“No, not really,” O’Malley said swiftly when asked if he feels pressure to give a better showing on Saturday night in terms of the fans and media. “To myself I do — I wanna get that one back and I wanna do it in spectacular fashion, but I think about that every fight. I want to end it in a beautiful, viral KO; that’s the goal every fight.
“I think he’s supposed to beat me,” he added, pivoting to the expectations currently heaped on the champion’s shoulders and the ease he feels heading into battle this weekend. “He beat me last fight, he’s the champ, he’s the favorite, he’s the greatest of all time, and I don’t feel like I have much pressure on my shoulders. I feel like I’m in a good position.”
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Though he may not be entering the fray with retribution on his mind, make no mistake about it: O’Malley is eager to reclaim the title, and sees this weekend as a cool, full circle moment at the apex of the bantamweight division.
“It’s gonna be incredible,” he said when asked how it would feel to become a two-time champion on Saturday night. “To take the belt from Aljamain Sterling and then to take the belt from his teammate Merab — that’s movie-s***; you can’t make that s*** up. It’s gonna feel good, gonna feel right, and it’s full circle.
