Tunde Ajayi Speaks on Anthony Yarde’s loss to Sergey Kovalev!
Following Anthony Yarde’s August 24 loss to WBO champion Sergey Kovalev, his always-talkative trainer, Tunde Ajayi spoke with iFL TV. For anyone thinking they were going to see a different person, they obviously don’t know Ajayi very well.
While keeping honest about the fight, he reiterated that the duo will return.
“He [Yarde] is disappointed in the loss, but it’s like I said to him, he never lost tonight. We dared to be great and hold your head up high. Deal with this like a man and come back. The main thing is that we went out there with a positive mindset. We worked hard to get to this point and I feel tonight, Anthony showed he was at that level.”
“It’s a learning curve for us. We gotta know, see what we’re made of, how are we gonna respond. That’s the test for people who say they want something.
“When you get taken down a peg [laughing] are you gonna keep going forward? Trust me, tonight I’m studying.”
FIGHTING THE ODDS
Many pundits felt Yarde earned a lot of respect with his performance, given the lack of experience. The British trainer would also discuss the experience big factor in the fight.
“There is experience and then there is education. You have to take your hat off to Sergey, he called on that experience and he needed to call on that experience. He was in there with a young lion who was hungry. I guess you can’t get over that experience factor, but we felt that we [were] adequately prepared for it.”
Ajayi also still feels that his fighter is a winner, even though they didn’t get the victory.
“Anthony was fighting in there he was mixing it up in there. He was hurting him, trading with him, it was toe-to-toe. I just don’t feel he let himself down. Its just that we never got the ‘W’. That’s something we all have to deal with as a team.”
Its well documented, the belief Ajayi has in his fighter. He would double down on his perspective regarding comments and criticism of his language leading up to the fight.
“You people must think I’m gonna change what I say. Why would I? Are the people saying those comments perfect? Are they here? Did they stand firm and bold and take an opportunity like we did?
“So, why would I actually focus on people like that? Anthony done well tonight and why wouldn’t you want to be with someone who believes in you 100%?
“Did we lose? I don’t think we did. Remember, I’ve said all along there is a positive and a negative in everything. Nothing can exist without both sides.”
Ajayi feels the only real negative is his fighter got tired and that’s also part of the experience factor. The vocal trainer made it clear that himself and the team don’t worry about negative comments. They believe this was a huge risk they took in going to the champion’s backyard. Although coming up short, they have nothing to be ashamed about.
Make no mistake this man believes everything he says!
By: Garrisson Bland
