Jamal Vincent has stepped up last minute to face Alfie Lennon at Rise and Conquer 13 this Saturday in Houghton le Spring.
The Rainton Arena will play host to the event with some of TFT’s finest making the walk, as well as some of the best up-and-coming talent in the country. Fans can tune in on PPV or visit the promotion’s social medias for ticket links.
We caught up with a confident Jamal Vincent ahead of fight night. Hear what he had to say.
Interview With Jamal Vincent
Jamal, I believe you’ve stepped in at the last minute and took this fight. What’s the mindset behind stepping in and facing Alfie Lennon?
My mindset is the same as always: get in there, perform my best, rack up experience. The thought of giving an undefeated fighter his first loss has me more excited than usual.
You’ve had an incredibly busy 2023. Was that always the plan, and how would you sum up your 2023 so far?
2023 has been busy, with this fight being my 5th in 10 months. 2022 would’ve been just as active had I not been injured. I’m going to be 28 this year, so I feel like there’s no time to waste in taking fights and gaining the experience essential to becoming a pro, and the harder the fight, the better. I’ll continue on this trajectory into 2024.
As mentioned, Alfie Lennon is the man standing across the cage from you. What do you think about his skill set and his previous fights?
I think Alfie is one of the more skilled guys on my list of opponents, definitely top 3. He’s finished his fights very quickly, which leaves little footage for me to study, but from what he’s shown, he has good striking and better wrestling. His previous fights weren’t a proper test of his abilities; he wasn’t even hit, but he will have a proper test fighting me.
Toughest Test Yet?
Would you consider this fight with Alfie your toughest test to date?
My split-decision loss to Lorenzo I don’t view as a genuine loss because I felt like I beat him. I’ve seen judges get these decisions wrong many times. It’s almost arbitrary. With Watson, I trained harder than ever, but I didn’t properly manage my recovery time from training, and I paid for it in the fight. I’m a lot fitter than what I showed in that fight.
Toughest test to date? It’s difficult to gauge since he’s only had three fights and hasn’t faced adversity, been hit, or went the distance. I can give a better answer after I’ve fought him.
You’re coming off two back-to-back losses. What’s been going wrong, and how important is this fight for you to return to the win column and get back on the horse?
To get back on the horse would imply that I fell off. Since I came back from injury, I’ve renewed my self-belief and have been facing challenges head-on, like this fight. I never back down and never quit, and with this mentality, winning is inevitable.
Finally, leave us with your official fight prediction. How do you get it done this Sat?
I’ve got a different mentality for this fight, especially after losing my title fight. Before, I fought to not lose. This time around, I want a finish; 1st round KO/TKO.
