Shayne aims to bring the pain
By Jamie Albrecht: Promoter Steve Wood will undoubtedly be pleased with his ultimate effort to save the incident stricken Municipal Hall show at Colne, which is to now take place on Friday 8th October. The show was to originally take place on Friday, 27th September, but an eye injury to Stuart McFadyen called a halt to proceedings and sadly also ended “The Burnley Banger’s” developing boxing career.
Events such as this, as well as the exit of welterweight Chris O’Brien from proceedings after sustaining a broken hand must have equalled a headache for the VIP matchmakers. On the upside, it has allowed this Friday’s event to become a showcase for the younger talent on their books, and they will take every opportunity given to them to impress.
At the top of bill Friday evening will be fledgling light-welterweight Shayne “The Pain” Singleton (5-0-0, 2 KO’s) in action against Devon’s Ali Wyatt (4-13-2, 4 KO’s). The contest will be Shayne’s first foray into six round territory, and as the local fighter topping the bill, he will be keen to be at his best.
“I’m over the moon about being top of the bill at Colne, it is something I’ve always wanted, with it being my home town, and I definitely believe it will bring out the best in me as I want to look good for the home fans."
As far as training for his first six round contest is concerned, Shayne has increased his training performance in the gym to be sure that he covers the distance effectively.
“As it’s my first six round fight, the biggest change I have made in terms of upping my performance in training is to do with sparring...I am now sparring ten rounds to be sure that I can easily cover the six round distance on the night."
Having looked at Wyatt’s record, Singleton must also realise that this assignment is not as easy as it looks, a point the Colne man acknowledges. “Wyatt’s boxed at international masters level (For context, any pro can box at this level by challenging the belt holder - Ed.) and although he lost, I know this means he has the experience of being at a higher level, so have got to keep that in mind."
Despite the note of caution, Shayne was confident in predicting the points win. “I want to get some rounds in the bank and mainly concentrate on my boxing...I like to have a fight in the gym and my trainer isn’t keen on this, as he says I should only have a tear up when it’s really necessary. As the level of opposition increases, boxing will be more important than looking to go all out."
In addition to the main event, a number of other prospects will be looking to increase their win ratios. Exciting Heywood bantamweight Kieran Farrell will clash with the considerably bigger Daniel Thorpe, whilst super-bantamweight Mike Robinson fills the void left by Stuart McFadyen when he fights Shaun Doherty.
Wayne Bennett will face off against Nuneaton’s Kristian Laight in a welterweight encounter and Steve Harkin fights Bobby Wood at super-middleweight. Tickets for the “Showcase” bill at Colne Municipal Hall on Friday the 8th October are priced at £30. Tickets bought for the 27th September date remain valid.
Tickets available from WWW.VIPBE.CO.UK
Doors open: 7.00pm Boxing Commences at 8.00pm
