Daniel Jacobs and Sergiy Derevyanchenko have sparred more than 300 rounds together, but when they fight for the vacant IBF middleweight title this weekend on HBO, Jacobs says it won’t be a fight between old friends.

“There’s no personal relationship,” stated Jacobs. “I mean I don’t dislike the guy. I think he’s a really phenomenal, humble gentleman. But, he doesn’t know English so it’s really hard for us to have any relationship outside of the gym or saying hello and goodbye. I haven’t heard him say five English words. So, it’s really like, it’s kind of hard to have a real relationship with somebody that can’t speak English. But, I do know that he’s a very nice guy. I do know that he’s always respectful. He’s very humble. I know these things…but none of that stuff matters when so much is at stake. You got to understand. When you’ve been fighting all your life and you get this close to your goal, it really didn’t matter who is in there. It could have been Andre Rozier at the opposite side of the ring.”