Boxing
Alen Babic: Kalle Sauerland needs to change his (drug) dealer!
Alen Babic shrugged off promoter Kalle Sauerland's recent suggestion that "The Savage" isn't ready for Sauerland client Filip Hrgovic, remarking: "Who the f— is Sauerland?"
The Dillian Whyte protege has flattened all four of his opponents in either the first or second round, but even if he continues that on the undercard of Joshua Buatsi vs. Marko Calic on Sunday against Niall Kennedy, Sauerland feels Hrgovic remains some distance from the Croatian.
"It's like playing [in non-league] then playing Man City," Sauerland said to Sky Sports this week. "I get the ambition, all credit to him. But take the domestic level fights — Tom Little or Dave Allen. Go through them, work your way up the rankings.
"I don't blame Babic, this is boxing where you have to make a name for yourself. But when you talk the talk, you have to walk the walk eventually."
However, the 29-year-old Babic did not take kindly to his words when asked about the matter during Matchroom Boxing's Zoom media day on Thursday.
"I’m ready for every sparring session, let alone this fight. I’m even readier than I was for the Shawndell fight. My gameplan, as always is a first- or second-round KO. I never go past the second round and I want to continue that," said Babic.
"Sauerland needs to change his dealer, he’s talking all sorts of nonsense," he continued. "Who the f— is Sauerland?
"I don’t care about Hrgovic that much, he’s just another guy I want to knock out."
Babic's interesting tendency to refer to himself as two entirely different people — regular everyday Alen and then "The Savage" who steps into the ring and tears the opposition apart — has captured the imagination of many fight fans.
The heavyweight even loudly interrupted a Zoom call prior to his own with the constant sound of his roars as he — or more specifically, "The Savage" — went to work on a punchbag in close proximity to where the media interviews were being conducted.
Babic later admitted that he struggles to control his more aggressive alter-ego.
"I can’t switch The Savage off," he continued. "He does whatever the ‘F’ he likes. I just hope he gets results, but I have no control over him.
"For all I know, he could show up when I am in the supermarket. I just hope that never happens.
"Dillian gave me the name. We went to absolute war in a sparring session over five rounds, and I asked him if he wanted to do it again the next day, which was a Sunday. He said ‘no way, I never want to see you again’ and said I was savage."
Despite questions being raised over his inexperience by Sauerland and others, Babic does not feel like a greenhorn and intends to fight one additional time before 2020 concludes.
He explained: "I’ve been testing myself for 10 years. I don’t need to test myself anymore, so for every fight, I come prepared. The last fight was the most important of my life. It was do-or-die for me.
"Dillian Whyte told me I have a spot on his undercard. Dillian told me to get through this fight and then we will move on. Tom Little has been mentioned, but I’ll fight anybody.
"The first day I went pro, which was last year, I said I wanted to fight 10 times a year. And I will if they make the fights. Fans appreciate that I am different. Just give me fights and see what I can do."
Babic vs. Kennedy, on the undercard of Joshua Buatsi vs. Marko Calic, is live on Sunday Oct. 4 on Sky Sports in the U.K. and on DAZN in the U.S.
