mccallum_healey_interview_bkb_37 (Original).mp4
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00:00 Delighted to be talking to the British champion Aaron McCallum.
00:05 Aaron, how are you doing?
00:05 I'm all good, Tom. Pleasure as always, mate.
00:07 What's it been like since you won that belt?
00:11 It's a different world, mate, honestly.
00:13 I remember the night. It was like you'd won a million pounds.
00:19 It is, and it still is.
00:21 I've always said on our BKB, it means everything to me now.
00:27 And winning that belt was like, it was just winning all life.
00:31 Unbelievable, really.
00:33 You'd tried before with Scott McEwan, lost.
00:36 Then you won against Mark Tiffin.
00:39 You've been through the mill to get there.
00:42 Oh, definitely, yeah.
00:43 Presumably you're not going to give it up easy.
00:45 No, no. You come and set me up, you've got to really come and try and get it.
00:49 I'm not ready to give it up yet, and I don't think I'll ever be ready to give it up.
00:56 Talking to Wales' finest, Corey Healy.
01:00 Corey, welcome. Good to talk to you again.
01:02 Ahead of a title fight.
01:04 Yeah, nice to see you again, Tom. Pleasure as always.
01:07 You're looking forward to your fight with Aaron McKellen?
01:10 What a tough fight that's going to be.
01:12 Yeah, it's going to be a tough fight.
01:14 Obviously, it's dangerous. I'm coming up awake.
01:17 So, it's dangerous at any time.
01:20 To be honest with you, I'm not really bothered.
01:22 You can stretch up, stretch down.
01:24 Doesn't really make a difference.
01:25 Some fighters, when they lose weight, they struggle.
01:28 Are you happy fighting it?
01:29 I might be fighting it anywhere from 66 to 73 kilos.
01:34 Obviously, you're fighting Corey Healy, who's another tough guy,
01:40 who's won his last couple of fights.
01:44 I mean, he's in good form as well.
01:45 What are you expecting?
01:46 Well, first of all, I'm happy to fight as well in my eye.
01:53 I think we both have laughed about this, haven't we?
01:55 That we'll never find someone in my eye.
01:56 I think he's actually shorter than me, Tom.
01:58 So...
01:58 That'll be a first.
02:00 It is, yeah.
02:01 I'd make it the first and the last if it didn't.
02:03 So, I'm buzzing for it.
02:05 And not only that, Corey's a good boxer.
02:07 And he's not going to reach high.
02:11 I ain't going to reach high.
02:12 It's going to bring out the best of us, if I'm being honest.
02:17 It'll be nice to actually box someone that's my height
02:21 and actually do it in boxing style
02:24 and not just overreaching, trying to get them and stuff like that.
02:27 I mean, you've said it in your commentating.
02:30 It says Aaron never says that he's bothered about the height.
02:34 But obviously, of course, the height is a big difference, isn't it?
02:38 So, yeah.
02:39 Like I say, he's a decent boxer.
02:42 So, I'm looking forward to fighting him.
02:44 You've got hopes of being a champion yourself.
02:46 But you've got to take it away, the belt, away from Aaron McKellen.
02:50 Yep.
02:51 Tell us a little bit about what you expect from him.
02:54 You know, I know he's renowned for power.
02:58 You know, I'm not stupid to that.
03:01 I'm not naive either.
03:02 You know, I know he's a champ at the end of the day.
03:05 He's not going to be a pushover.
03:06 He's not going to be a walker.
03:07 Same as most of the boys I fought, you know.
03:09 But this mentality, this training camp,
03:13 this whole lead up to this fight is a lot different, you know.
03:19 I'm setting out to achieve what I pushed for, you know.
03:22 Sometimes when people are so determined to win a belt and they win it,
03:26 I'm not sure, I wouldn't use the word complacent,
03:30 but it's like I've done it.
03:32 And you can tail off a little bit.
03:36 What are you going to make sure that you don't, that doesn't happen to you?
03:39 My coach hasn't let me even think about that.
03:41 If I've not won anything yet, I've just warmed up.
03:46 And I actually feel like, I'll be truthful with you, Tom,
03:50 and I ain't saying this for the cameras,
03:51 I've never ever trained in my life like I'm training now.
03:56 And I love training, Tom. I do really love it.
03:58 I remember your first fight against Fishdog.
04:01 Yeah, completely different.
04:02 You were a different man.
04:03 No, I've not trained for that.
04:05 But like, even to these fights, previous fights,
04:09 I've not trained for them, if I'm being honest.
04:12 To where I am now, it's completely different.
04:16 It's like I've been stripped of everything I've ever done.
04:19 And started again.
04:19 And just started again.
04:20 Yeah, just everything is completely different.
04:24 I'm hitting limits in training where nobody wants to go to them places.
04:31 I feel like I'm hitting them places in training.
04:35 Fight night, I can't wait for it to come,
04:38 because it's not going to be an easy night.
04:40 But what I'm trying to say is,
04:42 it's going to be a breeze compared to what I've been training.
04:45 Yeah, that's exactly how it feels to me.
04:47 As the challenger though, you have to be more proactive.
04:51 I've got to work that little bit out.
04:52 Because the judges are looking for the champ.
04:54 The champ doesn't have to do it.
04:55 So they're going to be looking for you.
04:57 At the end of the day, it's my job to take a better deal from him.
05:00 And I expect nothing less.
05:03 I don't expect him to come out and stand there, to be honest.
05:07 No, I'm expecting him to come out.
05:08 I'm on the trade.
05:09 So I think there's no easy fight in BKB.
05:12 Yeah, nothing's going to be easy.
05:14 Especially if you want to get to places where you want to go.
05:17 You know, such as tightrope, British worlds.
05:19 No matter where you go, you've got to be in tough fights.
05:24 You know, because there's some serious contenders out there now.
05:26 And serious tough guys.
05:28 And serious tough boys, you know.
05:29 Corey Healy is a tough guy.
05:31 What will we have to see from you to win it?
05:35 Just more boxing.
05:37 Obviously, you know I've got the power.
05:39 I think he obviously knows I've got the power and stuff like that.
05:43 But I think I've had enough fights in here to know exactly what I need to do in there.
05:50 Comfortable wise.
05:51 And if he wants to scrap, he knows I can scrap.
05:56 I won't say it's the wisest things to do.
05:59 Everyone's seen me scrap.
06:00 They know full well I can scrap with anybody.
06:02 Yeah, just keep my boxing brain there.
06:07 What I've learned.
06:08 And just boxing.
06:10 I've just boxing how I should imagine he's going to box me.
06:14 And just start doing him on the boxing.
06:15 I've done it before.
06:16 I've done it with John Colley.
06:17 He was a good boxer.
06:18 Down on paper.
06:19 I've beat him on boxing skill.
06:21 I gave Scott McHugh a good run for his money.
06:25 Other fights I've just scrapped.
06:28 Do you know what I mean?
06:29 So yeah, I'm going to...
06:30 Obviously, I'm not going to tell you everything I'm doing.
06:32 But yeah, I'm coming in to boxing.
06:35 And put on a nice fight.
06:39 So we'll see what happens.
06:40 Convinced you'll be going home with the belt still?
06:41 100%.
06:42 100%.
06:42 What would it mean to be the British champion?
06:45 Everything.
06:46 Because I've achieved what I set out to early on in the stages.
06:50 And that progresses me to up where I wanted to be.
06:54 Where I see myself at the beginning of all this.
06:57 I wanted to see myself as a champion.
06:59 I wanted to see myself holding a belt.
07:01 And perhaps even get that world title shot at some point.
07:04 If that is to happen, what are you going to have to do
07:08 to make sure that you get the belt?
07:10 Apart from the obvious win.
07:11 But what are you going to have to do?
07:12 I'm going to be a dig deep fight.
07:15 I'm used to going there.
07:17 I've been in the trenches.
07:18 Like with Pat Nash.
07:19 The last round of Pat Nash.
07:21 I don't think either of us want to give up.
07:24 Just punch up and steal the round.
07:26 And I've been there.
07:29 I'm not afraid to go there.
07:30 If I've got to go there, I'll go there.
07:31 And to be honest with you, like I said,
07:34 there's nothing that's going to stop me from getting that belt.
07:38 You know?
07:38 Excellent.
07:40 Have a good night and good job.
07:41 May the best man win.
07:43 Yeah.
07:43 But good luck to you.
07:44 Lovely. Nice to see you again.