Sexton: “I’m going to knock Chisora out”

The British and Commonwealth heavyweight titles are being contested on Saturday night as part of the Magnificent Seven bill in Birmingham. British champ Derek Chisora is taking on Commonwealth king Sam Sexton and the winner could be propelled onto the fringes of world class in what is a mediocre heavyweight division.

The pair previously shared a ring in 2008, Chisora came out on top on that occasion winning by way of a sixth round TKO. When their first fight took place both boxers were in the early stages of their careers. They only had 11 fights between them but now they have 27. The extra experience gained over the last two years should make for an even better contest than last time out.

“I’m a completely different fighter from back then, I was still like an amateur fighter at the start of my career. I hadn’t matured as a pro, I didn’t have great strength. I was throwing fast shots like an amateur boxer. I didn’t have my conditioner at the time, we got together after the Chisora fight. So basically I was just training like an amateur back then. These days I’ve got a strength coach who I do all the weights with, a conditioner and my trainer Graham Everett as well. 100% it's going to be a different fight this time," commented Sexton to BoxRec News.

Sam has been training like never before for this fight and feels that he is in the best shape of his career. “This is the longest camp I’ve ever had to be honest, its been sixteen weeks since I found out the fight was on but not all flat out obviously. The first few weeks I was working on strength sessions. Then doing more boxing stuff in the gym. Done lots of sparring and running, the lot.”

For someone who has only had fourteen fights Sexton has an impressive resume. Sam won the 2008 heavyweight version of Prizefighter, he won the Southern area title with a knock out win over Colin Kenna but is probably best known for his two victories over ultra tough Irish fighter Martin Rogan. Sexton travelled to Belfast to snatch the Commonwealth belt from Rogan in 2009 and then returned there to successfully defend six months later. Sexton feels those two bouts matured him as a fighter.

“To go over there and get a win like that I feel I can do it anywhere, since then my confidence has gone sky high. I cant see anything bothering me in the future.”

Confidence is a must with any boxer and when asked for his prediction for Saturday's bout Sam was not holding back any information. “I’m going to knock him out. I’m not going to say what round as I don’t want to tempt fate, but I feel I’m going to knock him out.”

Winning the British title can open doors onto the international stage. As we have seen before in the case of Danny Williams and Matt Skelton, promoter Frank Warren can get his fighters world title shots.

“At the press conference Frank Warren said that maybe after this one within five fights one of us could be fighting for a world title. I’ve got that in the back of my mind. Obviously I’ve got to get this fight out of the way first but having that on my mind is driving me forward and it’s a massive incentive for any fighter.”

With all the novice heavyweights currently breaking onto the scene Sam thinks UK fight fans could be in for some big domestic scraps in the near future. “I think the British scene is getting a lot better, we’ve got better fighters now than we’ve had in the past. A lot of people are saying our heavyweight scene was washed up but there is a lot of up and coming fighters coming through now," acknowledged Sexton.

"The fans are going to be seeing some good domestic fights soon. They’ve got to happen, they’ve got to fight each other. “When I win this fight at the weekend I hope I can move on to fight for European then world titles. I cant keep messing around on the domestic scene, keep fighting the same people and giving everyone else a chance, I want to move on," he continued.

Unfortunately Sexton does not see the world scene in the same perspective. “I think the world scene is a bit stale. The Klitschko brothers hold most of the belts and they will never fight each other so you're not going to see the big unifications that people want to see. I think when one of them retires it will get exciting again.”

Saturday's bill is the biggest of its kind in the UK for a while now and Sam is very excited about being part of it. “Oh definitely, this is the biggest bill the UK has had in a long time and to be on it and be part of the show is great. In the future when I say I won the British title on that show people will remember that night and hopefully that’s when everything really kicks off for me.”