Here I go again. I signed to fight Terrance
Crawford on Saturday, March 7, in York, Pennsylvania. Yes, I have only been
in training for a solid two-and-a-half weeks. I have not had any sparring,
and I'm facing another undefeated, up-and-coming prospect who was the No.
1-ranked amateur in the United States. Now he's 5-0, with three knockouts,
as a pro.
The odds are stacked against me, but what
else would you expect out of me? Since losing my very first professional
fight to Julio Ceasar Chavez Jr., I've lost to opponents who have won a
combined 116 fights. Four of those guys are still undefeated, and two are
ranked in the top five in the world. I've been strongly encouraged by those
close to me to stop taking such tough fights -- and to stop taking them on
such short notice. (Less than a week, in this case.) After I lost to Jorge
Paez Jr. on HBO, our local television broadcaster asked me “Travis why keep
taking such tough fights?”
“I don’t care if my record is 7-22," I told
him. "I'll beat one of these guys and prove to myself that I can beat a
top-level guy.”
I'm now 9-10 as a pro, but I still stand by
that statement. One of these times one of these guys will catch me when I am
100-percent prepared, and everybody will see the best Travis Hartman. I
truly love the sport and I thank God everyday I am able to compete on the
professional level.
I am going into Saturday's fight with the
expectation of putting on a great performance and possibly landing a fight
at the Playboy Mansion later this month.
Training is tough and hard. At times I wonder
why I chose such an extremely tough sport. Quickly, though, my alter ego
chimes in, telling me, "You do this sport because there is no greater
feeling than digging deep down inside your soul, while your face is marred
with your own blood, your body is seconds from failing, your inner demons
are urging you to stop, chants of the critics are echoing in your ear. In
the end, though, you realize that, at worst, if you fail, you fail daring to
be great, leaving no regrets, leaving all haters behind who know neither
victory nor defeat, and reining supreme for just that one moment in time."
This, this is why I will always dare to be
great. To
be the best you have to beat the best.
