BRADFORD native Dan Garber admits his marquee heavyweight bout with Thomas Carty in Dublin back in November on a Katie Taylor undercard made him realise he needs boxing in his life more than he realised.

He admitted to the T&A that it provides him with the mental stimulation he needs, along with his weekly work with a sports hypnotist.

And while his upcoming fight at Cedar Court Hotel in Bradford against Joe Nakavulevu (1-6-1) on the first weekend of February is not quite giving him the same buzz as his big night in Ireland, he is glad to be getting back in the ring fairly quickly.

Relative unknown Garber (5-2) still cannot quite believe what went down during his mad week in Dublin, saying: “It was an unbelievable experience.

“I flew out there with my trainer Andy Lowry and we had a chauffeur driving us everywhere.

“He picked the two of us up, along with (two-time featherweight world champion) Josh Warrington and (former English lightweight title holder) Reece Mould, and all four of us were put up in the same hotel.

“Fight week was amazing and I got to sit next to Eddie Hearn at a press conference and speak to him.

“I ended up meeting so many big names in boxing that I could never have imagined getting to speak to in my whole life.”

As for the fight itself, overwhelming favourite Carty won in front of his home crowd to go 7-0, but he only knocked out Garber with seconds left in the eight-round fight.

That was an impressive effort from the Bradfordian, given none of Carty’s previous five opponents had lasted more than five rounds against the Irishman.

Garber reflected: “Most people predicted I’d get knocked out straight away but he only finished me off with 30 seconds to go and that was after he’d cracked my ribs in round four.

“I broke down in tears after the knockout, because I’d been determined to make it to the end of the fight, even though Tom would have been the fully deserving winner on points too.

“I’d only had five weeks to prepare for the fight after I was offered it, and it was a massive, massive step up from the fight I was supposed to have with Joe, who I’ve got next now instead.

“I’d dislocated my knee in August too, but there was no way I wasn’t taking the fight.

“I had to put in an intense five or six weeks of preparation, giving up work, training twice a day, and sparring with a couple of lads and doing that for eight to ten rounds, as opposed to my usual six.

“That all meant I felt good by the time it came to the fight itself and I felt I caused him problems with one of my biggest strengths, my movement, because Thomas will destroy you with his power if you just stand in front of him.

“I have no regrets really, I did the best I could, and my stock has gone up as a result.”

Bradford Telegraph and Argus: Dan Garber (left) knows he was out-boxed by Thomas Carty, but is proud of how he held his own during the bout.Dan Garber (left) knows he was out-boxed by Thomas Carty, but is proud of how he held his own during the bout. (Image: PA.)

Garber admitted he found Carty a bit cocky before the fight, but with the pair having now shared a ring, spoken over in Dublin, and sent each other messages, the Bradford man has warmed to the impressive Irishman.

And it was a chat with Carty that has helped Garber open his eyes to what boxing really means to him.

He said: “Tom spoke to me in Dublin about just how much he needs boxing, but he meant that more from a money point of view.

“And while I’m not really interested in going for things like Central Area titles, because I want to box on those big stages for decent money, it struck me how much of a buzz I lost after the build up to the fight and then the week in Ireland itself.

“So while it is a massive comedown from that Eddie Hearn show in Dublin to fighting Joe on a small-hall show in Bradford, I’ve realised I need boxing in my life mentally more than anything.

“I’ve been seeing a sports hypnotist, like Steve Collins did before beating Chris Eubank in 1995, for the last few months.

“It’s helped me with my confidence massively and it gets me in the zone.

“All week leading up to the fight with Tom I was loving the experience, but on the day of the bout, I was really in my own head all alone in my hotel room.

“I decided to ring my hypnotist and told him I needed a session there and then, so that’s what we did, two hours before the fight.

“It’s more important for me to do that before those big-money, big-stage bouts, but I’ve still kept up my work with my hypnotist ahead of this fight against Joe.

“I can’t look past Joe at all, because I need to beat him convincingly if I want to get back to where I’m wanting to in terms of those marquee fights.”

Garber is still looking to sell tickets for that upcoming fight against Nakavulevu on Saturday, February 3, and wants people to contact him on 07805 153005 to buy those or to ask for further information.