He might be in the early stages of training for the biggest fight of his career so far but Aubrey “Bam Bam” Morrow is looking forward to the night he’ll be stepping into the ring to fight for the Canadian Middleweight Championship.
October is a few months away but Morrow is getting into the groove ahead of his fight against Francis Lafreniere, in Montreal, Quebec.
“It feels good,” Morrow said. “I’m really excited for it. Training is well underway and I’m just excited that I’ll be getting the chance for this fight. We’ve wanted this one for a while and it’s finally here, so it’s really exciting. There’s a little bit of nerves to start but it’s all going to smooth out as we go along.”
Morrow’s coach, Rich LeStage, has been in talks with Lafreniere’s camp since March and got the call not long after “Bam Bam” defeated Paul Bzdel in Nanaimo in May.
“It’s been a long time coming,” Morrow said. “I’m feeling good about things since the last one against Paul. There are a few things I took away from that fight and I’m looking forward to taking that next step with this fight. It is a big fight but it’s like the rest of them too, it’s just the next step in my career.”
His last fight was the first time that Morrow went past six rounds, with most of his fights finishing in the first three. It’s something he’s not used to but knows is a good thing to have under his belt.
“It’s nice to know I can do it,” Morrow said. “Having never been there in a fight, it showed me that I could go the distance. I feel like I’m stronger than everyone in my weight class in Canada so it’s good to get that feeling.”
Lafreniere sports a record of nine wins, five losses and two draws, with five of his nine wins coming by way of knockout. He’s got the power to put an opponent away and has gone deep into fights as well. Morrow has a record of eight wins, one loss and two draws, with seven wins by knockout.
“We know he’s tough,” Morrow said. “We know that he comes forward in the ring and our styles match up real well. We basically know how we can beat him. The record doesn’t really matter all that much, I mean you can look at it and go through it with a fine tooth comb and find things that aren’t always seen. It’s something to take into consideration but people progress through their career. My first loss came early in my career and that’s been all. A guy could be a totally different fighter and you have to be ready for anything.”
Morrow will be the underdog in the fight, both as a challenger and the fact that Lafreniere will be fighting in his hometown but he’s ready for the challenge.
“It’s nice to win new fans,” Morrow said. “Being the underdog isn’t such a bad thing, it gives you a chance to go into a new place and impress the fans. You can walk in with nobody behind you and win over some fans throughout the fight and that’s what I’m planning on doing.”
