- Kayla Harrison shared her thoughts on her upcoming bout with Julia Budd
- The former PFL champ lifted the lid on potential matches with Cris Cyborg and Claressa Shields
- The 33-year-old is moved by Francis Ngannou’s journey to pro boxing
Kayla Harrison is all set to bounce back as she takes on Julia Budd at PFL World Championships on Nov. 24. Ahead of the match, Harrison talked about her opponent, mentality, the idea of facing Cris Cyborg and Claressa Shields and the impact of Francis Ngannou’s boxing debut against Tyson Fury.
Moving forward as the best version of herself
In an exclusive interview with Middle Easy, Harrison admitted that she is expecting nothing but the best from Budd. On the other hand, she is laser-focused on being the best version of herself as well.
Kayla pointed out that she did not spend much time and energy righting the wrongs from her loss against Larissa Pacheco but instead, she just worked on the things she has “control” of.
“I do feel like Julia Budd is a great opponent. She’s a great name, she’s a pioneer of the sport, she’s a dog she’s tough, she’s looked great in her fight against Pacheco and so you know I’m expecting the best possible version of Julia Budd on November 24th and she’s going to get the best version of me,” Harrison said.
“It’s really just like such a positive mindset and such a positive vibe around me right now that it’s not the past. I can’t do anything about it I just got to keep moving forward one day at a time, one breath at a time and be here now and control the controllable and what I can control is my mindset, my preparation, my conditioning, my weight management, my attitude. These are the things I can control. I can’t control what happened. It’s done, it’s behind me and I’m moving forward,” she added.
Cyborg, No. Claressa, Yes
Understandably, Harrison has grown tired of hearing about her potential fight with Cyborg. According to Kayla, she is no longer interested in doing it and talking about it. However, that is not what the two-time PFL champ feels about a possible boxing match with Shields. In fact, Harrison said she would be glad to entertain a showdown with Shields as she is always up for the “challenge.”
“No. I don’t believe it [Harrison vs. Cyborg will ever happen]. I mean… like you said we’ve been talking about this or half a decade. Since before I even had my first professional fight, people have been talking about this so I don’t think about it anymore. I don’t care, I’m over it,” Harrison pointed out.
“It’s like… Christmas supposed to be on the 25th every year and then for five years they skip Christmas and they say all right but this year it’s going to be on the 25th like I’m just done, I’m done thinking about it like I’ve moved on it is what it is,” she continued.
“Why not?,” Kayla said of fighting Shields. “F**k it. I mean, I never set out to be the best boxer in the world but I don’t know, I love a challenge so let’s see. We’ll see what happens, you never know what tomorrow is going to bring… when you get to a certain level and a certain weight class and there’s not a ton of depth so I’d be down, why not.”
Francis is a hero
Harrison was also thrilled by Ngannou’s movie-like story en route to his pro boxing debut. For Kayla, her now-fellow PFL fighter has become a “hero” to many combat sports athletes like her.
“I love it. I’m getting goosebumps just thinking about it cuz to like come where Francis has come from, to endure what he’s endured, to beat the odds, to be who he was and walk away and bet on himself and then have that kind of performance against a heavyweight champion of the world for his first-ever boxing match, are you like what? It’s like… this is the stuff that movies [do]. This is a dream, this is like this is why we watch sports and this is why we have heroes and this is why we tune in and Francis is now a hero to so many people and I just I love it… he’s the man,” Harrison reflected.
The goal is to be the GOAT
Harrison will try and get back to her winning ways when she steps inside the cage against Budd. The way she sees it, the fight with Budd would be just a part of her journey to becoming the greatest of all time.
“I just want to continue on my journey. I want to continue towards the goal of being the greatest possible version of myself of and of trying to be the greatest. I don’t know where that is I don’t know how that is I don’t know what that is but I know that it means I got to fight and I know that it means I got to train hard and I got to take care of my body and I got to take care of my mind and my heart and my soul and my kids and just keep making the next right choice and be willing to bet on myself,” Harrison confided.
Harrison suffered her first defeat as a pro when Pacheco edged her out to a decision victory. The former champ will do her best to redeem herself against Budd despite being inactive for one whole year.
Check out the full interview below:
