"I'm basically writing my own legacy and step by step, I'm accomplishing what I had in mind. I'm looking forward to making my debut for BKB...I've never fought in the pit. It is something new for me. I don't know what to expect, but I know there is going to be a fight and I'm prepared for whatever they put in front of me. I'm just looking forward to it...This is what I'm destined to be. I'm a born fighter," stated heavyweight Tyrone Spong, who talked about his upcoming clash with Julian Pollard on the June 27 BKB card. Check it out!
PC: BKB, you will be facing Julian Pollard for the heavyweight title. Tell us about it my man.
TS: Yeah man, throughout my whole career, I've been blessed. I work hard. I've had tremendous success most of the time. I'm a 10-time world champion in kickboxing. Unfortunately, I had a freak accident; something I could never imagine happening to me. Man, through practice, I have thrown millions of kicks and I just never saw something like that happening to me. But unfortunately it did. It was a bad injury. I was out for a year with a bad leg break. I broke my tibia and my fibula. After that, I had two professional boxing fights at the beginning of this year. Both were a success. I won both by knockout in the 1st round and here I am. On June 27th, I'm fighting for BKB against Julian Pollard. I don't know too much about him. I know he's a big dude. He's a big heavyweight and I'm looking forward to it. I'm basically writing my own legacy and step by step, I'm accomplishing what I had in mind. I'm looking forward to making my debut for BKB.
PC: It's almost like your mentality is, as long as there are gloves on your hands, you are willing to fight. You have fought in kickboxing, MMA, boxing, and now you're doing the BKB boxing format.
TS: I'm a guy that like challenges. I like challenging myself and I think what I'm doing is not for everybody. I think that I've been truly blessed; God-gifted with a talent to be just an amazing athlete. And this is not some arrogance or cockiness whatsoever, but I truly feel like whatever I want to do, I can do as an athlete. The only thing I need is the opportunity and the time to prepare myself.
PC: Going back to the leg injury, what was the rehabilitation like and how did you mentally overcome it?
TS: The actual moment when it happened, the first thing that you feel is pain. It hurts like hell. It's a horrible injury and I wouldn't wish upon any athlete to endure such an injury. The person that I am, I'm a strong-minded person and I'm very positive. As soon as I realized it's a fact it happened, I had to prove who I was and come back stronger. I'm doing that right now. The rehabilitation was good. I was like 40 hours out of surgery and I was walking by myself without any support. I just kept that positive mindset.
PC: How did the BKB situation jump off?
TS: Kickboxing, to me, is a little bit...it's not going anywhere right now. I had so many fights in my career. I was a 10-time world champion, so after a while, I didn't have any real challenges as a kickboxer. After the injury and Glory didn't really give me an offer for a new contract that I liked, with me being the current champion when the injury happened to me and with me always putting on good fights for them, I won all of my fights except the one where I broke my leg all in spectacular form. I won by devastating knockouts and always put on a great show. I promoted Glory here in the US and I was the face of Glory. For them to come back with an offer like that, I felt a little bit disrespected. So that and the injury made me decide to expand out and do what I always told you that I wanted to do and that's boxing. I told you. I don't know if you remember the first time we spoke when I moved out to Florida; that was 4 years ago and me and you did an interview and I told you that I was going to do all three combat sports and I was going to show the world that I can be successful. By me doing that, people started calling me "The Bo Jackson of Combat Sports!" I want to prove to them that that's actually happening and I'm living my dream.
PC: I definitely remember that conversation. And this is a new experience for you and you seem as calm as can be.
TS: Yeah, I've never fought in the pit. It is something new for me. I don't know what to expect, but I know there is going to be a fight and I'm prepared for whatever they put in front of me. I'm just looking forward to it.
PC: He has 6 fights and he's won all 6 by knockout. What do you feel you have to do to reverse his fortunes and teach this guy how to lose?
TS: He's going to face me. We'll see from there. I'm not a big smack talker. I let my fights speak for themselves. With him, like I said, he's a big dude. He's 255 pounds and he's had big success, so he's doing something right. It's up to me to change that and I'm looking forward to it and I'm definitely going to do that.
PC: What does it mean to you to be a part of the first heavyweight title fight in BKB history?
TS: It showcased that they did their research on me, they saw what I was capable of, and they truly believe in me by putting me in their first ever heavyweight title fight and I appreciate that. I just want to showcase to the American audience and to everybody worldwide that I can come through as a boxer.
PC: You have definitely always wanted to make your mark in boxing. How did those first two fights feel for you?
TS: Ah, it felt great. It felt very natural. Of course I did some feeling out for a little bit and I had a little bit of the healthy nerves because I was out of competition for over a year. It made me feel so happy and alive again, man. This is what I'm destined to be. I'm a born fighter.
PC: I always appreciate your time. We will speak again after the fight. Best of luck to you. Is there anything else you would like to add before I let you go?
TS: I want to give a big shout out to my management company, Glen Robinson. I want to thank BKB for the opportunity and my opponent as well. And of course FightHype, Percy, thank you for reaching out to me and we will definitely do one after the fight!
[ Follow Percy Crawford on Twitter @MrLouis1ana ]