Oldham puncher Mark Heffron is anticipating a firefight with the unbeaten Denzel Bentley, but feels their predicted war at the weekend could take a few rounds to catch light.
The heavy-handed middleweights meet at BT Sport Studios on Saturday, live on BT Sport 1 from 7.30pm in the UK, and Heffron clearly fancies the job.
“I’m gonna demolish him!” said former British title challenger Heffron (25-1, 19 KOs). “I don’t even know how it will play out. It could be a bit of a chess match at first but after a few rounds it will get lively. I don’t think he is the best of boxers, to be honest, and he was all over the place when Mick Hall put it on him. I think the only thing he can do is come forward, basically. I don’t think he has been hit before, but I have definitely got to be smart in what I do.
“This will get me right back on track, get a good win over Denzel and it should put me forward for big titles. I 100 per cent still want the British [title]. Hopefully, after beating Denzel, I will be fighting for the British in December.”
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Newly-crowned British light-heavyweight champion Shakan Pitters will return to defend his title on November 14, live on Channel 5 in the UK.
Pitters, who won the vacant British 175lbs crown with a decisive win over Chad Sugden in August, hopes to face Craig Richards in his first defence.
The duo were originally supposed to fight for the vacant title last December until Richards withdrew after suffering a viral infection. Pitters’ promoter Mick Hennessy has lodged the November 14 date with the British Boxing Board of Control and proposed Richards as the intended challenger, should he accept an offer along the lines of his original purse.
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Electric bantamweight prospect Dennis McCann will experience his first eight-rounder when he faces Portugal’s capable Pedro Matos at the BT Sport Studios in London on October 10. Matos has previously fought Sunny Edwards (LTKO8) and Quaise Khademi (L10) in the UK.
“This year has been very big one for me and I will do the exact same thing against better opposition as what I’ve been doing to most opponents,” said McCann (7-0, 5 KOs). “I will be putting them to sleep, never mind just stopping them. I believe Matos will be going that way.
“You either have it or you don’t, although you have to live the life and be dedicated. The best like Canelo Alvarez, Terence Crawford and Vasiliy Lomachenko were born with that talent. The elite fighters are born with it and I was also 100 per cent, for sure.”