Sport

Jamie Conlan plans to dethrone champion Anthony Nelson

Jamie Conlan takes on Anthony Nelson at the Copperbox Arena in London on Saturday night
Jamie Conlan takes on Anthony Nelson at the Copperbox Arena in London on Saturday night Jamie Conlan takes on Anthony Nelson at the Copperbox Arena in London on Saturday night

JAMIE CONLAN is a champion and he fights like one but, strangely enough, he has never fought against one.

Up to now, WBO Inter-Continental and European super-flyweight title holder Conlan has fought for vacant belts or put one of his on the line but, on Saturday night in London, he’s after Anthony Nelson’s Commonwealth strap.

Nelson (11-0) won the title this time last year by beating rookie Jamie Wilson and has defended it against another greenhorn in Ian Halsall (3-2-1) in September last year.

“He’s an undefeated fighter, I don’t think he’s mixed at my level, but he’s a champion - I’m fighting for a belt here,” said Conlan.

“He’s a champion, I have to go and take his belt - he has something to lose. He has more to fight for than anyone else I’ve ever fought. It’s always been either a vacant belt or my own belt on the line when I’m fighting but, now, I’m actually fighting for someone else’s belt and they have more to lose than me.”

The Commonwealth title was vacated by Kal Yafai last year and Conlan is keen to impress against Nelson at London’s Copper Box Arena on Saturday night: “It’s exactly the kind of fight I need at this stage of my career,” he said.

“I need to beat Nelson and I need to beat him in style because I need to go and snatch that belt off him - I need to take it away from him. He’s a come-forward fighter, a very aggressive fighter who throws loads of punches and puts you under severe pressure. I don’t think he’s a big puncher, but people I’ve been sparring with have said he’s strong.

“I’ve trained hard for the fight and the gameplan we’ve had has been brilliant all camp. We’ve worked on it and got everything down to a ‘T’. It’s just up to me to execute it next Saturday.”

WBO middleweight champion Billy Joe Saunders was originally scheduled to headline the London show, but he has pulled out with injury. In his absence, Hughie Fury (19-0) tops the bill when he takes on Fred Kassi (18-4-1) for the vacant WBO International heavyweight title.

“It’s a brilliant place for me to go and put on a show and put my name out there,” said Conlan.

“The little men don’t get as much recognition as they should, but this show is giving us a chance - there are British, Commonwealth and European title fights on it, so it’s a great show. It’s a great platform for all of us to try and out-do each other. I’m really excited about it, I’m actually buzzing for the whole show, the whole night.”

Conlan fought just twice last year. He won the WBO Inter-Continental super flyweight title in a barnstormer against Junior Granados in April and defended the title against Adrian Dimas Garzon in July. Since then, he has been sidelined by a shoulder injury, but he is good to go for Saturday night.

“Everything is grand,” he said.

“I did the right thing, I took Christmas off and relaxed, rested. Then, I did all my strength work and got strong and I’ve had no problems whatsoever in camp. Everything was done to perfection and I’m really happy with camp - I know everyone says it - but this has been an amazing camp. Everything I’ve been told to do, I’ve done.”