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With a week to go until Pembroke Dock’s Scott Gammer makes his first defence of the British Heavyweight Championship against East London’s Micky Steeds, everyone is predicting a close fight.
Steed, 8-1, hailing from the Isle of Dogs, goes into this match-up at the Afan Lido in Port Talbot, Wales with one previous defeat against Gammer in February 2005. That is the only blemish on his record and he has vowed that he will be taking the British title strap back to London with him.
Speaking at the press conference held at Cardiff’s MacDonald Holland House hotel, Steeds was bullish about his chances, saying that they were both very different fighters from the bout
“I really see this as a 50-50 fight, and there isn’t much between us as boxers at all,” said Steeds.
“Last time I fought him it was at two weeks notice, when I had been preparing for a fight with a guy who was 3-3 in his record, but I felt then that I had to take it. This time out, I’m much fitter, we’ve been training down at some horse stables away from London for the past five weeks, and to be honest, there’s not much else to do down there except train.
“My technique is very much about speed, but the important thing is that we’re fighting, especially with so many fighters who are out there beating bums, like Audley Harrison, and people too busy looking after their undefeated records.”
Scott Gammer, 16-0-1, was due to face off against his mandatory challenger Danny Williams, who pulled out because the 13 October date was in the middle of the Muslim holiday Ramadan, which means that all Muslims fast during the day, and only eat during the hours of nighttime.
Gammer was philosophical about the switch in opponents, saying: “If his religion comes first then that is how it had to be and I respect that. He is still my mandatory challenger and once that holiday is over then I’m sure we’ll look again at that.
“Danny is a very big guy, but in his last fight he came in at 20 ½ stone, and he was way too big, and was just slow and couldn’t catch Skelton. I’m confident I’m going to win this one, but he’s obviously going to be coming down looking to win as well. I’m expecting him to have very fast hands, which he had last time out, and for that we have been working on my
speed work ready for him.”
John Rooney Jr is Steeds’ trainer, and accompanied him on his training camp at the Stanmore Stables in Middlesex. “We’ve had Micky up there training in the Stanmore Stables, and the facilities there have been 100%,” said Rooney.
“He’s been out in the morning each day running in the gallops, and then we’ve had sessions twice a day. He’s four times as fit as he was the last time he fought Scott, and I think it could be a late stoppage win.”
Scott is trained by his father Ralph, who is confident his son will come through his first title defence. His view was: “I would like Scott to win by a stoppage in this one, because it would really send out a big message to the heavyweight division saying that he’s here and he means business. I think it will probably come in the later rounds of the fight, or maybe go
the distance again. We always train for a 12 round fight, and it could well be that that is the case.”
The heavyweight title fight is the headline of the evening from the Afan Lido in Port Talbot on Friday the 13th October, and will be screened live by Sky Sports 1 in the UK.
Elsewhere on the bill is a WBC/IBF Youth Middleweight Championship bout between Pole Gregorz Proksa and Argentinean Ignacio Fraga, and six other bouts.
