John Wayne Hibbert focused on going to war with Tommy Martin
Friday 29 January 2016 11:11, UK
John Wayne Hibbert will set aside his friendship with Tommy Martin and go to war to keep his Commonwealth super-lightweight title on Saturday night.
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The pair meet at the Copper Box Arena with Hibbert (16-3-KO10) bidding to retain the crown he won against old foe Dave Ryan in September 2015.
In the 21-year-old Martin (13-0-KO5), Hibbert faces a fellow Essex-born fighter who described the champion his 'best friend in boxing' during a recent Sky Sports interview.
But Hibbert said: "I've got no bad feeling towards him - it's just business. I know I'm going to win, I've trained hard, everything has gone smoothly.
We're about to fight each other now so there's nothing to say. I'm not looking at any other fight - I know this is a hard fight and it needs to be my sole focus.
"I'm just going to get in there, beat him, keep my titles and then we can be pals again. We're about to fight each other now so there's nothing to say. I'm not looking at any other fight - I know this is a hard fight and it needs to be my sole focus.
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"We've both sold a lot of tickets and I appreciate everyone who has put their hand in their pocket after Christmas to come to the show. This is about the fight though, not who sells tickets, there's a lot on the line. The fans can drag you over the line when it gets hard and I am sure that they will be in great voice on Saturday night.
"I found it easy to get into this shape and that's down to my nutritionist and strength and conditioner. We've been away in Tenerife and I've been eating great and still on the weight. We went back to Spain and I've come back and I'm bang on the weight, I totally trust those boys to steer me in the right direction and I feel fantastic."
Martin has dismissed claims experience will be the telling factor in the fight and says he is ready to step into championship class.
"A lot of people are talking about this being the fight of the night and there's been talk about the atmosphere being electric because of the amount of tickets we've done, so I hope that we can deliver something that matches that expectation - I am sure that we will," he said.
"I wouldn't be here if I didn't think I'd take those belts home this weekend, and John knows that too.
"I enjoy all the build-up, it's all fuel to my fire and I'm lapping it all up, it's been fantastic - and there's a lot more to come from me."
Hibbert v Martin is part of a big night of British boxing that includes John Ryder v Sergey Khomitsky in support of George Groves' comeback against Andrea Di Luisa.
