Santos Saúl Álvarez Barragán vs. John Ryder & Gabriel Gollaz Valenzuela vs. Steve Spark RBR.

One thing which never ceases to amaze me is how people ignore how daunting it is for fighters who've never fought on a stage of that magnitude before to do so for the firsts time. I've seen affect many of our boys when they travel over to the US to do so but you fight Clenelo anywhere and it's as big as it gets.

Juan Ryder seemed relaxed enough but he obviously would've been under enormous pressure and if things start going pear-shaped that pressure will intensify x 100 and when Clenelo broke both his nostrils in just the 2nd round and they were pissing blood you could see he was really struggling and feeling the mental pressure. But if you can whether the storm and overcome the adversity and start to relax like he did you'll start having much more success.

Look at when Calzaghe fought B-Hop. He got off to a bad start after suffering a flash KD in round 1 and it took him 3 or 4 rounds to loosen up and relax but when he did so it was much easier for him.

AJ was clearly feeling the pressure on his US debut but he fell to pieces mentally when things went pear-shaped for him and that was all due to the mental pressure.

It took Belly some time to settle down and relax after Cunningham dropped him on his US debut too.

They can fight in front of large crowds and/or on a big stage over here but it's different over in the US, especially when it's your first time, on a stage of that magnitude or you're fighting a superstar like Clenelo.

The occasion getting to you is a very real possibility. Why do you think Floyd used to say to some of his opponents this is normal for me but it's your first time or words to that effect? And of course he was right.

 

He said it himself. It really took him out of his game plan when Clenelo broke his nostrils that early into the fight and he subsequently had difficulty breathing. I really feel for him as he looks genuinely heartbroken.

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Thanks. Yeah, it doesn't matter how mentally strong you are you're still going to feel the weight of that pressure fighting on a stage of that magnitude for the first time