Romanian contender Benjamin Adegbuyi (18-2, 13 KO’s) is working harder than ever before at his base camp in the capital city of Bucharest as he prepares to challenge Rico ‘The Prince’ Verhoeven (45-10, 11 KO’s) for his World Middleweight Championship at GLORY 22 FRANCE next month.
‘Mr Gentleman’ finds himself in the contender slot after going 3-0 in GLORY, two of those wins inside the distance.
He was due to face Anderson ‘Braddock’ Silva at GLORY 21 SAN DIEGO earlier this month but a last-minute change saw him bumped up to a title shot in June. It means he has had an extended training camp - useful, as things have turned out.
“Everything is going super-good, we are making a really good preparation for this fight. The only real changes to my camp are that this is the first time I am scheduled to fight for five rounds so we are making sure to work on the fitness for that,” he says.
“In sparring now I am going hard for ten rounds with a fresh opponent each time and it is no problem. In the ring on fight night is different of course, with the crowd and the emotions, but I am sure I can handle it.
Verhoeven is known as one of the fittest competitors in the fight game, a fighter who takes his role as an athlete very seriously. The young Dutchman lives the role full-time, giving a lot of focus to such things as diet, conditioning and even sleep. Adegbuyi knows his own fitness needs to be unquestionable.
“In a way [the GLORY 21 fight cancellation] was a good thing because I was already prepared for the fight with Anderson,” he says.
“At first, for five days I did nothing because I was a little upset at the fight being cancelled. But then I got back into training when the title fight came through and actually the little rest turned out to be a good thing for me.
“It means that I have had a long training camp and I am in the best shape of my life but I am feeling really good also.”
Verhoeven is also known for being one of the most intelligent fighters in kickboxing. He brings different tactics to the ring for each opponent, tailored to their particular game. Adegbuyi has also show himself to be a clever fighter though, so there is some curiosity about what his own tactics will be.
Adegbuyi’s trainer is in the car with his fighter and overhears the topic being discussed. “No tactics, only fighting!” he shouts in the background, prompting laughter from the other passengers.
“We just fight hard. Rico is a good athlete and is very prepared. We have a little gameplan in place and you will see that on fight night. The first round or two we will take it steady and then after that we will see what happens,” says Adegbuyi.
“Do I think I can knock him out? Yes. For sure.”
GLORY 22 FRANCE takes place Friday, June 5 at Stade Pierre Mauroy in Lille, France and features a four-man Lightweight Contender Tournament with Davit Kiria, Josh Jauncey, Niclas Larsen and Thai champion Sitthichai.
Also on the card is a co-main event light-heavyweight encounter between power-puncher Zack Mwekassa and newcomer Carlos Brooks.
The event airs LIVE in the US on Spike TV at 4pm ET and will air live in more than 100 territories worldwide. Check local listings for details.
