At just 19 years old, a fresh-faced Ryan Garner outlined his dream to fight at St Mary\u2019s Stadium, the home of Southampton Football Club.<\/p>\n
Back then, it must have sounded like little more than a fantasy, the type of thing a young prospect might say to generate media attention.<\/p>\n
For Garner, though, it was a dream he had visualised a thousand times over, knowing that one day he would be presented with an opportunity of such magnitude.<\/p>\n
No one could convince him or his trainer, Wayne Batten, that this dream would not become a reality, and while there has been no shortage of bumps in the road, the pair are now gearing up for the occasion they have long been working towards<\/a>.<\/p>\n Speaking with Boxing News, Garner made no attempt to hide his delight ahead of a WBC \u2018interim\u2019 super-featherweight title fight against Michael Magnesi, which takes place at St Mary\u2019s on June 20.<\/p>\n \u201cIn 2017, I did my first interview here [at St Mary\u2019s] with Trans World Sport. And here we are now.<\/p>\n \u201cWe\u2019ve manifested it for years, so for it to actually happen is just a dream come true.<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019m looking forward to hopefully making history and becoming Southampton\u2019s first ever world champion. I know it\u2019s an interim title, but it\u2019s still a world title at the end of the day.\u201d<\/p>\n While promoting his fight with Magnesi, Garner has revealed several glimpses of his footballing prowess.<\/p>\n Clearly a gifted athlete, it was only his aptitude for boxing, it seems, that stopped him from becoming a stylish winger at St Mary\u2019s.<\/p>\n \u201cI wasn\u2019t too bad at football when I was younger \u2013 I\u2019ll give myself that \u2013 but obviously I was better at fighting.<\/p>\n \u201cI started off as a striker, then went into central midfield and ended up on the right wing.\u201d<\/p>\n While he played for Southampton\u2019s academy from U7s to U10s, it soon became apparent that Garner was most effective with his fists.<\/p>\n Now, the 28-year-old has arguably reached his athletic prime, looking to become the leading contender for O\u2019Shaquie Foster\u2019s WBC strap.<\/p>\n