According to Justin Harrington, the one thing you should do when you are at the lowest point of your career is to face one of the strongest fighters around.
Harrington knew that he would have a hard time when went against Harrison Bevens last July. He and Bevens fought it to the end during the Super Fight League America. Harrington admitted that he indeed had a hard time, but all of those hardships were worth it because he was able to regain the 155-pound title from Bevens.
“Harrison is a gritty, tough dude. I was coming of a nine-month layoff, so I was a little rusty, but my cardio was great and I just knew I was going to win that fight. Again, Harrison was really tough and put it on me a little bit,” Harrington said during a recent interview.
Harrington lost the title last year, and if that wasn’t enough, he lost again on the following fight making it a two-fight losing streak. Harrington knew that he needed to come back up and make things right.
“I was down in the dumps. I had lost the title and chalked that up to being a fluke, trying to hype myself up, but then I had that fight in New Jersey and got manhandled. To come back after nine months and put on a performance (against Bevens) like that, it felt better than the first time I won the title,” Harrington said.
This coming Friday in Tacoma, Washington, Harrington, who has a record of 7-2, will be participating in his first fight since he regained his SFL America lightweight title. He will be going up against late replacement, Bobby McIntyre, who has a record of 4-1.
“He’s a really tough dude. He’s young, hungry, and came up fast. I was down at the (Ultimate Fighter) tryouts with him and got to see a little bit of him. It’s going to be a good fight. I trained hard and have been getting better, so I’m ready. I told my daughter I’m not going to lose the title again, and that means something to me, so he’s not going to take it,” Harrington said.
Harrington knew he had to prove that he deserved the opportunity when he saw SFL America champ Julien Erose get picked for the The Ultimate Fighter, or simply called, TUF. However, he knew that he shouldn’t let this get in the way of his preparation to hold on to his title.
“I’m not going to lie to you and say no (I’m not trying to prove a point), but really I’m just going to keep that out of my head. My performance will take me to where I need to be. I can talk and say I deserve this or deserve that, but it’d be hollow words. I believe the proof is in the pudding, so if I go out there and perform how I can, someone is going to pick me up. I’ll get there when I’m supposed to get there, and when I get there, I’ll show up ready,” he said.