“Oh, yeah, definitely important to fight before the holidays. I’m not there in these January cards. You’ve got no chance of me doing one of them January cards.”
But a victory Saturday does put Pimblett on track for a happy new year (after January, of course).
“It sets me up well for 2023, obviously. He’s got a good ranking. He’s 4-1 in his last five. Even though he quit in that loss against a crab who is terrible [Ed. seemingly referring to Grant Dawson], who got beat in two rounds. And then before that, he got beat by former champ Charles (Oliveira) in the first. So that’s what I plan on doing: come on out and finish him in the first round because I aspire to be champion one day. So the former champions finish him in one. I’m going to finish him in one.”
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The lightweight belt is certainly foremost on Pimblett’s bucket list, but he’s keenly in touch with how the size of his platform can help those in need; those close to him, as well as society more broadly.
“I want to provide a living for my family. I want everyone in my family to be able to eat for the rest of the lives and not have to worry about people, not have to worry about going to work and stuff. I also want to help people outside the cage. Especially after what I said after my last fight: men’s mental health is a big thing to me. Helping young kids is a big thing to me. So it’s not just about fighting in the cage. It’s about helping other people. It’s nice to be nice. It’s good to give back.
“But it’s more than that for me, it’s a legacy. The best there is, the best there was, the best there ever will be. I want to be champion. I want to be the first Scouse champion and I’m going to do it.”
