Josh Warrington has revealed how he will take inspiration from the home support at Headinley this weekend in his rematch with Mauricio Lara.
The Leeds fighter is seeking redemption after a surprise defeat to the Mexican in the initial bout six months ago.
Lara entered that fight as a relatively unknown fighter but the victory over Warrington has propelled him to become the favourite among the bookies for this weekend's clash.
However, he'll have to do it in front of a passionate hometown support for Warrington at Headingley, with 20,000 fans packed into the arena.
While that could prove daunting and may not be relevant to some fighters, Warrington explained how it drives him on.
“It’s massive. I’ve said this many times, people can say they can’t get into the ring with you and I know that but it’s what they do for me," he told reporters.
“The energy that they bring, the noise, the passion. If they manage to take an opponent out of his game plan, that’s a bonus but I don’t think about that, I think about what they can do for me.
“Knowing they’re going to be there and the noise they’re going to bring, it makes me tune up, switch on, gets that adrenaline flowing. It’s going to be massive and I like having my own crowd, they are fantastic.
“It’s a different energy, I’ve learnt how to use it to an advantage. There’s times where it can have an effect on the opponent as well, for example when I fought Carl Frampton, every time he came forward his fans went nutty but that played into my hands as well because I wanted him to do that.
“When my fans are going crazy, it can get into their heads but, it makes me sharpen up, stay disciplined and put on a performance for them.”
