In his first fight after the summer break, WBA Intercontinental Middleweight Champion Patrick Nielsen (15-0, 8 KOs) takes on Jose Yebes (11-2, 5 KOs) at the Nordic Fight Night in Frederikshavn on Saturday night. The 21-year-old has just wrapped up sparring in Berlin and will travel out to Denmark on Wednesday for a press conference in Copenhagen in the morning and a press training in Hjørring in the afternoon.
Q: How has the training camp been?
PN: “It has been great. It was good to have a little break after my last fight. I´ve been fighting a lot in the last year, so the summer break did me well. I took a week off and then slowly returned to practice. The training has been very good. We´ve been having a lot of fun in the gym with Ahmed Kaddour, Torben Keller and Erik Skoglund. I have done a lot of good sparring.”
Q: How have you improved your game?
PN: “My coach Karsten Roewer has taught me a lot of things. We have been working to change my style. He wants me to punch less but more accurate. I need to be sharper and find my target more often rather than punching and not hitting. That has been one of the main things we have been working on, and it showed in sparring. I am a fast learner and I can promise my fans that there will be a new Patrick Nielsen in the ring, one that punches much more accurate. That´s bad news for Yebes.”
Q: What do you think of him?
PN: “Karsten Roewer has analysed his fights and prepared a good game plan. I know what I have to do and I know that Yebes will be in a lot of trouble.”
Q: At the age of 21, you are very young to be Intercontinental Champion already. What´s up next for you?
PN: “I am never satisfied. The last year was a good one for me. I became IBF Youth Champion, scored a flash KO at Broendby and then knocked out Vega to win the Intercontinental Title. I want to keep fighting, keep winning and add as many titles as I can. I feel I get better in training every day, so I really want to show my fans in Frederikshavn what we have been working on. It will be an entertaining night.”
Tickets for the Nordic Fight Night are available at www.arenanord.dk.