Stephen Kirk's modesty and apparently carefree approach to one of the most important fights of his career lie cloaked around him as he speaks about his fourth fight in the World Championships in Budapest. "Three fights. Three wins. I just say `who's next'. I didn't study them before I came out. I just came here to do myself proud. I never looked at the draw. I never worked it out."
The Belfast light-heavyweight, regarded by many as one of the best in his division to arrive on the Irish scene for many years, has already secured a bronze medal following his win on Wednesday evening over Bulgarian Tamer Erolov and today at around 8 p.m. he hopes to find himself in the final. Only Russian Alexandr Lebiak stands in his way.
Lebiak, of course, means to maintain Russia's enviable record in this year's championships. Despite the dissolution of the former Soviet Union, Russia had 11 fighters in quarter-final places and seven boxers in semi-final bouts. They have been able to keep up their strong tradition at international level and are second only to the ever-dominant Cubans, who yesterday had 10 fighters in semi-final positions. Ireland, incidentally, are joint 10th among the 74 represented countries in having a semi-finalist.
Kirk's `I'll play 'em as I see 'em,' philosophy is not to be dismissed as empty bravado. The five times Ulster title winner and the national senior light-heavyweight champion since 1995 has been working hard under the watchful eye of Irish coach Michael Hawkins in Budapest and manager Sean Donnelly believes him to be well prepared.
"His training in recent times has been on footwork and shortening his hooks. The overhand-right scores well here and he's good at that," says Donnelly.
Kirk, who represents the Cairn Lodge club, has not been able to watch Lebiak in action but knows that the Russian is a former winner of the world junior championship in the lower middleweight division.
"I've never seen him," says Kirk. "Apparently he is very good, very elusive. According to the lads here he has been on the scene since 1987. He's a switch hitter and he has fast hands. But the second boy I fought over here had fast hands too, so I'm used to that.
"I've a few aches and pains from the previous fights but I've been getting rubs and that. Anyway, when you get into the ring they seem to disappear. You just don't feel it with the adrenalin."
Kirk will also bring his international experience into the ring. A Commonwealth champion since November of last year when he won the title in South Africa, the Irishman, who will be 24 next month, will also have learned from his last bout. Complacency in the final round almost cost him dearly as his Bulgarian opponent came within a point of his score. But typically cool, Kirk simply looks ahead.
"I haven't paid much attention to fights behind me," he says. "With another in front of me I just want to do my best and not let myself down. That's all you can do."
Praise has also been heaped on Waterford boxer Neil Gough, who just failed to get among the medals. Gough was defeated 6-2 early on Monday by one of the favourites in the competition, Russia's Olympic Champion Oleg Saitov. In almost all of the other divisions Gough would have secured a bronze for winning three fights, but because of the number of entrants in the popular welterweight division, four wins were required, thus denying him the bronze.
