With only five days until Yassine El Maachi takes on Jimmy Colas at the Steve Goodwin promoted Judgement Day, I spoke to French fighter and in many pundits eyes the firm favourite for the Light-Middleweight contest.
Colas appears to be in a buoyant mood ahead of the fight and continued to fire abuse at the Moroccan El Maachi before both fighters leave the war of words behind them and step into the heat of battle on Saturday night at York Hall.
European ranked No. 4 Colas is a confident man ahead of the fight explaining " I never underestimate my opponents who all deserve respect. El Maachi does not represent the beauty of the noble art… but I will cope with this challenge."
Describing El Maachi as 'somebody I don't want to fight' you would be mistaken in thinking that the Frenchman is scared of Yassine."I tell everybody who will attend the fight : your money will not be thrown away, because in one single person, Jimmy Colas, you will find both the pit-bull and the showman"
Obviously a man confident in his ability to deal with unorthodox El Maachi, Colas is a firm favourite among all pundits, however the Frenchman disagrees with the prediction. "I never feel favourite for my fights. Therefore, I never feel any particular pressure. I have never refused a fight and I don’t look for excuses when the result appears to be disappointing for me and my fans."
Jimmy Colas explained that his idols are fighters such as Lennox Lewis, Ricky Hatton and Prince Naseem Hamed. He called these men 'the real showmen and not El Maachi"
Colas explained going into the fight exactly what he expects from Yassine,"I am well prepared to stage a relentless 10-round war against El-Maachi. The pit-bull will spend his time trying to catch a fleeing cat !
In news from the El Maachi camp; Yassine has returned from Scotland in the finest shape of his life. He has recently sparred with Patrick Mendy and it had to be stopped after four rounds due to a broken ring. I apologise to Mendy for saying he took a beating.
This really is a mouth watering early christmas present that will see two boxers going toe-to-toe for 30 minutes of quality Light-Middleweight boxing.