Amateur athlete Lewis Burton has his eyes set on the 74kg Caged Steel belt ahead of his scheduled contest against Dylan Wright this Saturday.
This Saturday, Caged Steel 28 will go down from the Doncaster Dome in Doncaster. The dome has provided a bucket-load of memorable fights over the years for the promotion.
The fight card will feature a mixture of professional and amateur mixed martial arts bouts. However, Caged Steel has recently introduced “Caged Boxing” to the lineup, so you can expect to see some boxing bouts featured among the card.
We had the pleasure to speak with one man who makes the walk for the seventh time as an amateur in Lewis Burton. Burton is eager to put 2021 behind him and get into the winning bracket.
Interview With Ben Ellis
One week out from your first outing of 2022. This will be your seventh walk to the Octagon as an amateur. Are you used to the pre-fight nerves and the build-up by this point, or are you constantly playing the bout over in your head?
Of course, im used to the routine and these pre-fight feelings, but im always a little nervous. I think it’s good to be, and if anyone says they’re not, They are probably lying. As for the fight, it is self. I try not to overthink it. In the past, I’ve done that and created issues in my own head, im just concentrating on what im going to do.
Talk to me about camp and preparation. What has your standard training camp consisted of ahead of March 19th?
This camp has been amazing. I’ve put absolutely everything into it. I am not going to give too much away but going into this fight. I know that there have been no corners cut, I’ve had the hard rounds, I’ve had the technical rounds, and I’ve worked a lot on my cardio and strength and conditioning also. With it being back at 77kg, I haven’t had to think about a weight cut.
Lewis Burton Reflects on 2021
We saw you out towards the end of 2021. Sadly, the result did not go in your favour. Have you had the opportunity to watch that fight back to identify what went wrong?
I mean, the fight I took at the end of 2021 was ridiculous. I took the fight on 6hrs notice against Malichi, who was at the time ranked number 5 at middleweight. Stupidly, I drove to Manchester had no game plan, no camp and no proper corner team, and not a clue about my opponent’s style. At that point, I was going through a bit of a bad time. I saw taking that as a distraction. It was just a stupid decision and one I’ve learned from.
Having lost your last two, what is the mindset leading into this one? As many amateurs aren’t fazed about the results at this level, their primary focus is getting the cage time, and experience banked for when the results do matter.
My mindset is always the same kill or be killed. I don’t go into any fight willing to take a loss. I always turn up to win sometimes, it doesn’t go your way, but that’s the fight game. I’ve made a pointer of not ducking anyone and taking the hardest fights. I couldn’t be one of these amateurs that have got an unbeaten record because they’ve fought absolute nuggets, your only lying to yourself. Records are for DJs.
Lessons Learnt
What is the most valuable lesson you have taken from any one of your fights so far?
I don’t think there is a particular fight that’s important for me. I’ve taken something from each one and tried to build on that. I think if im honest, after the Chris Morris fight, I realised how important wrestling was and really worked on that.
For those who have never tuned into a Lewis Burton fight before, tell us, why should we tune in, and what can we expect?
Those tuning in should expect a war. It could potentially be the fight of the night.
You’ll face off against Dylan Wright, who is coming off a debut win at Almighty Fighting Championship 18. With him only having one fight, what type of threats are you expecting Wright to possess?
Im excited to face off against Dylan. I watched his fight on Almighty, and he had a lovely left hand. His boxing looks very clean, and his movement is nice too. People outside of MMA looking in might think, “oh, he’s only 1-0”, but this kid’s mustard, that’s why I took the fight. Im not here to fight nuggets im here to challenge myself and grow as an athlete.
Will Burtons Experience Show on the Night
How much of a factor do you feel the experience will play into this matchup. You have a favourable advantage in that department, but do you take anything from that?
Again as for experience, yeah, I’ve had more fights, but Wright has probably been training a lot longer than I have. Im sure his dad’s one of the coaches at lockdown MMA. You’d be stupid to think he’s just going to throw his son in there if he wasn’t ready. I’ve trained for this fight as I would any and cut no corners. I can’t wait to get in there now and put it all together.
Lastly, are there any goals you’ve set yourself within 2022 regarding competition, and what type of fight are you anticipating on March 19th?
My goals for 2022 are to stay active and have as many fights as I can. I’ve got my eye on that 74kg belt that caged steel have. So I would like to fight for that at some point. For now, it’s all about Saturday night, and all my energy is focused on that.
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Featured image credits to Dn4photography
