Issac Hardman will tell you it was back in February, while sparring 10 rounds with America superstar Caleb Plant, that he lost his way a little.
Or as he recalls it now, “got a bit torn”.
Not that you would have known when he hit the scales in Sydney just after noon on Tuesday.
No, in his latest installment to what has already been an entertaining build towards Wednesday night’s headliner against Japanese fighter Kazuki Kyohara, Hardman hit the scales wearing a sponsors hat, tossed it off to make 72.52kg, then flexed, and promised to “ichi, ni, san” his rival.
Then seconds later during an intense staredown, the Queenslander and Kyohara went nose to nose, then forehead to forehead, in a moment that came within a bee’s appendage of exploding as the crowd cheered.
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Yet speaking with Fox Sports Australia this week, Hardman explained how his biggest reveal come fight night will be a shift away from the mindset, and style, that saw him upset last start in March – and on the same night Tim Tszyu won the WBO interim title against Tony Harrison.
Up against Rohan Murdock, Hardman lost a contentious split decision that, afterwards, saw him brand the judges “f***ing dinosaurs” and suggested they were biased against his gym.
While the Queenslander remains convinced five months on that he won that fight – “if we go until somebody dies that night, I’m winning” – he says the approach he took into the bout was wrong.
As part of preparations for the Murdock showdown, Hardman travelled Stateside for a camp that involved sparring some big international names including Plant and Shane Moseley Jnr.
“And I was holding my own,” the 27-year-old recalls. “Giving them some really good work.”
But the Aussie also began fighting in a way, he now concedes, that “wasn’t me” and eventually played a role in him losing to Murdock.
“Because in some of those exchanges I was on my back foot, getting ready to go back to the corner,” he recounts.
“And that’s not who I am.
“So I have to get back to being authentically me.
“And that’s getting in your f***ing face and staying there until the job is done.
“I have to render people unconscious.”
Which is exactly what he now has planned for Kyohara, who weighed in Tuesday at 72.5kg.
“I plan to make this man a highlight,” Hardman said.
“Send him back to Mt Fuji with a f***ing headache.
“Then from there it’s whoever No Limit can find because there’s no one in Australia for me apparently.
“You’d think people would be jumping out of their skin, right?
“I’m willing to fight at super welterweight, middleweight, super middleweight, that’s the normal size for a man.
“But nobody wants it.
“Everyone’s balls shrivel up when my name gets put across the desk.”
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Hardman also said that, while he has taken plenty of lessons from the Murdock loss, he still believes he won that fight.
“I lost a jabbing contest but won the fight,” he stressed.
“Because when you leave a boxing match where your opponent has two black eyes, a cut in the middle of his head and I haven’t been hit with anything but a jab … well, who do you reckon won the fight?
“Yes, he had a good jab. An educated jab.
“But he didn’t hit me with anything significant.
“I was the one who landed the significant punches.
“And if we go until somebody dies that night, I’m winning.
“But now, my only focus is to win Wednesday night, get paid and then fight again before the end of the year.
“Because the biggest sin in boxing is inactivity.
“And I’d fight every weekend if I could. I’d fight 10 times a year.
“And I’m just grateful the No Limit boys went all the way to Japan to find me somebody.”
Back in February, Hardman sparred with Plant as part of helping the American prepare for his WBC interim super middleweight title fight against David Benavidez — which the latter eventually won by unanimous decision.
Speaking with Fox Sports Australia at the time about helping Plant prepare, he said: “I’m no David Benavidez just yet.
“But I do have a walk-up style.
“My hands aren’t as fast as Benavidez but I am a big puncher and do have what I feel is a similar style.
“And Caleb Plant, mate, super sharp.
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“Has a really good lead hand, really good jab, good left hook, good lead body rip … it’s actually like a sniper, that left hand of his.”
When asked for a prediction, Hardman also correctly picked against the man he sparred.
“Because the one thing I’ll say is this: I’d fight Caleb Plant this Sunday — wouldn’t think twice,” Hardman said.
“But I would think twice about fighting David Benavidez.
“Just because of his pure size.
“He’s a big, young kid. Aggressive.
“A big super middleweight.
“But while I thought Plant was going to be much bigger and stronger, he didn’t outsize me. Wasn’t (stronger) by any means.
“So if Plant doesn’t catch him early, I feel David Benavidez is going to walk him down and hurt him.”
Now this Wednesday, Hardman will be himself looking for performance strong enough to not only earn a win, but another big fight, most likely back on a Tim Tszyu undercard, before the year is out.
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