Ivica Truscek: 'If He Fails To Get The Better Of Me On The Feet, He’s Doomed'
Defending his WFC welterweight title on Sunday night will be none other than Ivica 'Terror' Truscek, one of Croatia's most loved mixed martial artists. Going into his fight at WFC 17: 'Olimp Live & Fight,' the under 77kg battler is determined to hold onto his crown, as he's of the view it separates him from the pack.
"I think I have entertaining fights and a fun style to watch, but so do bunch of other guys; however, they don’t have the belt, so it’s definitely a few levels more than just being a MMA fight," noted Truscek on the significance of his upcoming bout.
"I'll continue to fight after I lose the championship one day, but I'll be on the constant pursuit to get it back. The belt is like ‘My Precious’ from the ‘Lord of the Rings’ movie. Once you have it, you need it, and need it badly."
Trying to take Ivica's gold off him this weekend will be Sergei Churilov, who's looked flawless in his career to date.
"He's undefeated in his ten pro fights and that speaks for itself, regardless of who he’s fought," analysed Truscek. "A bad fighter can’t beat anyone he’s ever faced. In his last WFC fight, he fought a very good fighter in Amir Visalimov and dominated the whole match.
"He’s a solid boxer with a good sprawl; very patient, not rushing things. Obviously, I have to watch out for his hands, but I think I can box with him just fine. I’m the guy with more tools in the box for sure. I win fights standing, from the top and from the bottom, while he can only hope to knock me out. If he fails to get the better of me on the feet, he’s doomed."
With over three times the experience of his foe, Ivica feels that he has an advantage over his foe down the stretch. He said,
"I don't expect a short fight and the longer the bout goes, the bigger the chance of me winning. Being experienced helps a lot with staying calm if things go badly, and making quality adjustments if needed. I hope the original plan goes well, but if not, I will still do good."
Truscek is confident in his preparatory measures, and is also feeling comfortable at the welter limit.
"I’ve prepared well as always with my brother Matija, the Croatian Top Team, striking coach Kreso Mercep, the best Croatian boxers from Leonardo and top Croatian BJJ club, Black Dragon," revealed Ivica. "I've even changed my diet to ‘paleo.’ My wife jokes, if I have caveman manners, why not have their diet too!
"With that change, I’m already on weight, and that sets me up as a future lightweight contender, when I lose the welterweight belt someday, but not this Sunday. My conditioning is also good and I have no injuries, so if somehow I perform badly on Sunday, the only reasonable explanation is that Sergei and his team poisoned me at breakfast."
The 24-year-old sees the Churilov battle going one of three ways, with all of them being pleasing for the crowd.
"I see a few scenarios," stated Truscek. "In the first and the one I desire the most, I dominate the striking and win the fight by unanimous decision and make a bloody mess of Sergei face as a bonus. The second is that I get the worse of the boxing match and take him down to score a TKO win.
"The third is like the second, only me being unable to slam his ass on the canvas as I did his countryman, Mahteenko, and he pounds my face in and gets the decision or TKO win and WFC crown, with me waking up in cold sweats at night and swearing his name for months to follow as his bonus."
To wrap up, Ivica urged fans to come along to the Hala Tivoli for the weekend's events. He noted,
"Thanks to all of my fans for support. Come to see the show. You’ll be amazed by how awesome it is, I promise."
A limited number of tickets for WFC 17: 'Olimp Live & Fight' are still available at eventim.IS. Get yours now to avoid disappointment.
The event will also be streamed live around the world online. See WFCTV.com for more details.
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