Ted Cheeseman says he is a much-improved fighter and primed to regain his old British crown against Liverpool’s unbeaten James Metcalf at the Europa Point Sports Complex in Gibraltar on Saturday.
Bermondsey’s Cheeseman (16-2-1, 9 KOs) will contest the vacant British super-welterweight title against Metcalf, feeling rejuvenated after a stirring points win over Sam Eggington at Matchroom’s Fight Camp last August and subsequent development in the gym.
That victory re-energised Cheeseman after the disappointment of losing his cherished British title on a wafer thin points decision to Preston’s Scott Fitzgerald in October 2019. Now the South Londoner says he is ready to win back the belt he feels he never lost in the ring.
“It would mean everything to me to win the British title back,” said Cheeseman. “I believe that I didn’t deserve to lose it. In my opinion, the only fight that I deserved to lose was against [European champion] Sergio Garcia. I believe my record should be eighteen wins with one loss. But we push on. As I’ve shown, as long as you keep moving and keep your head down, you’ll get back to where you want to be.
“I’m not looking past this fight. This is a tough fight. James Metcalf is a 21-0 fighter and he’s a good fighter. I’ve done that a million times before, ‘I want to fight this person and I want to fight that person’, all I know is by winning this fight it’s going to get me the British title back. I’m going to push into the top 5 rankings with the IBF and I’ll just have to wait and see what my manager and team have planned for me.
“This fight you’re going to see Ted Cheeseman coming off a big win against Sam Eggington, with another half a year or so improvement in the gym. I’ve been working hard with Tony [Sims] and I’ve had some good sparring. I’ve been leaving the gym thinking about what I did in the session and what I can improve upon. That’s why you’re going to see such a better Ted Cheeseman in this fight.
“I’m highly confident of getting the win. On paper, James will be one of the toughest opponents that I’ve faced in my career. Looking through his resume, there’s not really anyone that I can pick out as a tough fight. Jason Welborn was the biggest fight, and no disrespect to Jason but it’s a fight James should have been winning. We’re going to see how good Metcalf is this weekend. Whether he’s the real deal or whether he’s found his level.”
Photo: Mark Robinson/Matchroom Boxing.