The recent duel between Floyd Mayweather and Manny Pacquiao was mostly memorable for unheard of fees which greatly surpassed several hundred million dollars. Zavec is struggling to understand it: "It is crazy, and incomprehensible. Sport became much more than just sport, it became primarily business. We athletes are very often only an excuse for marketing, and business deals made in the background. You can hardly imagine such amounts, let alone earn them. In my opinion all the sums above a million are crossing the borders of humanity. I might be an idealist, but personally I would distribute the money to all the people in the world, and thus abolish poverty."
Zavec will probably fight again in the boxing ring in the autumn. He would like to conclude his career by unifying the belts in two different boxing versions. Presently the world champions are Erislandy Lara from Cuba (WBA version) and the Americans Floyd Mayweather(WBC), Cornelius Bundrage (IBF), and Demetrius Andrade (WBO). Will he fight against one of these champions? Dejan Zavec confirmed our expectations: "I would like one of these four to be my opponent. That is my goal; I will invest my energy into arranging a duel with one of them, but I don't keep it a secret that I would prefer to face Bundrage."
Boxing is a contact sport in which serious injuries are a possibility. Is he afraid of the negative consequences to his health after the end of his career? The Slovenian athlete of the year 2010 replies: "I think a lot about it. What is important is my life after the end of my career; I would hate to waste it now. During last years I have two to three fights per year; in this way the possibility for negative consequences after the fight is reduced. Boxing brings extreme strain to the body, including blows to the head, which of course is not healthy. I respect the sport I am practicing, and I also try to act reasonably towards myself – I never overestimate myself, but I try to estimate the situation, and primarily protect myself. I don't want success regardless of the price. I do wish to be successful, and I would do almost anything in order to succeed. But safety comes first. I would like to live a full life with my family after the end of my career."
During his career he endured approximately 10,000 blows in professional duels, but the heaviest blows must be endured during trainings. "Training is the eye of the needle you must pass through in order to get to a duel itself. The things that happen during training sessions are very rarely seen during a duel. While training you have protection, the points are not an issue, and you can afford a mistake. But trainings border on brutality. You need to exceed your limit during training in order to reach your maximum during real matches. The things which happen during training are much worse than when you fight for real," Zavec spoke honesty.
