Exclusive | Champion Donovan Wisse sends chilling message before GLORY 107: “I love pain.”
Donovan Wisse admits the road to GLORY 107 has been a frustrating one. Originally preparing to move up in weight for a light heavyweight title fight against Bahram Rajabzadeh, Wisse is now back in middleweight mode for a title defense against reigning GLORY welterweight champion Chico Kwasi. GLORY announced the updated main event for April 25 in Rotterdam as a champion-vs.-champion clash, with Kwasi moving up to challenge Wisse for the middleweight belt.
“To be honest, it’s been a difficult road,” Wisse said. “I was moving up in weight, and now I’m dropping back down to middleweight again. Camp has been good, but the weight cut has been a little frustrating. Still, that comes with the sport. Nothing is certain until you step into the ring.”
Donovan Wisse embraces title-fight grind: “I Know How to Deal With Pain”
Wisse said Kwasi presents a completely different challenge from the opponents he has dealt with in recent years.
“He throws everything from every angle,” Wisse said. “Sometimes when he lets his shots go, you think, ‘What did he just do?’ You don’t really have sparring partners who can match him because of his long arms and the different things he does. But we’re sharp, our timing is good, our eyes are good, and we’re ready.”
Despite the late switch, Wisse made it clear that his long-term goal has not changed: he still wants to become a two-division champion.
“I still want to move up. I still want both belts,” he said. “If I had known eight weeks earlier that I’d be fighting Chico, I would have trained very differently. But I’m almost there now, and I’ll be on weight. That won’t be a problem.”
Already widely regarded as the most accomplished middleweight champion in GLORY history, Wisse said his success is rooted in a simple mentality: winning.
“I don’t do this sport to play,” he said. “I come to win. I do everything for the win. My mentality is a winning mentality. I want to show these guys every fight that I’m better than them.”
That mindset was evident in his most recent outing against Michael Boapeah, a fight in which Wisse said he had to dig deep through multiple injuries to secure the victory.
Yeah, I was busted up. My calves were swollen and purple. He really did good damage with the calf kicks. But I can deal with pain. I say to my pupils and to myself: pain is pain. Pain is good. I love pain — well, I don’t like pain — but I know how to deal with pain. It doesn’t faze me.
Outside the ring, Wisse continues to build his Dream Chaser initiative, helping develop fighters and organize events, particularly in Suriname. He also spoke about visiting schools and reading to children, saying it means a lot to serve as a role model.
“The principals and teachers ask me to come read for the children, and it’s nice to be a figure for them,” Wisse said. “A lot of them know me from television because their parents watch my fights. That’s special.”
When asked what advice he would give to young people who now look up to him, Wisse pointed to discipline, patience, and family guidance.
“Listen to your parents, be patient, be positive, and train hard,” he said. “Whatever you do, get everything out of it that you can. I’m not doing this to play — this is my life, and I love it.”
Donovan Wisse is set to defend his GLORY middleweight world title against reigning welterweight champion Chico Kwasi in the main event of GLORY 107, which takes place on April 25 in Rotterdam, Netherlands. The bout came together after Wisse’s previously scheduled light heavyweight title fight against Bahram Rajabzadeh was scrapped, setting up a champion-vs-champion clash with Kwasi moving up in weight to challenge for the belt.
