RONNIE O’SULLIVAN has fallen out of love with professional boxing because he hates how the top guys sometimes get easy fights with hand-picked bums.
Yet you could never accuse Rocky Ronnie of shirking an opponent over a snooker table.
And unlike the elite pugilists who go out of their way to avoid their big rivals, the Rocket is going to relish the chance to face heavyweight foe John Higgins for perhaps the final time.
If O’Sullivan wants to win an eighth world snooker title, he knows he will have to do it the hard way and deliver another knockout blow on an old adversary.
O’Sullivan versus Higgins, 50, in the second round of the World Championship will be the 80th meeting in their long histories and the seventh time it has occurred in Sheffield.
There have been no more frequent match-ups at the Worlds, though Steve Davis versus Terry Griffiths and Stephen Hendry versus Jimmy White also met on seven occasions in South Yorkshire.
O’Sullivan is the seven-time world champion but has only played 28 times this season – half the action of four-time Crucible King Higgins, who has 56 matches under his belt since last summer.
The snooker scrapper claims he will be the underdog over the three sessions and the pressure will be on the Scotsman.
However, he says that compared to team sports where the star forward can be rested, or in boxing where the best fights never happen, O’Sullivan has always been prepared to take on all-comers.
O’Sullivan said: “In snooker, you just have to do it all by yourself.
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“I wish I was a footballer or playing in the NFL or something where you can ask the boss if I could have a month off.
“Or please don’t let me play against him because I don’t like playing against him.
“But my whole career has been like, you’ve got to be here this time, play that person.
“And I’ve had to play all the best players of different generations.
“A lot of these fighters who get hand-picked opponents for them… I’ve had to play the field.
“I always say, that’s why I fell out of love with boxing, because some people get the easy path, some people have to do the hard path.
“I respect boxers that do the hard path, because you think, OK, at least they’re fighting the best out there.
“And I think my career has been like that. I’ve had to just do it the hard way, if you like.
“John loves playing me. He really enjoys it. I think he plays better against me than I do against him.
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The world’s best snooker players are back at the Crucible for the World Championship.
Zhao Xintong arrives in Sheffield as the reigning champion and he will look to break a 49-year curse and lift the trophy again.
Ronnie O’Sullivan is out for his eighth crown as he tries to move ahead of Stephen Hendry’s seven on the all-time list.
World No1 Judd Trump, four-time champion Mark Selby and 2024 winner Kyren Wilson also fancy their chances of going all the way.
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“I’ll probably be a bit of an underdog because I’ve hardly played for the last three years, compared to John.
“He’s at every tournament and beaten a lot of good players. He’s probably favourite. The pressure’s off me and more on John in this match.”
O’Sullivan, Higgins and Mark Williams all turned professional at the same time in 1992, having had decent amateur careers.
Between them they have 14 world titles and if styles make the best fights in boxing, then that is the same situation in their fascinating snooker battles.
O’Sullivan said: “I think I find it easier playing Mark than I do John. I think John enjoys playing me. I enjoy playing Mark, and Mark enjoys playing John.
“John doesn’t like playing Mark. It’s strange but it’s styles, whatever it is. That’s how I’ve always seen it.”
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