Christine Ferea (right) - Photo by Phil Lambert for Bare Knuckle FC
Christine Ferea on BKFC KnuckleMania 3 Fight “It’s a Little Dangerous for Me”
Christine Ferea defends her flyweight crown against Usanakorn Thawilsuhannawang at BKFC KnuckleMania 3 on February 17th.
Ferea appeared on Bowks Talking Bouts to touch on her desire for a Bec Rawlings fight, her history with KnuckleMania events, and so much more. Excerpts from our chat are below.
Ferea’s initial KnuckleMania experience winning the title and how this KnuckleMania experience feels compared to her first go around with the tentpole event
“So for me, every fight is the biggest fight of my life. That’s how I treat every single fight. So every fight is my legacy. Every fight is extremely important to me. I want to be the best in the world for all time. I want to be always remembered. Want to have a record and I want to make a statement that when I leave, that it’s going to be really tough for these girls to catch up to. I want to leave that when I retire.”
“So every fight, I’m giving it my all. I don’t take anyone lightly. No matter what experience or inexperience they have or the strengths or weaknesses they have, I’m preparing like they are the best in the world.”
Christine Ferea
Ferea’s thoughts on Usanakorn Thawilsuhannawang’s resume and temperament when this bout offer came in
“I mean I like to fight, I want to fight. She’s a former world champion. So, of course, it’s going to be a great victory for me. I really want Bec Rawlings (laughs) but this girl stepped up. She’s coming in, she’s an amazing athlete. Has a lot of interesting characteristics that I’m going to have to overcome. I want to test myself. There’s a lot of people that test themselves against me, opponents that have no chance against me. I like to test myself against people (where) there’s a lot of chances that I’m going to be taking.”
“So this is a fight I feel like it’s a little dangerous for me and let’s see if I am who I think I am and who I say I am. That’s how I feel about it. I have to test myself. I expect other people to test themselves and be a champion. Be a true fighter, it’s my turn to test myself.”
BKFC KnuckleMania 3
Ferea’s intense studying methodology on upcoming opponents and her thoughts on Usanakorn Thawilsuhannawang’s stylistic attributes
“By the time I get into that ring, I know everything about that person that I can find. I dig everything… Weaknesses, strengths, down to their birthday. I’m crazy like that. I’m very methodical. Very into the mental side of the game and I think that’s why I’m extremely dominant because I dig deep and I get fully wrapped up in the whole fight. By the time I get there, I’ve been there a million times with her.”
“I’ve been in every situation, visualization. I’ve been knocked down by her, I’ve gotten up, I’ve knocked her out a million times in my head. Gotten hurt a million times in my head by her but then I teach myself to overcome it in visualization.”
BKFC
“She’s a patient fighter, so she’ll take her time and pick shots. She’s very confident, she’s confident in her power, she’s confident in her domination. So I think that’s extremely important for a fighter and that shows a lot of strength. It’s going to be hard to break that in somebody. Because that’s who she’s been and with all those knockouts, I just feel like her mental game is extremely fuckin strong. I feel like she can overcome a lot and I feel like she can take a lot of damage. She’s from Thailand, I respect them highly. I’ve studied the Thai culture and Muay Thai for a long time.”
Ferea continued, “So I know what she’s bringing to the table. I know what kind of energy. I know it’s war. She’s a southpaw, she’s unorthodox. She’s not like a regular boxer. It’s weird, she’s not anything that’s in the norm. So it’s going to be an adjustment for me. I mean in boxing gyms, there’s not going to be anyone that mimics her. She keeps her hands down and then he strikes from the bottom. Comes from the bottom and comes with a jab, comes over her left hand. She just does weird things, you know what I mean? So I’m prepared for it.”
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