WWE Superstar and Bellator Heavyweight Fighter Bobby Lashley is all set to take on Brock Lesnar at WWE Royal Rumble 2022 on January 30. Known as the “The All Mighty”, Lashley, is the ‘third African-American to hold the WWE Championship’ and ‘one of two wrestlers to have won the WWE, ECW, and TNA/Impact world championships’. Lashley chatted with The Telegraph ahead of the big clash.

After close to two decades in the ring, what keeps you motivated for a fresh fight?

I am hungry (laughs). I am a competitor and that’s what makes it exciting for me to take on different challenges. I got to constantly accomplish something. As a young kid, I always wanted to do something else. If there was a race, I always wanted to be in the first place and... work my ass off to get there. At any stage of my life I need those competitions. I need them to be bigger, harder and more challenging.... That’s why I am so excited about this match. It’s a big guy, a scary guy, a mean guy, a ruthless guy... it is like climbing Mount Everest without any tools. It’s the biggest accomplishment you can achieve and that is why it is so exciting to me. That being said, my sheer desire to win and continue to grow, is what excites me about this match.

Looking back, how did it all begin for you?

I am going to make a very long story, very very short. (Laughs) I was at a wrestling camp back in my sophomore year in high school. There was a bunch of people in the camp and after the camp was over, we decided that we are going to do some wrestling. There were 60-70 kids and one of the guys saw a frisbee stuck in the rafters and over the course of the next probably 45 minutes or so, everybody was throwing a tennis ball up to the top to get this thing out. It was super hot and as time went by, more and more people would just leave, and leave and leave. Forty five minutes into, there were just three guys over there still doing it. Then the last two left. The last one left was the camp counsellor, the coach for the camp and he kept going. He hit and knocked it off. The most successful person in the room was the only one who stayed afterwards and made sure he accomplished that mission. It is something I learnt in the military and in life... when I saw that, everything changed for me. I understood that the key to success, for me, is persistence. You don’t quit. Just keep going harder and harder and harder and never stop, until you get there and it started out from seeing that happen.

At the next wrestling match, any attempt I had at any shot, I did not give up on it. If I were trying to get somebody’s leg, I would be so relentless in getting their leg that I would shoot till I took them down. In everything else, I took the same model. If you want something, there is no secret. You got to work and work and work. If you want something hard enough, it’s going to happen.

My coach would tell me this before every wrestling match... he would sit us all down a couple of days before and ask: ‘Are you all ready?’ Then he would say, don’t answer that because all you would say is ‘yeah yeah coach’, but that night before the competition, you are going to look at yourself in the mirror and you can’t lie to yourself. So, you got to remember those times when you should have been working out or getting a little bit of extra sleep... you got to remember those things that you did which pulled you away from your goal. Those things are going to haunt you. Now going forward, make sure you don’t have those things. Dedicate yourself to something that you want and go after it. That is why I am here right now doing what I am doing, living my best life because I have put in so much work up to this point that I learnt from this guy way back when I was 15 years old... him going after getting a floppy frisbee down from the rafters of a gym... I am still using those lessons today.

What have been some of your memorable fights?

Man... I don’t know where to begin. Growing up I was such a huge Kane fan... I remember we were doing a match in Albuquerque, it was a live event... we did some kind of a mini barrel roll and everybody was going out and the last two, me and Kane... he threw somebody out and I was sparring somebody and I threw him out... I felt the presence and turned around and standing across me, a big red machine and my inner fanboy was... my heart was beating. It was one of the coolest experiences I had in the first part of my career.

Then I can probably think of a hundred other instances... just getting in the ring with Booker T, being in the ring with William Regal... some of these guys I was fortunate enough to be just in the ring with.... Battle of The Billionaires with Umaga. He and I had great synergy, working in the ring together... it was an incredible time and then just being in a high-profile match was really cool. Winning the world title was cool. Winning against The Miz. He is a superstar and you have to give it to him. Then being in WrestleMania with Drew (McIntyre). He is going to be one of those megastars in this business. He is still young and a superstar.... I have been blessed to have the opportunity to do all the things that I have done in this business... it’s crazy... I am living a dream, man.

Our readers would love to get a glimpse of your diet and fitness routine. The ones you post on your Instagram are killer!

There are times when I work out on my own and there are times when I work out with the strength and conditioning coach. I have a strength and conditioning coach now because it’s a different style of match up… it’s not about who can bench press the most, it’s a physical competition. Sometimes I put in my whole team... recovery, training and nutrition... my diet is crazy right now. My training programme has been really dialled in. Everything is feeling good.

What of your personal food cravings have you had to let go because of the sport you are into?

If I told you what are my favourite things to eat, it is right in line with my diet. It’s what I eat every morning. I have oatmeal with this certain protein and blueberries. If I get to eat that as every meal, I would have it. I love it. So, I don’t have any big cravings. I am not a big sweet guy. I like cookies every now and again and cheese burgers. So, I eat those anyway because they are a part of my diet.

The only thing that I think I will change once I am done competing in wrestling is move towards a more vegetarian and vegan lifestyle. I did it several years before and I enjoyed it.

How much has your army stint played a part in the discipline of your life?

I think a great deal and I always tell people that military service for people coming out of high school is super important. We all know that we need to be in some kind of a routine in order to be successful. When I was in the army, these are things they made you do (wake up in the morning). There was no ‘may be’ or ‘want to’. They put you on such a strict path.

The strict discipline that I got from the military and growing up with a father who was a drill sergeant, has helped me out today. When I regress and everybody does a little bit... ‘I didn’t get two workouts... I only got one’... or ‘I didn’t eat the right meal’... I have those times....

From a distance, you look invincible. What makes you emotional?

My kids. Everything about my kids. I feel so proud... to see them eating makes my heart full... anything those kids do makes me happy. I live my life for my kids.

Watch the LIVE coverage of WWE Royal Rumble 2022 on SONY TEN 1 (English), SONY TEN 3 (Hindi) and SONY TEN 4 (Tamil and Telugu) channels on January 30 from 6.30am (IST). Repeat telecast: 11am; 8pm