Today is huge for me. As I write this I am just hours away from the weigh-in with Roy Jones Jr and this is the part of a big fight build-up that I hate the most.
My weight has been fine, no problem, but it’s natural for me to be around half a stone over the limit with just a few hours to go before the weigh-in.
That means very little food and a lot of sweating and running to make sure I am bang on the limit at 4pm our time today.
To be honest, I am now 100% focused on the fight and nothing else is taking up my thoughts.
I am doing no more press to promote the fight, not because I haven’t enjoyed doing it, it’s been fine, but because this is a huge fight for me and I need to be zoning in mentally.
I like to visualise what I will do in the ring, think about past fights I’ve had, stuff like that.
Normally I don’t like solitude and being on my own, it doesn’t sit well with me, but I enjoy the quiet in the hours leading up to a fight.
I suppose I should give you a run-down of what the big fight week has been like for me.
Myself, dad, uncle Sergio, Kerry Hope and Bradley Pryce flew out in the middle of last week.
We’re staying at a nice apartment complex near Central Park, which is absolutely ideal and also have good friend and lawyer Gareth Williams out here with us.
Staying in an apartment means dad and Sergio – who is a trained chef – can monitor our food and it is quiet, we don’t have to worry about being woken up during the night by rowdy guests like you would in a hotel.
Also, we’re right by Central Park, as I said, and I love it around there, Kerry and I have been running every morning and dad has even tagged along with us a few times.
Myself and Roy both did gym work-outs on Monday and I felt fantastic, I didn’t see Roy but I hear he was more interested in playing his new rap song than actually doing any work.
Roy asked me to collaborate on the track – as I mentioned in this column a few weeks ago – but that was never going to happen, I am no Vanilla Ice!
We had a day off on Tuesday because of the election.
Wednesday was the head-to-head press conference and to be honest I found it a bit of a waste of time.
Virtually every person on the card had their say, thanking God, making all sorts of promises and we were the last people to speak, meaning a lot of sitting around listening to rubbish. I am also at the point where I don’t think I can say too much more about this fight, apart from to my loyal Argus readers of course!
My biggest regret in the lead up to the fight is saying that it will be my last. People just won’t stop talking about this now and I don’t want to be thinking about what I will do next year, or even next week.
I have stopped answering questions about what is next for me. It might sound rude, but I need to focus my attention on Roy Jones Jr.
I am so excited by the prospect of fighting in Madison Square Garden, I am not exaggerating when I say it is a childhood dream come true.
Roy Jones is one of the only two big names in America at the moment and I’ve already beaten the other one, so I see this as the pinnacle.
I don’t know how Roy is going to approach this one, I hope he comes to go toe-to-toe and really has a bash at me, because then I fully believe I will knock him out.
If he doesn’t, then I will adjust. People underestimate my ability to adapt and change my style in between rounds and if I need to win just by jabbing and work-rate I can do so, but I hope that isn’t the case, I want it to be a special fight, a great fight, but that can’t happen if Roy is negative and cheats like Bernard Hopkins.
It’s been nice seeing some familiar faces from Wales at the press events, not least the newest recruit to BBC Wales, my good pal and former stablemate Gary Lockett, who arrived on Wednesday.
I also had two mean looking cheerleaders arriving yesterday, Enzo Maccarinelli and Gavin Rees, obviously it’s great to see them, two of my closest mates.
I know that loads of you back home would love to be here, but with things as they are financially it’s difficult to get over to New York.
I would have loved for this fight to have been at the Millennium Stadium, but unfortunately it just wasn’t meant to be and I figured New York was easier to get to than Vegas. I can promise those of you staying up to watch the fight on television that it is going to be a belter.
I feel great, or will do once I have a nice bowl of pasta tonight, my hands are terrific and my hunger is as strong as ever.
Don’t think for a second that talk of retirement means I have checked out mentally, this is maybe my biggest fight since Chris Eubank.
I don’t normally make predictions for my own fights, but I really feel like I can knock out Roy Jones Jr.
What happens after that? I honestly don’t know. That is something to discuss – probably in these pages – down the line.
I would like to thank you all because I’ve had loads of good luck messages and now it is time to rumble. I genuinely can’t wait. Tomorrow is massive for me and there will be no slip-ups.
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