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Sonny Upton is looking to the likes of Bernard Hopkins, Juan Manual Marquez and Henry Armstrong for inspiration ahead of his second paid fight.
Like the legendary world champions, Upton suffered a setback on his professional debut last month, but he hasn’t let it dent his confidence and is grateful for the experience.
The London-born Irishman lost a highly controversial six round decision to Spain’s unbeaten Nabil Krissi on November 16 and has been given a quick opportunity to get back out.
On Friday night he will travel to Pavia in Northern Italy and take on well-travelled Bulgaria Traian Dimitrov.
“I was a bit nervous on my debut and I burnt up a lot of energy. He was a tough opponent, but hopefully I’ll go to Italy and put the record straight against this opponent,” Sonny, 23, said.
“To me, I won the fight. I’ve watched it back and the more I’ve watched, the more convinced I’ve become, but I’m not going to dwell on it. It’s the past.
“I’m grateful for it really because I could have gone in there and put away a journeyman. I got the full six rounds against a tough opponent and learned a lot from it. He was tougher than I expected, but I’m actually happy with how it went.”
Given he didn’t get the result he expected on his debut, many would expect Upton to come out all guns blazing in this fight.
Typically, boxers plan to make a statement following a defeat, but he says he doesn’t have anything to prove.
“It’s more about learning in these fights,” he explained. “I know what I can do and Ricky knows what I can do. I’ve got to get in there and adapt to the pro game now.
“The quality will come out the more fights I get. Some really top level boxers lost early in their career like, Marquez and Nonito Donaire, and it didn’t get them down. I am not letting it bother me either, because I know how good I can be.”
