“It happened by chance. It all kind of fell into place. My coach decided to go to Russia and train there, so I didn’t get lost. I quickly regrouped and I found a new trainer, a very great specialist, someone who completely and totally changed my approach to training, someone who made me stronger in my punches and my strikes [and] someone who improved me in many areas that I lacked. I feel much better prepared and we will see what happens on Saturday.
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Not only has his head coach parted ways, but also the entourage of supporters who have supported him throughout his career. Although he only suffered his first defeat in 17 fights, the loss showed Romanov the true colors of some of his supporters. In the seven months since that fight, “King Kong” has filtered those who only stood by him for success, not adversity.
“In Russia we have this saying that ‘victory has many relatives while defeat is an orphan’, so you really understand who the people are who want to stay with you and who [don’t]. You understand which people you want to keep and which not. After that loss, a lot of people who were sort of fillers fell out. People who weren’t real and who weren’t there for me. The only people left are the real ones; my family, my [new] team and the support from my country that I really feel is always behind me and for that I am very grateful. So now it’s easier for me to breathe, easier to move forward because I don’t have any distractions from people who aren’t really there for me.
