Jack Hardy is hopeful of showing new skills in his rematch with Jorra Gill at Rise and Conquer 12 on Sunday, May 7th.
Hardy was originally set to face James Bishop, but the fight fell through, and now he meets Gill for the second time in his amateur career. The pair met at Rise and Conquer 11, and Hardy edged out a split decision victory on the night.
The Rainton Arena is set to be packed out with some of the best amateurs across the United Kingdom. Ahead of fight night, we talked to Jack Hardy to see how he’s feeling ahead of the rematch. Hear what he had to say below.
Interview With Jack Hardy
It’s fight week! You seem to be in excellent spirits and have been working hard behind the scenes, which was rewarded by getting your blue belt. Talk to me about how much that meant to you.
Yeah, it was a great milestone to hit. With being an MMA gym and not Jiu Jitsu, we’ve never really had the chance to get graded, so to get promoted means I’m doing the right things and going in the right direction.
Saturday night at the Rainton Arena, you were originally set to face James Bishop and now will face Jorra Gill. Has the opponent change made any difference to your last-minute preparations, or has it changed nothing?
A little bit but nothing massive. James was a southpaw, so we had been drilling everything against a lefty, so we had to change things up a little but nothing major.
You met Jorra Gill last time out at Rise and Conquer 11. You earned a split-decision victory. Truthfully, how do you feel about change? Would you have liked a new face, or would you have been happy to face him and get a concrete win either by unanimous or a stoppage this time round?
Yeah, I did want to just keep fighting different people who offer different skill sets at this stage in my career. I was kind of just moving to the next fight, as I have in all my fights, but I’m guessing it was just meant to happen.
Jack Hardy Talks First Meeting With Jorra Gill
I interviewed you last time ahead of your fight with Jorra and asked you to evaluate his skill set. Having been in there with him for three rounds, would your statement still stand? Was there anything he did that surprised you in there?
I can’t remember what I said last time, but yeah, I expect both of us to be better versions of ourselves from the last fight.
Looking back at the fight last year. In terms of your own performance, what are your overall thoughts? Were you pleased, or is there anything that you were perhaps annoyed at yourself for?
It definitely wasn’t my best performance, to be honest. I wasn’t as active as I wanted to be, and obviously, I didn’t get the finish and made it a lot closer than it needed to be, but I still feel I took the last two rounds and won the fight.
It’s been 7-months since that fight. At this stage of your amateur career, a lot can happen in terms of development and improvement. What would you have to say to a Jorra Gill who anticipates the same version of you showing up that you did in your previous fight?
Ah, I think he will know I’ve improved over that time, as I know he will have. I feel I’ve learned loads and added new skills to my game since our last fight.
Expectations
The Rainton Arena always provides a good night of fights, with fighters across the area gathering a ton of support. Can we expect a lot of support there for you on Saturday night, and what can they expect from you?
I hope so, haha yeah, iv got a few people coming, and obviously, with it being our home show, I will see plenty of familiar faces. I expect to go in there and get my hand raised again and put on a great performance.
As mentioned before, people can develop fast if they are consistently in the gym adding new tools to their arsenal. What do you expect Jorra Gill to bring? Do you feel he’ll bring anything different as opposed to the first meeting?
I’m expecting another tough fight. I know what he brings to the table and knows he’ll want to get that win back.
Lastly, what does Jack Hardy need to do this time around to get the finish over Jorra Gill at Rise and Conquer 11?
Make him tired, be in his face the whole fight and stick to the game plan.
Featured image credits to R&C
