'It's game over once AJ warms up'

Simon Roberts signs off our conversation with ‘be safe my friend’ which if said by anyone but this guy would seem odd, but coming from the man responsible for protecting some of the most high profile sports stars in the country it is totally understandable and somewhat reassuring.

Simon is the Director of Operations for Security Alert UK (SAUK), also known as the company responsible for the huge lumps that stand between warring boxers at weigh-ins up and down the country.

He has taken time to speak to The Boxing Banter within minutes of the Anthony Joshua v Wladimir Klitschko weigh in finishing and already has one eye on tomorrow’s main event, an event which him, Managing Director and regular IFL TV guest Clifton Mitchell and the rest of their team have been preparing for a long time.

‘For a major show like Wembley myself and my two main men in operations Neal Harding (Head of Boxing) and Andy Brown (Head of Sports Security- famed for his ‘Don’t Touch the Boxers David command at the heated Haye v Bellew press conference) we have collectively spent around 300 hours on planning for this show.’

Such is the regimented preparation for an event of this magnitude Simon already knows exactly how the team’s day will pan out ahead of the showdown at the Home of English Football.

‘Same as usual; Breakfast as a team, then in the morning we meet at the venue and then in the PM we have our final safety brief.’

Simon and his team are afforded a rare glimpse into the mind set of an elite level performer and over the years have developed a solid understanding of what each individual’s requirements are so close to battle.

‘We know all of the boxers personally; they all trust us implicitly as we are the last line of defence for them. We know the mind set of them, we know when to help and when to back off.’

Boxers tend to have a better reputation in terms of being approachable and personable than say the modern footballer and Simon can vouch for that when asked about which fighter he enjoys working with the most.

‘There are too many to mention. I’m a huge fan of being humble and appreciative of what you have, so I don’t tend to do egos with fighters. Boxing is the hardest thing in the world to earn a living, it’s barbaric. You’re trying to hurt your opponent, to knock them out! I have to give all of the fighters my respect.’

His level of respect and understanding is also clear when it is asked of him if there have been any fighters that he hasn’t been so fond of working with.

‘Well…all of them 15 minutes before weigh-in!’

Like any boxing fan everyone has their favourite events that they have attended and with such exclusive access to some of the biggest events it’s no surprise that Simon’s are of the highest echelons.

‘Easily Froch v Groves 2! The sound of the crowd when George went over will live with me forever, it made my spine shiver.

The o2 atmosphere for AJ is pretty special. Before that it was Hatton v Tszyu, a 2AM ring walk, mental VIP’s all over the place like Russell Crowe and Tom Cruise!’

Simon and his team will be in attendance on Saturday night when Anthony Joshua takes on Wladimir Klitschko and SAUK top man is clear on the outcome of the fight.

‘It’s game over once AJ is warm! I still remember what Corrie Sanders did to Wlad…Big KO!’

Follow Simon on twitter for an insight into the life of Boxing Security @boxingsecurity