Gosport boxer handed 'honorable' opportunity to help Polish cruiserweight world title challenger Michal Cieslak prepare for huge shot at unbeaten Britain Lawrence Okolie
But Gosport ABC's Mateusz Bereznicki knows better than most what his Polish compatriot Cieslak will bring to the table as the unfancied title challenger this weekend - having had the chance to spar the 21-1 professional fighter at two separate stages of his preparation camp.
Former Bay House School pupil and highly rated amateur Bereznicki explained how he received a call out of the blue from one of Cieslak's team to enquire of his availability to see if he could help get him ready for his big world title shot.
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Hide AdWhat soon followed were sparring rounds with Poland's cruiserweight star in camps in Warsaw and Zakopane ahead of his great chance on British soil.
For Bereznicki, 20, himself currently training for next month's amateur European under-22 Championships in Croatia, it was an 'honorable' experience to share rounds with a fighter ahead of such a major occasion on the pro platform in front of him.
‘The sparring went well, I've got pretty much the same build and height as Okolie, so I was a really good choice as a sparring partner for them (Cieslak team).
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Hide Ad‘I finished the camp and had three sparring sessions with him. Basically they wanted me to come down for the next one, so I went for the next one. It was a great experience, a really, really great experience.
‘For me, I was more excited than stressed out or daunted - like I said I'm sparring a guy who's boxing for a world title. I was doing well and they were inviting me for every sparring camp. It makes me feel like a good boxer.’
Most British fight fans will know very little - if anything - about the attributes challenger Cieslek will have to offer on his UK fight debut.
But Bereznicki offered a brief insight into what Englishman Okolie, with a perfect 17-0 pro record, can expect from the Pole.
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Hide Ad‘I've never seen someone train so hard for a fight. Physically he's extremely strong. We had super-heavyweights come down for sparring and he was literally pushing them around,’ Bereznicki added.
‘I'm looking forward to it (fight night). It's a big thing in Poland - in Poland cruiserweight is our weight division - we have the most boxers at cruiserweight - and the most achievements at cruiserweight.’
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