Bojan Velickovic: The rematch with Kozma will be hell! I’m looking forward to finding out who is really better. I have a better chance with a win over Jungwirth

Bojan Velickovic has a tough duel ahead of him. He will challenge David Kozma for the second time. This time not for the title, but for the final of the Tipsport Gamechanger. In an interview with Ruik he talked about his preparation, motivation and the importance of winning against Christian Jungwirth.

It’s been almost two years, you’ve managed four games in that time, now it’s finally here. You’ve had your rematch with David Kozma. How are you looking forward to it? What does a second chance mean to you?

Yes, we’re really here. It’s been a long time coming and I’m excited for it to happen. I’m looking forward to a tough fight. I know David is a fierce competitor and I love that. I think we’re both better fighters than we were two years ago and I think this fight will be more interesting than the last one.

Titles and money don’t mean that much to me. I’ve won a fair amount of money a few times in my career and I know how easy it is to spend it. Likewise, I’ve won a few titles in the past and I know how easy it is to forget that when you lose a fight, so that’s not my main goal.

It’s obviously great when you win a title with a lot of money, but I enjoy the rivalry more than anything and I wonder if a better and longer training camp will make a difference in measuring strength against David.

I felt under pressure at first, but now I feel relieved. We’ll finally find out if he beat me because of the short preparation in the first fight, or if he really is a better fighter than me. I’ve lost fights to better fighters before and I can accept that. In this case, if I didn’t get the rematch, I’d still be wondering who’s really better. I’m excited to find out.

You said you’re not primarily about the money, but you’re already guaranteed 80,000 euros. Have you planned what you’re going to do with the money? Or are you waiting for the winning 300,000 for the king of the pyramid?

It’s too early to tell. I used to be excited and motivated when I heard about the money I was fighting for and then I got hurt, my opponent got hurt or something happened and the fight got cancelled. So I don’t think about it until the fight is over and I see the money in my bank account.

You’ve already mentioned that you’re interested in what difference a longer and full preparation will make. Did everything go according to plan now?

This camp has been really great. There were a few little things, but no major injuries. I faced a lot of obstacles during the last two camps, so now it was really nice to finally work hard and focus primarily on getting mentally and physically stronger.

What’s your state of mind? Was this preparation any special?

I’m set up in a way that I know this game is going to be absolute hell. My coaches put me in a lot of uncomfortable positions that I was in in the first game and pushed them a little further to break me down and make me mentally stronger. It was rough, but training is over and the test is upon me. I feel great!

The first match was five rounds, now it’s going to be three. Can that be an advantage for you?

I don’t think it can be an advantage or disadvantage. A fight is a fight, there are two of us and we know what we are preparing for. Last time the five rounds were definitely disadvantageous for me, I had 10 days to prepare, which is not enough even for a three-round fight. Anyway, I would love to fight for five rounds again, but with a full preparation camp.

In the quarterfinals, you beat the crazy Christian Jungwirth. Like Kozma, he can take a lot and hold on, he’s virtually unbreakable, he creates pressure. Do you think the Christian fight might have helped you towards the Kozma fight?

One of the reasons I chose to fight Christian is because I know how much pressure he puts on his opponents and how he breaks them mentally. I knew it would be a good test for me in case I fight David in the future.

Christian put a lot of pressure on me and I know that winning against him made me a better fighter in the end. Good enough to beat David? I don’t know, but I think I have a much better chance with this experience!

In the first fight with Kozma you managed to get him in trouble with a headkick, you lost basically because of your mistake. Apollo got Kozma in trouble too, Kaik Brito beat him and Lukas Siwiec showed a potential way to overpower him. Did these matches show you anything that you might not have noticed before the first match?

Of course. All the mentioned matches showed some details, I could draw from our first match as well. I studied all of them and at the beginning of my training camp my team and I spent a lot of time and work on discovering it and eliminating my weaknesses.

So what should we expect from the match? How will it be different than the first one?

As I mentioned before, we have both moved up in quality and therefore it will be different. I think it will be much more exciting this time and I think the fans will see a lot more action, even though it’s only a three round fight.

How are you looking forward to Frankfurt? You fought here when Oktagon was first here. You experienced the atmosphere in Germany in Oberhausen. Is the German crowd any different than the Czechoslovak crowd?

All the Oktagon tournaments I’ve fought in so far have offered an electric atmosphere in all aspects, wherever I’ve fought, so I don’t see any significant difference. The last time I fought here there was a huge noise and I’m looking forward to getting in the cage.

Kozma will be fighting in front of a foreign crowd for the first time in a long time. He says himself how much the support from the home fans helps him. Do you think that can play in your favor?

Personally, I don’t dwell on it too much. When I was in a situation where the whole arena was against me in my last fight, it didn’t have a chance to make any difference.

Both fighters are properly tough and smart, I can’t determine in my head who is the favourite. Now I have an extra fight with David and that’s the one thing I’m focusing on at the moment.

Ion Surdu, who you defeated, told us in an interview after his win over Máté Kertész that he would like a rematch with you sometime because he said you had more luck in the fight. He also wishes you a win over Kozma and says you have a great chance…

I certainly have no problem fighting him again if Octagon thinks it makes sense. Surdu is a good and tough opponent, I like competition. I saw his fight with Kertész in person and I think he showed some improvement.

If I remember correctly, he challenged Alex Lohoré after the fight, so I’m looking forward to seeing who wins if that fight happens.

Is there anything you would like to say to the fans or David Kozma?

I hope the fans see a good and exciting game and that David and I leave the cage without any serious injuries.

Source: Ruik