By Jake Donovan

The feeling that comes with winning your first major title is still fresh in the mind of reigning middleweight titlist Rob Brant.

It doesn’t, however, replace any memories of what it feels like to be on the outside looking in at the title picture.

“I still have clear memories of watching Ryota Murata fight long before we were ever supposed to fight,” Brant (24-1, 18KOs) told BoxingScene.com of the path leading to his title-lifting effort last October. “I remember watching him and always told myself, ‘I know that I can beat him.’

“That remains fresh in my head because now I know that I’m that fighter, I’m that same target for these other contenders that I was always watching before getting here.”

With that, the 28-year old from St. Paul, Minnesota views his upcoming showdown versus unbeaten Russian challenger Khasan Baysangurov (17-0, 7KOs) as more than the first defense of his middleweight title and a celebrated homecoming.

Friday’s ESPN+ headliner will stream live from the Grand Casino in Hinckley, Minn. where he’s performed 11 times before but never as a defending champion. It will be his first fight since scoring a shockingly landslide win over Murata last October in Las Vegas, a feat recognized by many outlets as high among the biggest upsets of 2018.

Perhaps the same outcome would play out no matter how many times they fight. It’s also possible that Japan’s Murata—a gold medalist during the 2012 London Olympics—was caught completely off-guard by his opponent’s skillset and could never adapt over the course of their 12-round affair.

Just as he’ll never forget the moment when he heard the words “…and the NEW” belted out by the ring announcer or that feeling of hoisting the title over his head, he also recalls the preparation required to accomplish that feat.

It’s easy for him, since it’s the same mentality he’s carried into every fight and is prepared to double-down on if it means remaining a major player in the middleweight sweepstakes.

“It’s not even pretending to be the challenger and fighting for the title, but treating my training camp as if our worlds are reversed,” Brant notes. “When you’re the champ, every challenger who dreams of winning the title is going to make a point to know everything about you. So, I take that same responsibility as a champion.

“I want to know everything about every opponent I’m going to face. There will always be something in the ring once the bell rings that you have to adapt to, but that’s just part of fighting. Going into the fight, there won’t be anything about (Baysangurov) that will surprise me. I’m not about to become part of someone’s highlight reel, especially as a champion.”

Any boxer would be wise to embrace that mentality for any given fight, more so when your opponent hails from a fighting family. Baysangurov, 21, has an older brother—Khussein—who suffered his first pro loss last December, as well as a cousin, Zaurbek who previously held a 154-pound title before having to concede his crown due to recurring injuries.

Friday’s contest will mark the first in the United States for Baysangurov, who is coming off of a points win over Paul Valenzuela last October in his adopted hometown of Kiev, Ukraine. On paper, it’s a step up in class for the rail-thin Russian middleweight.

Then again, as much was thought of Brant heading into last fall’s clash with Murata. The public perception was only heightened by his lone career loss, a 12-round decision to Jurgen Braehmer just one year prior in the opening round of the World Boxing Super Series in his lone career appearance at super middleweight. 

“I never lost focus of my goal to become champion, just as I’m focused on becoming more than just one of the middleweight champions,” Brant says of his drive to never settle for one big achievement. “Whatever people thought of my chances (after losing to Braehmer), I always knew what I was capable of against the best middleweights in the world.

“I was able to prove that against Murata last year, but there’s still so much work to be done. I don’t just want to have a middleweight title, I want to become THE middleweight champion of the world. The only way to get there is to continue to keep winning. I’m now that target that I always used to look for.”