Liverpool fighter banking on amateur pedigree in London tomorrow night
Lee Jennings plans to prove the old adage that ‘records are just for DJs’ when he aims for glory in the Prizefighter Featherweights tomorrow night live on Sky Sports 1 and HD1 from 8pm.
The Liverpool man pulled off an upset first round win in June when he stopped the previously unbeaten Carl Truman just over two minutes into the opening round as a perfect confident booster for the York Hall show.
That win moved the 30 year-old to 5-2 after three years as a pro, and he insists that he can upset the odds in the 22nd edition of Matchroom Sport’s eight-man, one night tournament.
He said: “I’ve been around for a long time and things like records really don’t bother me. Maybe I wasn’t meant to beat Chris Truman on paper – he was 7-0 and I was coming in off my second loss in six fights as a pro.
“But that just proves my point about records – they don’t mean anything really, if you prepare properly and believe in yourself, anything can happen on the night and that could be the case for any of us tonight.”
The Liverpool boxer had 80 fights as an amateur and hopes that experience will benefit him over the three-round distance tonight.
He said: “Sometimes I wish I had turned over sooner but I’m here now and I don’t want to dwell on it. I started training when I was ten, had my first fight when I was 11. It was a long amateur career but I enjoyed all of it and all my friends were in the gym with me so it was great, a really huge part of my life and a very enjoyable one.”
The boxing scene in Jennings’ home city is thriving at the moment with regular shows and boasts stars such as Tony Bellew, David Price, Paul Smith, Stephen Smith, Derry Matthews and Rocky Fielding, who won the Prizefighter Super-Middleweights earlier this year. Now Jennings wants to become the latest Scouse star.
He said: “There’s a real buzz around the city with some top lads and some real potential stars and Liverpool is really proving to be the boxing heartland of the North West now, taking over from Manchester.
“With the boxing scene so vibrant up there, there’s going to be lots of massive shows in the city in the Echo Arena and in the Olympia. Winning Prizefighter could get me on those bills and hopefully topping them soon too.”
In Jennings’ way tomorrow night is the Mongolian Warrior and former World champion Choi Tseveenpurev, unbeaten pair Lee Glover (6-0 from Tipton) and Troy James (9-0-1 from Coventry), TRAD TKO gym pals George Jupp and Ian Bailey, Manchester prospect Rhys Roberts and Nottingham’s Barrington Brown.
Prizefighter begins at 8pm with British Featherweight ring legends Barry McGuigan and Colin McMillan performing the draw live in the ring. Before the action gets underway, Enfield hope Andreas Evangelou makes his third appearance as the latest Prizefighter Prospect, with his contest underway at 7.30pm.
A limited number of unreserved tickets will be available on the door from 6.30pm at York Hall, Bethnal Green priced at £35.
Prizefighter Featherweights weigh-in results
Ian Bailey (9st 14oz)
Barrington Brown (9st 1lb 7oz)
Choi Tseveenpurev (9st 1lb 6oz)
Lee Glover (9st 1lb 8oz)
Troy James (9st 1lb 3oz)
Lee Jennings (9st 13lb 8oz)
George Jupp (9st 1lb 2oz)
Mike Robinson (9st 1lb 5oz)
Reserves:
Dai Davies (9st 1lb) and Davey Savage Jr. (9st 12oz)
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