Skelton prepared to 'win badly' by Ian McNeilly Jan 17th 2008

Matt Skelton is a confident man ahead of his surprise WBA heavyweight title shot against Uzbekistan holder Ruslan Chagaev. The 'Bedford Bear' takes on the champion in Dusseldorf this Saturday, to be screened in Britain live by Setanta Sports 2 from 8pm. "He's a good fighter," said 40-year-old Skelton of his unbeaten adversary "and he's not WBA champion for nothing but I think he's beatable. "I don't feel like 'Matt, you've got a mountain to climb', I think 'Matt, go and do what you've prepared to do and you can come away with the title'." Speaking on the phone from Germany where he has been for the last two days, Skelton admitted that this chance has come as a bit of a surprise to him. "I was surprised because at the end of the day there's a lot of politics in boxing. Ultimately it's a bit of a fairytale – no amateur background, no involvement in boxing or any martial art sport until 21, now less than six years in the sport and I'm fighting for a title. "It is a massive fight for me, career wise on the world stage but for me I have to keep everything as normal as possible and that keeps me calm and focused. 40 minutes of my life in the ring is the focus. I've been here two or three days and I'm keeping myself active and agile so I'm still in the frame of mind to fight. We go for walks as a team, eat together, talk about the fight." Speaking about his lack of popularity, Skelton put it down to a combination of his unappealing style and not having the luxury of being showcased to a terrestrial audience. "I'm not saying I'm Lennox Lewis or Frank Bruno but to hear my name mentioned among these people in history is really something. I'm not comparing myself to them at all or putting myself on the same pedestal. "Bruno was a very popular man and a household name for many reasons. He was also shown on mainstream television, the same with Nigel Benn and Chris Eubank. Look at Amir Khan who's a brilliant boxer and he became a household name via ITV. I've never had that – though I boxed a few times on ITV. I'm not a massive character or stylish and maybe that's why I'm not as popular. "Would I prefer to win badly or lose looking brilliant? I'd prefer to win badly."

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