WBO super-featherweight champion Jamel Herring is paying no mind to the oddsmakers.
Pegged as a 5-1 underdog for his defence against the talented and touted Shakur Stevenson, Herring is on familiar ground, having been written off before his last fight against Carl Frampton and throughout his career.
After handily dismantling Frampton in six in Dubai in April, the in-form Herring is in business-like mood ahead of his clash with Stevenson at the State Farm Arena in Atlanta on Saturday.
Stevenson tried to grab his WBO title belt on numerous occasions at Thursday’s final press conference, but Herring remains unperturbed and understands that the commotion is just part of the promotion – he’s been here before.
“The odds just play to my story,” said Herring. “I’ve always been an underdog, not just in boxing but in life, so I don’t get into the oddsmaker thing. It doesn’t bother me at all.
“It’s not personal, it’s just business. We’re building a fight is all it means to me. I’ve heard worse and been through worse. We’re just two top competitors in the division trying to prove who is the best.
“It just feels like another elite level fight in a loaded and talented division, so we just take it one fight at a time. We put all personal feelings to the side and just go to work and do what we have to do.”
Main image: Mikey Williams/Top Rank.
