By FIGHT! contributor Matt Burosh
“I’ve been thinking about fighting Miguel [Torres] for a while now,” admits Brian Bowles. “I was [in the WEC] before Miguel was, when Chase Beebe was champ. I actually wanted to fight Beebe, but I knew [the WEC] wanted Miguel and he came in and won a fight and they gave him a title shot and he beat Beebe.”
But despite that turn of events, the WEC’s number one bantamweight contender is content with the way things have played out. “[I don’t feel jealousy or anger towards Miguel] because I only had like 2 or 3 fights coming into the WEC and he had like 30 fights and a lot of hype,” says Brian. “And the WEC is naturally gonna go with what’s better for them, and Miguel has proven himself time and time again, so I guess he’s earned it.”
Bowles has earned his shot, too, going 7-0, with four of his wins coming in the WEC. “When I took my first fight in the WEC, there weren’t really a lot of places for us 135ers to go to fight each other. But I’ve just taken it as it’s come, and everything started working out, and here I am,” Bowles said. Now it’s time for Bowles to show that he deserved the title shot that Torres took.
“I feel I’m a more complete fighter than [Torres] and I’m bigger and more powerful,” offers Bowles. But this fighter believes deep down that his chances for success where others have failed must lie within the mind, where people can’t necessarily see what’s being hidden from view.
“I’ve already prepared myself mentally for this, and I feel good,” says Bowles. “I think a lot of the people that he’s faced have been kind of afraid of him, but I’m not afraid of him at all. I’m not intimidated by him.”
Brian Bowles will challenge Miguel Torres for the WEC bantamweight crown at the Hard Rock Hotel & Casino in Las Vegas on Aug. 9 at 9 p.m. EST. Every successful fighter has a strong team behind him – click here to read Jim Casey’s Dec. 2008 profile of Athens, Ga.’s Hardcore Gym, where Bowles trains with a strong stable of pros.
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