
That kind of motivation is tough to beat for any opponent, and in the back of the Japanese fighters’ minds is also the idea that a series of stellar performances from the local heroes can kickstart the MMA scene in the “Land of the Rising Sun.”
“Yes, I do think so, as long as we can perform well and have a good show.”
Well, when it comes to Fukuda, everything is aligned for such a performance, as he’s healthy, motivated, and has had a solid camp both in Japan with the GRABKA team and in the United States with AKA (American Kickboxing Academy), a team he has worked with for five years.
“AKA treated me as a team member and it is like my home in California,” said Fukuda. “They have a great team and coach, which gives me the best training of my career.”
Saturday night, he gets to show off that training in his biggest fight yet.
“Anything could happen,” he said, “but I am betting on having the fight of my career 100%.”
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"The New Akiyama" to be Unveiled in Japan This Weekend
America has always been seen as the land of second chances, a place where what happened before can be forgotten in the space of a change of scenery or philosophy, or when it comes to sports, one good performance. On Saturday night, Yoshihiro Akiyama gets his second chance, but he will be getting it in his home country of Japan, as he looks to break a three fight losing streak in a new weight class - welterweight – against Jake Shields.
For the 36-year old Osaka native, there is no sense that he is on the tail end of a career that made him a legit superstar at home, only the positive reinforcement that in and out of the Octagon, he is a new man.
And in many ways he is. After losing to big middleweights Chris Leben, Michael Bisping, and Vitor Belfort, his move to the 170-pound weight class finally took place after the Belfort bout last August. And ‘finally’ is the operative word here, because for years, fight game observers believed that Akiyama was better suited for the welterweight division. Then again, when you’re having success like he did for much of his career (plus he also opened up his MMA career with bouts against heavyweights Frans Botha and Jerome Le Banner) dropping 15 pounds can not only be unpleasant, but seemingly unnecessary.
The knockout loss to Belfort convinced him though.
“I am not tall and big enough among other UFC fighters and decided to change to my "original" division,” said the 5-foot-11 Akiyama through translator Takashi Iizuka. It was at 81 kilograms (178 pounds) that Akiyama won numerous judo titles, and while he will retain the technical knowledge and gritty competitiveness that has marked his seven year MMA career, he’ll also be competing on a level physical playing field, and he believes that “I think that I could acquire more speed.”
Fast, strong, technically sound, and more than willing to bite down on his mouthpiece and get into a war, Akiyama - who described himself and his Japanese peers as “Samurai fighters” - could make an immediate impact in one of the sport’s toughest divisions.
“There are many good motivated fighters trying for the title, thus it’s a very competitive division,” said Akiyama, who is now throwing his hat in the ring with the rest of the contenders. One of those is former world title challenger Shields, who presents quite a different look from that of Akiyama’s UFC opponents thus far. But after 19 pro bouts, he is confident that he will not be seeing anything he hasn’t before.
“He is strong and tough fighter,” said Akiyama of Shields, who is looking to break a losing streak of his own this Saturday. “Every fighter has their own style and I have to deal with them.”
And if the two are equals going into the UFC 144 main card bout at Saitama Super Arena, what can matter most are the intangibles. And one of those intangibles is that Akiyama will have home Octagon advantage come fight night, something he is embracing.
“It’s wonderful opportunity,” he said. “I think that the fans will see the quality fighting and the magnificence of UFC. I hope this show will increase the number of MMA fans in Japan.”
That’s the big picture outlook; for Akiyama personally, fighting at home for the first time since submitting Masanori Tonooka in 2008 is something he hoped would happen before he decided to hang up the gloves.
“I have wished for this (fighting in a UFC bout in Japan), and it’s really great to realize it while I'm an active fighter,” said Akiyama, who will have several friends and family members in attendance this weekend. But the most important person in terms of motivating the longtime star is one who won’t be part of the cheering crowd: the four month old daughter he and wife Shiho welcomed into the world in October.
The proud father says his child “gives me another energy,” and with this energy, a new division, and a new lease on his career, Akiyama is more than ready to move forward.
“Changing my division, it would be great if the fans can see ‘The New Akiyama.’”
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Pressure Breaks Pipes, but not Kid Yamamoto
Pressure in the fight game is always relative. When someone is trying to punch you in the face or make you submit, that’s pretty rough in and of itself. So when you add in the ideas of trying to break a string where you were 1-4 in your last five fights, along with fighting in your home country for the first time in nearly two years, are those factors more pressure-laden than avoiding a punch in the face?
For Norifumi “Kid” Yamamoto, fighting has been his life professionally for almost 11 years, so that part of the pressure equation isn’t a big deal. As for his 1-4 record since returning from a year and a half injury-induced layoff in 2009, a stretch that includes an 0-2 slate in the UFC, he simply says he’s been “a little bit frustrated, so I committed myself to train longer and harder to prepare for the fights.”
But what about this Saturday’s UFC 144 bout in Saitama, Japan against Vaughan Lee, the Kanagawa’s native fighting return to home shores? Is there pressure for him to be the “Kid” once again in front of his loyal fanbase?
“No,” said Yamamoto through manager / translator Fumihiko Ishii.
It’s as blunt as an assessment as you will get from any fighter on any topic, and that’s Yamamoto’s personality when it comes to his day job. He’s to the point with little embellishment, something that translated into his prime performances, where every punch, knee, or kick was designed to get his opponent out of there. From his four second flying knee finish of Kazuyuki Miyata in 2006 to the soccer kicks that ended Rani Yahya’s night in 2007, Yamamoto was rightly considered one of the lighter weight classes’ elite competitors, and his name regularly came up in discussions about fights with stateside standouts Urijah Faber and Miguel Angel Torres.
So when Yamamoto arrived in the UFC’s bantamweight division in 2011, expectations were high, but results underwhelmed, as he lost back-to-back decisions to Demetrious Johnson and Darren Uyenoyama. When asked what has gone wrong in the UFC thus far, Yamamoto replies, “a lack of training due to injury,” and he claims that when it comes to adjusting to the long travel schedule from Japan to the United States and fighting in the Octagon, he had had “no issues at all.”
Which brings us to Saturday night and England’s Vaughan Lee. A scrappy ground ace who isn’t afraid of standing and trading, Lee - like many of his peers - is an admitted fan of Yamamoto, but that’s not going to stop him from trying to hand one of his favorite fighters a crushing defeat. Yamamoto (18-5, 1 NC), whose only stoppage loss came via cuts to Stephen Palling in his fifth pro fight in 2002, isn’t overly concerned with Lee’s submission skills.
“I have been fighting top notch submission fighters and nobody submitted me,” he said. “So I do have enough confidence to face him.”
Aiding in this confidence is that Yamamoto is healthy, and he’s also far removed from any possible distractions at home due to the relocation of his training camp to Mecha MMA in Toronto, Canada.
“My sister suggested and arranged for me to train at Mecha MMA,” said Yamamoto. “(They bring) New technique and good conditioning.”
As for getting away from Japan and all the pre-fight hype for this camp, he says, “I came here for training, which is the same anywhere.”
That’s typical “Kid” Yamamoto. No nonsense to the core. But his hard edge softens a bit when asked about what this fight means, not just to him, but to his loyal fans at home and abroad who would like nothing more than to see a return to form on Saturday night.
“It is really important to win the fight not only for myself but also for all of those fans,” he said. “I also want all of my fans to get excited about not just winning, but the fight.”
Any last minute instructions to those fans?
“SCREAM!”