The fight can be lost in the walk from the dressing room to the ring according to former WBO middleweight champion Andy Lee.
The retired boxer was speaking about the moments leading up to a fight and reflected on how ludicrous it can all be.
"It's mad because you're walking through thousands of people, you're naked and you're going to fight somebody who you have no personal ill-feeling towards.
“There’s no grudge there, you’re just like, ‘Oh. We have to fight each other now.’ It’s mad. It’s a mad thing. So you’re walking but you’re trying to absorb it.
“You’re also trying to stay in the zone where you’re thinking like, ‘This is it now. I’m ready, I’m ready.’ But you’re also thinking, ‘I want to f*****g kill this guy.’ That’s in your head as well,” Lee said.
Small things make big differences
There is a massive difference between the time spent in the dressing room and the moment fighters leave that room and Lee stressed the importance of managing that transition well.
“So in the dressing room I’d be putting on music, laughing and joking I’d always have someone there I’d be chatting to, but I wouldn’t be talking about the fight at all.
“But my hydration, my sleep, my eating, my weight - all that stuff, the small things - I’d be obsessive over.
“You’re just trying to feel it. Because in the dressing room it’s safe, it’s cosy. It’s warm. Everyone’s there and they’re all friendly faces. Everyone’s wishing you well.
"It's mad because you're walking through thousands of people, you're naked and you're going to fight somebody who you have no personal ill feeling towards."@AndyLeeBoxing on the moments leading up to a fight. pic.twitter.com/KCWObZVIU7
— Off The Ball (@offtheball) October 5, 2019
“Then you’re out there and everyone’s like, ‘Ah! Kill him.’ His people are wanting blood. Your people are wanting blood.
“I’ve said it a million times but the fight can be lost in that walk from the dressing room to the ring,” Lee said.
While Lee has no immediate plans to get back in the ring himself he is still involved in the sport in a big way as he will train Jason Quigley for the Donegal man’s comeback fight.
