Anthony Yigit believes fight with Rolando Romero is at just the right time
Normally when a fighter is called in as a last minute replacement, it’s a major handicap. Generally speaking, the fighter was not thinking about competing and is not in optimal shape. Yet, when it comes to super lightweight boxer Anthony “Can You Dig It” Yigit (24-1-1, 8 KO’s), he feels the timing is perfect. The Swedish boxer was recently called in to go to war with interim WBA World lightweight champion Rolando “Rolly” Romero (13-0, 11 KO’s).
Rolando Romero was in need after his original opponent withdrew from their July 17 contest due to a knee injury. Luckily, Yigit was already supposed to be a part of the card. Therefore it was painfully easy to slide him into the open position. Some have pointed to the fact that Dig It has been very inactive and is dropping down in weight for the prizefight as a negative. For those folks, this is a major concern, but for the Swede this is all part of his plan.
PERFECT TIME FOR A TRANSITION
While Anthony Yigit has been campaigning at the super lightweight division, in his heart he believed that his natural weight class is lightweight. Despite this fact, Dig It admitted that he could get away with fighting above his weight due to the level of European competition he was facing. Now that he is coming to the states to make his bones, Yigit is adamant this is the perfect time to drop back down in weight. And this is what he shared at the final presser.
“I think if anything, 135 is my real weight class. You got to remember that I have been fighting a lot in Europe and in European standards, I’ve don’t quite well at 140. So I haven’t really felt like I needed to go down to 135, and then obviously I came up here [to the US] fighting for the world title at 140 and realized, ‘no they are a bit too big for me, so I need to go back to my real weight class which is 135.’
“The problem is because I am ranked at 140, I am getting all the fights at 140 and I am not one to say no to a fight. I don’t want to back down. So I’ve always taken them and never really made that move down to 135. But now I am here, now I am making my move down to the states and now there is no better time than now.”
BEEN READY
Only time will tell if the move back to 135 for Yigit will prove to be fruitful or disastrous. Aside from the weight, some are looking at his two years of absence from the ring as something to fret over. Once again however, Dig It couldn’t be less concerned.
“No, I wouldn’t say that would be an issue because I’m always training and I always make sure that I am in shape and ready for fights like these. I know that I fought for the world title once and I know that people are going to try to take advantage of that and try to bring me in last minute to fight me, so I was always kind of preparing for a war and that’s what I got! So actually everything worked out just as planned.”
By: Bakari Simpson
