Jordan Thompson ready for Lenier Pero test
Jordan Thompson believes he will play a big part in the Heavyweight division as he makes his debut at his new weight against Lenier Pero at Caribe Royale in Orlando on Saturday night, live worldwide on DAZN.
Thompson (15-1 12 KOs) made the move to Heavyweight after challenging Cruiserweight king Jai Opetaia for the IBF and The Ring World titles in September 2023 and is making his long-awaited return at his new weight following successful hand surgery.The Briton has got his love for the sport back in spades since teaming back up with Don Charles, and the 32 year old is excited to be getting back into action and proving that he can be a force amongst the big guys.
“It’s the same me, but just a good few pounds added!” Said Thompson. “I don’t think I had to change a lot, just subtle changes within myself and the inner circle, but the confidence hasn’t gone, that’s for sure. I feel healthy, I’ve not gone through a mad transformation or done anything extraordinary, I’ve just cut out the extraordinarily stupid things I was doing to make Cruiserweight.
“I don’t know how I made the weight for the Opetaia fight to be honest, and the IBF second day weigh-in rule made it harder as having to sleep at that treacherous weight was hard, especially going in there with someone of that calibre, so as the fights went up in quality, I knew I was only going to get away with that weight to a certain level. But you have to roll the dice when you get chances like that, I don’t think I’d have forgiven myself if I’d have passed on that opportunity.
“It’s been a while out of the ring, I had about a year and a half until I could even start punching, so it’s been tough and testing, especially off the back of that last fight, but that’s what makes the comeback sweeter. There’s been ups and downs inside and out of the ring but just blessed to be back in action now and we’re firing on all cylinders.
“I’m just grateful to be back at all, when you get boxing taken away from you it’s hard, not even being able to go to the gym, and you learn a lot about yourself and valuing boxing even more.
“Not a lot of people knew that I had surgery, some people thought I had even retired. Sometimes the less said the better, there’s not much to be said, we live and learn from the last fight and be accountable where we can be accountable and make changes moving forward.
“There was never a time that not coming back crossed my mind, and that was the most frustrating thing about the surgery, as I was not able to jump straight back on the horse. But it is what it is, I’ve got great people around me, and we’re back, and we’re headlining in Florida with Matchroom and I’m very appreciative of that.
“I’m a very simple person, I got offered two fights against two unbeaten southpaws, I thought ‘OK they are both a risk, but which is the biggest reward?’ So, let’s roll the dice, it’s an educated roll of the dice as I trust my team and they trust me, so it’s exciting.
“It’s a different game being a Heavyweight, so it’s about being adaptable. And I think we’ve got a lot of bases covered. I saw boxing as a chance to provide my family with a platform to do other things off, so it’s always been a bit of a stepping stone, but it’s always been very nice to me and treated me well, and the lay-off has taught me that boxing has been good to me.
“I’ve not looked at anything but the man in the mirror. I’ve focused on myself and looked within and answer the questions that I have about myself. That’s another beautiful thing about boxing, it’s a very revealing sport and sometimes it can be tough, but it can be rewarding.
“I’m not downplaying Pero, definitely not, but I’ve just been focusing on myself, what I posses, what tools I have in the arsenal and sharpening them and making sure I’m ready to go on Saturday.”
