Travis Thompson tests skills with Ryan Reber at BKFC 47 on July 14th. This is a consequential clash between a pair of top-five ranked bantamweights as each has the 135-pound belt in their crosshairs with a win here.
The fistic fireworks broadcast on the Bare Knuckle TV app and Fite TV with the pugilistic proceedings emanate from Jenkins Arena in Lakeland, Florida.
Thompson spoke to Dylan Bowker of Bare Knuckle News before this bout. Excerpts from the chat are below.
Travis Thompson
It seems like the division is wide open right now for a title contender to emerge. Do you see a strong statement win here garnering you a BKFC bantamweight title shot?
“I don’t think I need this to give myself that contention. I already have that in my opinion. All this is going to do is show that there is a gap between whatever, what am I the second-ranked and he’s the fourth or fifth-ranked? Like I’m just going to show the gap. That’s all I’m going to do. I’m going to exploit that gap. I’m going to show that I deserve to be fighting for the belt next. That’s the whole purpose of this fight.”
Travis Thompson continued, “To be honest with you, my whole thing with it was; BoxRec they just now changed it but before that, he was the number-one ranked fighter on BoxRec. That made no sense but whatever. Now they changed it, they fixed that mistake.”
Photo credit to Phil Lambert/ BKFC
BKFC
What are your thoughts on Reber’s spotless BKFC run and some of his better stylistic attributes?
“He’s 3-0… I get it, I understand. But you’ve got to also realize of the three people you fought, they’re nobodies. You don’t have a notable victory, you don’t have anything. You know, like good for him. He’s done great and I’m happy for him but I’ve been in there with killers. Like the top of our bracket. I’ve been with the best of the best. I’ve put on fight of the nights, I’ve put on knockout of the nights. I bring that to the table. He hasn’t fought a real fighter yet and we’re going to see what happens when he does.”
BKFC 47
Not overlooking Reber but a possible title clash with champ Reggie Barnett Jr would have such a great backstory to it. You and Barnett Jr fought at BKFC 1 and have been top-ranked 135-pounders ever since. How important is it to actualize that story into reality?
“That would be great to have that title fight with Reggie. Because like you had just said, June would have been the five-year anniversary. You’re going to see where we both have grown since June 2nd of 2018. So that would be an ideal fight for everybody. Everyone could see how the sport itself has evolved and how we individually have evolved. I would love that fight, it would be a great fight to put on for everybody. It would be great for the company, it would be great for spectators, everybody. It’s a win-win for all.”
Travis Thompson continued, “But at the same time, I don’t want to overlook Reber and I’m not going to. That’s one thing I never do, I never look forward to another fight. I just look at who I’m fighting, who’s in front of me. That’s all I’m worried about. So to be honest with you, I really don’t care about that fight right now. One fight at a time. So all I’m focused on is Ryan Reber, getting inside, doing my work.”
Travis Thompson vs Ryan Reber
You seem to use sacrifices for the fight as a motivation for the competition itself and to have a cathartic release when bludgeoning your opponent. With you missing your son’s birthday in person for this one and other factors, is this the biggest pent-up feeling you’ve ever had with this competitive mindset?
“I always try to put that type of mindset into every single fight. But yes, this one’s going to be the hardest because of my son’s birthday. I’m missing my son’s fourteenth birthday, I missed fourth of July so that’s really gonna annoy me. Don’t get me wrong, we’ll be able to Facetime and stuff and everything which is really nice. In today’s day and age, you can actually still do that stuff. But I’m not really there which is a big deal for me.”
Travis Thompson continued, “So yeah, this is definitely a little bit of pent-up aggression toward my opponent and it’s going to show on the fourteenth. He’s my boy, Reber is my man. I love Reber. He’s my boy before the fight, he’s going to be my boy after the fight. But when I get in the ring, you’re going to see why they call me ‘The Animal’. That’s just what I always bring to the table.”
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