Exclusive Q&A: " I think Dragon Ball should be part of the school system" - Antonio Plazibat makes Glory return

Back after more than two years away, Antonio Plazibat (22-5, 16 KOs) will headline Glory Collision 8 this Saturday, December 13. He will face Nordine Mahieddine (29-15, 13 KOs) in a trilogy fight. Each fighter has one victory. 

The fighter spoke with DAZN News a few days before his fight. He discussed his style as well as his great passion for Dragon Ball.

DAZN News: How is the training camp?

Antonio Plazibat: It's going good. Surviving. It's training camp as usual. Just training, sleeping, training, sleeping, some eating, and that's it.

DN: What can we expect from your fight?

AP: I never wanted to do boring fights. I never wanted to do any fight on points. I want to do the knockouts. I want to put exciting fights, big combinations, and stuff. I think kickboxing is a sprint, while boxing is a marathon, so we should be sprinting.

DN: What do you think of your opponent?

AP: Good fighter, fast, dangerous left hook, quick kicks, nice combinations. If he's ready, very nice guy to watch the way he fights.

DN: Any prediction?

AP: Of course, I'm thinking I'm going to win. He's thinking he's going to win. If you don't think you're the best at this, you'd better stop.

DN: Who is the favorite? There is one-one?

AP: It's one-one. Both fights were close. The first fight, I accepted at a 10 days' notice. Second fight, he won. I think it could go either way, but it's good. Now, this is to get it clear and get it done. Again, of course, I think I'm the favorite, and I will win, but we need to show that.

DN: Did that rivalry help you to be a better fighter?

AP: No, I don't think so. Just fights in general, being in fight camp and training every day, staying active, keeping the discipline. That's the only thing that can help you.

DN: If you win, you're going to have a place in the tournament in February. Who is the favorite?

AP: Yeah, but it's a tournament. In a tournament, betting on favorites is always very hard because there are so many things inside the tournament. It's not one fight, it's three fights in the night. It depends on how you open the first and the second fight, and the injuries you're going to get. Everybody is going for knockouts in the tournament to get the fight over quicker. They open up more, they're less calculated. Tournaments are very hard to predict. Anything can happen. But also, you get superheroes from tournaments. I think out of eight guys, everybody has a chance in a tournament style. That way, anything can happen.

DN: What does that mean to you to be in the main event?

AP: I cannot wait. Being the main fight first against Levi, who canceled, right now one of the main stars of Glory, and now still doing the main event with Nordine. It means a lot. They show me that way that they trust me and that I earn my respect and my place there.

DN: Before you fought against Levi, but Levi canceled because of personal problems. So did you change your game plan?

AP: I just work to be good at everything. Of course, some details and stuff, I think more about Levi and some things about Nordine. Nordine is a quicker guy with a more combination-style-oriented fight. But Levi is a specialist with jumping knees and spinning kicks. Nordine also does it, but Levi is much more deadly with it. So, more concentrating mainly on Nordine's boxing, and for Levi, more concentrated on spinning kicks, spinning backfist, and stuff like that. But the only thing left to see is to check if there is any ring rust and how I will feel in the ring. I don't think there will be any problem, but I never did a break this long, so this will be the first. I need to check that out.

DN: How does Dragon Ball help you in your life and in your career?

AP: I think Dragon Ball should be part of the school system to show, especially to the audience, how you can do a lot of things through hard work, training, believing in yourself, and just giving it your all. There are moments in there that, when I was a kid, made me believe that. There are things I speak with my friends about because this generation, I think, now between 26 years old to 35, for those 10 years, we all grew up on Dragon Ball, and I think mostly all the fighters now are fans of it. It really shaped this generation. When I speak with friends, I was once driving to the gym and just driving, nothing. It was traffic. What are you going to do in traffic? You're going to scroll on Instagram. The second or third scroll was like when Vegeta spoke about becoming a Super Saiyan, and then when he spoke against Jiren in those 45 minutes. Then I was speaking on the phone with a friend. After I watched that reel, I wanted to come out of the car and start punching the cars around me and fight everybody. It gets you so pumped when you understand what they say, when you've been there with them, that it's very nice. I really, really like it. I honestly think people would be better human beings if they watched it.