The significance of the matchup and anticipating an earlier assignment date meant that Kopylov has spent longer than usual in camp, preparing for this weekend’s clash, leaving him little time to do anything other than focus on the task at hand.
That being said, there were a few opponent-specific changes made in anticipation of facing the powerful striker.
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“After (my last fight), I took some time to heal my leg and then started conditioning training for Costa,” Kopylov said, tracing the timeline and activities since his victory over Curtis on the first fight card of the year. “At first we planned it for May, so my camp was longer than I expected. I was bringing my family in different cities; their support means much for me.
“To tell the truth, I don’t have enough time for general training and development,” he continued, speaking with refreshing candidness. “As soon as I got the fight offer, we have special training for the new opponent. This time, I did some work with my taekwondo coach, and we also brought a strategy coach from the national taekwondo team for a complete breakdown of Costa.
