WHATEVER HE BRINGS I WILL BE READY

Fighter Diary by Jack Catterall

In the next instalment of our exclusive diary columns by the fighters, British title challenger Jack Catterall pens his second entry ahead of his forthcoming clash with champion Tyrone Nurse in Leeds on October 21…

A NUMBER OF people who know their boxing have asked me which version of Tyrone Nurse I expect to show up in Leeds when we fight on October 21 for the British title.

Will it be the old slippery and cagey Tyrone of a few years back or the one who, more recently, has chosen to stand and fight.

I have to expect all different versions of Tyrone, the one who likes to run, survive and hold on, as well as the one who might fancy a shootout.

I will just be prepared for whatever Tyrone that comes along.

I can’t judge him on his last two performances – a draw with Joe Hughes and a points victory over Andy Keates – that people have said he was no good.

You can’t go off them because I have seen fights where he has looked alright.

I know he will be motivated for this one and training hard, so I have to be ready for whatever he comes with.

He likes to roll down dead low, switches his angles and do his little tricks, but it will all be expected.

Mind you, if I listened to how some fans and pundits described a couple of my last fights, I would expect him to beat me easily.

There was a fight on a small hall show just over a year ago where I was suffering with a hand injury and people started to say I was looking a bit flat and was not all was cracked up to be.

The thing is, people have always said that about me – he’s one-paced, a bit flat-footed, he can’t adapt…

But I haven’t been beat yet! They can call me one-paced, but when they get in the ring with me it is a different story.

The tune was changed after my last fight against Martin Gethin, where I got compliments for picking my punches correctly.

It is not a change, to my mind, it is more that you learn over time as a fighter that you cannot be wasting punches. There is no point in me throwing 30-40 punches against Tyrone that are not landing because he’s slipping out of the way.

I need to take my time and make sure my feet are in distance, then make him miss and make him pay, draw him into traps.

In every fight you have got to look to put a performance on and I’m looking to knock him out.

I will be disappointed if I don’t but, at the same time, if that doesn’t happen, I will still be satisfied with beating him on points and showing people I can’t beat somebody over the distance as well.

As long as it is me leaving the ring with that belt, I really won’t mind.