Petrosyan: "Nothing is more powerful than your will"

Giorgio Petrosyan is back in action on Saturday night as he headlines the 20th anniversary show of Italian organization OKATAGON in Milan, Italy. He faces rising German talent Enriko Kehl over five rounds in what will be his first real test since losing to Andy Ristie.

The long-time world #1 took last year off after suffering a shock KO loss to Andy Ristie at GLORY 12 in November 2013. He incurred a badly broken hand during the bout and that required a lot of time to recover; Petrosyan's hands are notoriously brittle.

In January he returned to action with an easy decision win over respectable Turkish journeyman Erkan Varol but now tomorrow night he is right back in at the deep end as he faces Germany's Enriko Kehl.

Kehl is the current K-1 MAX World Champion at 70 kilograms (155lbs), albeit by default after Buakaw Banchamek walked out of the ring when the judges in their fight order an extra fourth round to be fought in their October encounter.

"I know him quite well. He is a young, skilled, technically-trained fighter. He is left-handed like me, so it will be a difficult match for both of us. Since we are both left-handed we use similar techniques. The only difference is that I prefer using the defense," says Petrosyan in this pre-fight interview.

Regarding his 2014 hiatus he says it was "a very hard year, mainly because of the injuries and the defeat I suffered against Ristie. I had to pull myself together. I trained a lot on the physical and mental level - nothing is more powerful than your will."

That willpower will be tested in Saturday night's fight with the talented young German and if Petrosyan is able to impose it, he will probably return to GLORY later in 2015. Officials at GLORY have talked about matching him in late Fall for an event taking place in Italy.

Only two opponents look likely on his return to GLORY: a revenge match with Ristie, the only fighter to KO him and only the second ever to beat him in eighty-fight career, or a direct shot at the World Lightweight Championship held by Robin van Roosmalen, who badly wants to avenge his own GLORY 3 loss to Petrosyan.

The likelihood is that Petrosyan would be matched with Ristie, as it is a big rematch that fans around the world badly want to see. If he could be successful in avenging himself against ‘The Machine', a title shot against Van Roosmalen would almost certainly follow.