WEST Belfast middleweight Alfredo Meli takes on unbeaten Danny Dignum for the WBO European title at the Brentwood Centre in London on March 7.
Gerard Nugent trained warrior ‘Fredo’ has won 17 of his 18 contests to date and the sole blemish on his record was a draw against Conrad Cummings back in 2015. Dignum knocked out an out-of-sorts Cummings at London’s York Hall in November but he describes the meeting next month as “a real 50/50 bout”.
“Alfredo has a very good record on paper so it’s a real 50/50 bout,” said Dignum.
"I’ve not seen anything of him to be honest. My coach watched his last fight and said he comes forward a lot and has a high work rate which could suit me, as I like someone that comes forward.
"His last opponent was a good fighter so he’s been in there with some good opposition and he also boxed Conrad Cummings a few years back.
“I won’t be taking anything away from both of our results with Cummings as his fight was a long time ago, so I’m preparing for my hardest fight to date."
Meli is brave and strong and a crafty customer in the ring. His last fight was against highly-fancied German puncher Araik Marutjan at Falls Park in August and the motor mechanic recovered from a knockdown to score an unexpected points win and kick on to this opportunity.
"I'm really looking forward to this fight,” said the Immaculata ABC clubman.
“He has the WBO European title so a win here can catapult me high into the WBO rankings, so it's a great opportunity. I was pleased with the win in my last fight against an unbeaten fighter. It was a massive card to be a part of in Belfast and now I'm excited to compete on another huge MTK fight night."
