This week, âKing of the Ringâ Tyrone Spong (90-5, 60 KOâs) is on his way to Istanbul, Turkey for one of the most important dates in his life.
The world-ranked #1 light-heavyweight is one of four fighters invited to take part in this Saturdayâs four-man Light-Heavyweight Championship Tournament at GLORY 15 ISTANBUL.
On the line is the vacant GLORY Light-Heavyweight World Title. Whoever wins this tournament will come out of it wearing a belt, which marks him out as the best 205lb striker on the planet.
"I donât need motivation. I am a fighter and this is what I do. I am a born fighter," snaps Spong a few days out from the tournamentâs commencement. "But of course I want that belt, I want to be the champion."
Spong is the favorite, marginally ahead of Gokhan Saki (79-16, 56 KOâs). But the tournament is a closely-matched one: Spongâs long-time rival Nathan âCarnageâ Corbett (57-4, 45 KOâs) is in there, as is thunderous Brazilian puncher Saulo Cavalari (28-2, 18 KOâs).
Any one of these fighters can end anybody elseâs night in an instant, with just a single well-placed punch. The four have a huge number of knockouts between them and each of them has scored at least one finish in his most recent two fights.
Spong faces Cavalari in the semi-finals.
âHe is a young, hungry guy coming up. He is very motivated and very hungry. There are no easy fights and you can never underestimate anybody. I think it will be a good fight, an explosive fight if he comes and he brings it,â he says.
If he does meet Corbett in the final for what would be their rubber match, he isnât expecting to blow him away. Thatâs despite the relative ease he took him out with in their GLORY 11 CHICAGO fight back in October.
âEvery fight is an individual fight on its own, you have to look at it fight to fight. So that fight was GLORY 11, it is over This is GLORY 15 and a different Corbett will show up - hungry, motivated,â he says.
"The guy is a champion. He doesnât like to lose and I respect him a lot, I really think he is one of the best out there. So you can never say you have somebody figured out. I donât think so, a fight is a fight."
Finally there is Saki. The âTurkish Tysonâ - he is Netherlands born and raised but to parents from Turkey - is fighting on what is effectively home soil. The rapturous reception he got at GLORY 6 ISTANBUL last year will be replicated tenfold this year.
"Honestly I donât care, the crowd might be there for him but once you are in the ring you are in there by yourself," Spong shrugs.
"Saki is a tremendous fighter, very fast and very explosive. He is an entertaining fighter for the crowd too and I expect a lot of fireworks from Saki, especially as he is fighting in front of a home crowd. I expect great things from him."
Like Spong, Saki was also a heavyweight for most of his career. He is making his light-heavyweight debut in this fight, whereas Spong has now had several fights at this weight already. Does their similar journey mean anything?
"We were both small heavyweights but our styles are not very similar, apart from that we are both fast. Thatâs the only similarity really," he says.
There may be another similarity Spong is overlooking. Since moving to Mikeâs Gym in Amsterdam last year, Saki has started to develop the gymâs infamous punching power and head-hunting KO style. Spong has also been doing a lot of work on his hands.
"If you look at kickboxing or any combat sport, the most KOâs come from the hands. So that, plus the fact that I want to take part in professional boxing, meant that I have worked on my boxing a lot," he says.
"My boxing coach Pedro Diaz is one of the best in the game. I have worked on it with him a lot and I keep improving. But Iâm an all-round complete fighter⊠I would say I have an all-round game, powerful but technical.
"I am always striving towards perfection. That is why I work so hard every day."
GLORY 15 ISTANBUL takes place Saturday April 12 at Ulker Arena, Istanbul, Turkey and airs in the USA on SPIKE TV at 9pm ET/8pm CT.
