Unbeaten 147-pounder Rylan Charlton says he doesn’t really rate rival Florian Marku and will ‘beat him up’ when they clash over 10 rounds on the David Avanesyan-Josh Kelly undercard at the SSE Arena, Wembley, on February 20.
The duo have been jousting on social media ever since the match was made but the Norwich man believes he will have too much in his locker for the ‘Albanian King’ when they meet in the ring in 16 days’ time.
Charlton was underwhelmed by Marku’s draw against the unsung Jamie Stewart in December, but expects the popular Albanian (8-0-1, 5 KOs) to raise his game later this month.
“Florian’s last performance wasn’t any good. He’s got to come to the table with everything this time. He’s got to perform in this fight. We’ll see the best Florian Marku against me, but it’s not going to be enough. He’s alright, I don’t rate him that much,” said Charlton (6-0-1, 3 KOs).
“He was a kickboxing world champion, so I respect that. If you come into the boxing game calling everyone out, you’re going to come unstuck. I don’t think his boxing skill is up there at all really, I don’t rate it. He can call me what he wants. When I beat him up, it’s just going to look bad on him because he got beaten up by a body builder.
“I’ve got respect for everyone that gets in the ring, especially anyone that gets in the ring with me – I wouldn’t want to get in the ring with me! I’m there to do a job. We can get in the bubble and he can mouth off all he wants, but I’m there to do a job. By any means necessary, I’m there to win – knockout or points, whatever. It’s going to be a Charlton win.”
Main image: Matchroom Boxing.