TONIGHT IS THE NIGHT

Gabriel Passelle sits poised, with a calm demeanour. We're on a sofa in an East London vegan cafe and we're here to talk about tonight. Tonight is when hard work meets opportunity and Gabriel hasn't left anything up to luck.

Gabe is six feet tall and weighs 76kg. Competition and winning are everything that's spurred him on since he was a teenager. Tonight is his second professional fight at super middleweight.

MF: How are you feeling?

GP: I feel good Max! I'm feeling calm and focused, yeah. I know what to do and I'm excited.

There's a wry smile that Gabe shows when talking about his profession. It's an implicit acknowledgement of the physicality he's endured and how often he's put himself in harm's way. To some, the word 'boxing' might sound confrontational and you can hear the air being sucked through their teeth in reaction to it. Gabe radiates a gleeful indifference to the hardships of his chosen profession. 

Gabe has known this sport since he was a teenager growing up in Bristol and boxing out of Empire Fighting Chance, run by Martin Bisp. He has had 35 amateur fights and aged 18 he won the Haringey Cup, Europe's largest amateur competition. 

MF: Are you scared or nervous of anything that might happen?

GP: Nervous, sure. Scared, no. I know I've done everything I can do to be ready for this evening, so I am 100% prepared to go out there and perform. The nerves are just my body's way of tuning in and feeling alert.

I have all my friends and family coming to York Hall to watch me, so I want to put on a good show but I don't let that manifest as performance anxiety. I'm there to do a job. 

Sometimes in my amateur days for instance I would come out terrified and win, then other times I would come out confident, then lose. The point is that it doesn't matter what you feel as long as I know I've done the work. As a pro, I am under no illusions that it is up to me to control the controllables.

I've done my best, let God do the rest.

MF: How do you prepare mentally for this evening?

GP: I've done a lot of work in the build up for this fight and my last fight, with a psychologist. We've focused on thinking through what will happen and visualising my performance etc, but also how I see my task. It's very easy to hold something in your mind, but if you write it down and contextualise it, it becomes more tangible.

For instance, let's say I wake up one day stressed about how much I have got to get done, it can swirl around in my head and I can feel overwhelmed. But by writing a list for example, it orders my thoughts and by looking externally at what needs to be done, it contextualises the issue into something more manageable.

MF: Boxing is a lonely sport. Do you ever feel lonely?

GP: Doors open 6pm tonight. My missus will be with me in the dressing room until about an hour before the fight, then she'll go down and join all my friends and family. That final bit, like the calm before the storm, can feel quite lonely. But even in the ring, I have my team in the corner and that's how it is every day in training. So I don't really get lonely. 

GP: I know his weight and I know he's flying in from Costa Rica ...oh and he's orthodox.

MF: You're on home turf tonight.

GP: This is my first professional fight at York Hall - he's a professional journeyman and he's probably fought there more times than me, haha.

Look he's a serious guy, he'll come for a fight and I won't do anything stupid.

MF: What's next after this fight? 

GP: Look, I'm just focused on these four rounds and doing what I do best.

MF: Good answer. My rugby coach always used to say that whatever the next game was - was the most important game of the season. 

GP: That's it. I'm really excited about tonight and that's where my focus is.

As an onlooker with minimal ring experience of my own, talking to Gabe almost made me forget the discomfort and anxiety of putting your body on the line. Only someone who has faced this adversity again-&-again can talk with such sensitive awareness, yet bold composure. As a young man his maturity in the face of any obstacle is impressive.

Doors open 5pm this evening at York Hall, in Bethnal Green. Gabriel will very likely be competing soon after. See you there..!