Fabian Edwards was particularly frustrated when he got the call to say his rematch against Johnny Eblen had been postponed.
“I’d just finished a sprint, so I wish they’d have rung me before,” he laughs. “I’d be doing hard sprints and sparring that day. I was ready to go, everything was firing. It is what it is, I’m just thankful it’s still happening.”
Edwards admits he is still largely in the dark as to why the fight did not take place at the OVO Arena in London last month as initially planned, but the consolation prize has allowed him to swiftly move on.
The 31-year-old will take on Eblen tonight for the Bellator middleweight title in Riyadh, on the PFL Super Fights 'Battle of the Giants' card headlined by Francis Ngannou.
It has proved to be a delay of just over a month, one that coincided with Edwards buying a new house. Various jobs at home helped him occupy his mind, even if regular shadow-boxing sessions at times delayed progress. There was also the unusual challenge of balancing weight and sharpness without peaking.
“I couldn’t stay in the condition I was in, I had to refuel but not too much,” Edwards says.
“But even after I relaxed for a week, I went back to gym and I was like ‘f****** hell, I’m too sharp’. I tried to calm it down for the second week, but it was ’s***, I’m still too sharp!’”
Edwards was beaten by Eblen in Dublin last September, stopped in the third round as he fell short in his bid to win the middleweight title and emulate brother Leon in becoming world champion.
Eblen shouted in Edwards’ face as the referee stepped in to wave the fight off and the American was also accused of spitting at his opponent as he lay on the ground, but Edwards insists that is not providing added motivation.
“At the end of the day, we were having a war in there," he says. "If he wants to conduct himself in that way, he can do what he wants.
“I’m trying to take his head off his shoulders, he’s trying to do the same to me. For him to scream at me, that’s not going to hurt my feelings at all.”
What did Edwards learn about Eblen's style from sharing the cage with him?
“Nothing,” he says. “I went into that fight and I thought he was better than what he was. Some fighters you think, ‘ah that guy was really good’. I genuinely believe it was just a mistake on my part. That’s how it goes sometimes.
“I don’t really rate his skills. I like guys that are more technically good, not just aggressive and wild. That’s what I look at him as.”
Edwards' victory over Aaron Jeffery in an eliminator earlier this year secured another shot at Eblen and a second attempt at becoming world champion. He is unsurprisingly in bullish mood when laying out his vision for this fight.
“I’m looking to get it back in a violent way,” Edwards says. “I’m looking to break something on him.
“I envision going out there, fighting the perfect fight for two rounds. Then turn up the heat in the third and get the finish. It will be the ref having to pull me off him.”
Edwards’ mum will not be in attendance in Saudi Arabia, too nervous to watch her sons fight in person throughout their careers. She is, though, a key reason why they step into the cage. The Edwards brothers have bought their mum her own Caribbean restaurant, Sweet's Kitchen in Walsall, and there are plenty more targets still to be ticked off.
“Next goal is buying a house, putting together and getting her a house,” Edwards says.
“Getting a gym would be a good one with me and my brother, so we can give back to the community. Give kids the opportunities that we didn’t have.
I’m looking to break something on him
“I’ve trying to be one of those people that once I’ve hung up my gloves, I’ve given back to everyone, I’m moved people on. That’s what I want to do. There’s still so much that I need to achieve.”
That starts in Riyadh, on what Edwards is adamant will be the crowning night of his career. Yet for all the talk of world titles, revenge and providing for others, there is also the simplest motivation of all.
“I just want to win,” Edwards says.
“He beat me, I want to beat him. If it was any other world, any other thing - if we were playing a card game and he beat me, I’d be thinking ‘f*** that, I need to beat him next time’. It’s the same thing, I’m just a competitor.
“I’m trying to get this one back. I know in my heart of hearts that I will. I’ll set up the trilogy."
