Proksa Ahead of Sulęcki Fight: Humility Will Come in the Ring
- The emotions have died down, but do you still want to put Maciej Sulęcki in his place for his unfavorable comments about your recent fights?
Grzegorz Proksa: That is exactly why we fight. I want to put him in his place. I am a man who remembers things, and the peak of my anger will come on Saturday. I am not angry, though. I simply want to beat him.
- Which of your opponent’s words irritated you the most? His prediction that you could become what is known as a bum after a defeat?
GP: You started with a provocation, and that was unnecessary. I am approaching the fight calmly. I will do my job in the ring. I will not be the one ashamed of my words—my opponent will. He is young and needs to learn humility. I will show it to him on Saturday.
- Did Sulęcki deliberately try to attract fans’ interest in the bout when it was not yet known whether it would take place?
GP: It seems to me that he did not fully believe this fight would happen. He wanted to build his name by using mine. Thanks to Polsat television, he is getting the chance to fight. We will see whether his words are backed up by his actions. I intend to show him that he is not as good a boxer as he thinks he is. He will not take advantage of this opportunity. He will lose.
- Do you want to win as impressively as you did three years ago in Neubrandenburg, where you gave Sebastian Sylvester no chance and took his European middleweight title?
GP: The most important thing is victory and exposing Maciek’s weaknesses. If I do it as well as I did against Sylvester, I will be very pleased. That fight went down in the history of Polish boxing, and I am proud of it. Saturday should be interesting as well. We have a self-proclaimed champion and an old fox.
- Did coach Fiodor Łapin reproach you for joining the verbal war with Sulęcki?
GP: We did not discuss it. If he had any reservations, they were probably about Maciek’s attitude. The coach knows my approach. He knows that I am an experienced boxer and an adult man. He does not have to bring me back down to earth, because I have both feet firmly planted on it.
- Do you still believe that your opponent did not want to give you a “soft touch” and deliberately withdrew from the September fight with a southpaw? Was he really not injured?
GP: For Sulęcki, fighting a southpaw at that time would have been foolish. I did not believe his injury, and I stand by my opinion.
- There is also an interesting rivalry in the corners: Łapin versus Andrzej Gmitruk.
GP: Trainers do not box. They are not the ones taking punches or having to react to them. A coach can help a fighter only up to a certain point. The rest depends on us.
- Gmitruk claims that he and his fighter have carefully analyzed the fights in which your opponents exposed your weaknesses.
GP: They could, of course, have watched my unjustly lost fight with Kerry Hope or the bout with Sergio Mora. Both fights were preceded by various complications. I am a man and I do not intend to make excuses. I am in excellent shape now. Sulęcki will be very surprised. Coach Gmitruk can already start thinking about how to work on Maciek’s mentality after the first round.
- Will you celebrate a double victory together with your friend, Artur Szpilka?
GP: Artur can beat Adamek. He is in very good shape. Everything will be decided in his head. If he handles the fight well mentally, he will box at his normal level. I know Tomek, I watch his fights, and I know that Artur will win the first rounds. Adamek is a crafty old fox, though. The question is how Artur will perform in the later stages of the fight.
Przemysław Osiak, przegladsportowy.pl
[Photo: studio3df.pl]
