At this point, it’s no secret that Kelly Slater is making a run at his 10th world title and the rumored $10 million dollar bonus Quiksilver has offered him if he claims it. At this point, I’m not sure how Quik will make good on that offer, but alas. While many of us might rush to the conclusion that Kelly’s #10 is all but in the bank, there’s at least one person that isn’t quite ready to step aside and declare him the ‘09 world champ, yet.

Mick Fanning’s making no secret that he’s fired up and ready to duke it out on the waves with The King. In a recent article with Gold Coast, Mick admits that he just wasn’t motivated last year and pretty much rolled over, letting Kelly make him and everyone else look stupid. He’s letting it be known though that the same ‘burning ambition’ that brought him the title in ‘07 is back and he’s looking forward to battling it out with Slates.

“Last year was a really different year for me,” said Fanning yesterday… “I wasn’t all that motivated. The few years building up to (the world title) there was a lot of strenuous work and last year I wasn’t as focused on winning. I just wanted to enjoy a year and not be so flat out with it all. It was good to take a step back. It was a really good learning curve and for this year there are no distractions and everything is feeling good. I have put myself first again. I am fit and healthy and pretty excited and motivated for the year.”

If Kelly surfs on a completely different level from the rest of the top 44, as he did last year, no amount of words or ambition from Mick, or any of the competitors, will matter. It’s time to start talking about who will win the title in 2010… this year’s already spoken for.

Tags: ASP World Tour, Kelly Slater, Mick Fanning, WCT

Posted by Cameron on Thursday, January 29th, 2009 in Surfing.

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