Dublin heavyweight 'Big Sexy' Seán Turner flies out to Switzerland for a clash with former David Haye opponent
Dublin heavyweight Seán Turner ready for Swiss clash against Arnold Gjergjaj.
Seán Turner insists he is flying fit as he prepares for a crossroads fight against Arnold Gjergjaj in Switzerland this weekend.
Dublin heavyweight Turner (11-1, 7KOs) travels to Basel on Friday morning ahead of his bout against Kosovo-born Swiss-based Gjergjaj the following night.
While Gjergjaj carries an impressive 30-1 (22KOs) record, he will be best remembered in the UK and Ireland for his stoppage defeat to David Haye last year.
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The 33-year-old is looking to rebuild from that loss, but Turner is keen to upset his opponent’s plans as he aims to record what would be an impressive away win.
“I’m feeling great. I just finished up training this [Tuesday] morning, so I’m just tapering down this week. I finished up sparring last week and I’m happy with how the camp has gone,” said Turner.
“I’m the fittest I’ve ever been. Hopefully it doesn’t go the distance, but I’m ready to go the eight rounds. If I get the chance to get it over before that, I’ll take it.”
Turner suffered his own first pro defeat last May, dropping an eight-round decision to tough Polish journeyman Kamil Sokolowski – who went six rounds against David Price last weekend – in a surprise loss.
However, the MTK Global-backed heavyweight is adamant that he is much better prepared for his latest outing.
“I only really trained two weeks for that fight and I was squeezing in an eight-rounder to get it in before I could go for an Irish title,” said Turner. “I wasn’t really ready, but now I haven’t cut any corners. I’ve done an eight-week solid camp and there’s no excuses.”
After returning to the ring with a six-round points win over Manchester-based Cameroonian Blaise Mendouo in Belfast last September, Turner turned his attention to the prospect of a clash with Gjergjaj.
And the 26-year-old Irishman has tailored his preparations for taking on his 6ft 5in opponent.
“I’ve put on some muscle and I’m about five kilos heavier for the fight than I was for my last one. He’s a big guy and I’ve heard he was a wrestler too, so I need to be strong for this fight in case he gets on the inside and want to tie me up. It’s all part of the plan.
“Pete [Taylor, trainer] has been looking into him and watching his videos – he said he used to be a wrestler. Not a WWE wrestler! But an Olympic-style one and he’ll be strong in the clinches. I don’t want to be getting thrown around like a rag doll in the ring, so we’ve done our homework for this one,” added Turner.