Hennessy Boxing: Super Middle Dwayne Lewis Calls Out The Olympians

Undefeated Dwayne “Night Nurse” Lewis believes he’s the dark horse in the super middleweight division.

While Olympic medallists like James Degale, Tony Jeffries and Darren Sutherland have been grabbing the headlines for their amateur exploits, Lewis is adamant that he’s the best of the emerging 12 stone bunch.

The Tottenham Hotspur fanatic is currently unbeaten in 7 pro starts and has his next outing at the York Hall, Bethnal Green on July 18th.

The bout is on the undercard of the British Light Heavyweight title clash between unbeaten duo Danny McIntosh and Nathan Cleverly with the Hennessy Sports event being screened live on ITV4.

Lewis has been sparring Beijing Gold medallist James Degale in preparation for next months bout and he feels that despite his amateur pedigree Degale still has a lot to learn about the pro game. “I found the sparring with him quite easy,” revealed the Canning Town native.

“As far as I’m concerned he’s still an amateur. When you turn professional you need to change you’re style and I don’t think he’s done that yet. Everything is different in the pro ranks including the training and the sparring and a lot of these amateur stars have to learn that the hard way.

“These Olympians are getting all the coverage because they did well in the amateur game and that’s fair enough but people need to realise that amateur boxing and professional boxing are two different sports altogether.

“You only have to look at what’s happened to both of Britain’s medallists from the previous two Olympics. Khan’s been knocked out and his chin is always going to be a problem in the pro’s and Audley Harrison has failed abysmally in making a name for himself.

“All credit to these guys for what they’ve done as amateurs but the pro’s is a man’s sport. It takes a different set of attributes to succeed in the pro game and a lot of these good amateurs fade away and never amount to anything as professionals.”

Lewis says he’d be happy to give any of the Olympians a personal introduction into the world of professional boxing. “I’m on the verge of the British top 10 at the moment and once I’ve cracked the top 10 some of these Olympians might be ready for a real fight and looking to make some noise.

“I don’t have anything to prove against those guys but if they want it then I’ll be waiting for them to show them just how tough the pro game is.”

Lewis however is very much his own man and is already planning his own route to the top. “I want to get this one out of the way on July 18th and then have a couple of 8 rounders to get me in the mix for a Southern Area title before the end of the year. Then all going well I can start moving through the levels next year”.

Lewis will have an interested spectator ringside at the York Hall next month in the shape of Spur’s striker Jermain Defoe. Lewis has been friends with the England international since childhood and Defoe has followed his progress through the pro ranks with interest.

“I’ve known Jermain since we were kids,” revealed Lewis. “He’s a big boxing fan and I’m a massive Spurs fan so it will be great to have him cheering me on. He might be bringing a few of the other Spurs players as well to see if he can convert them into boxing fans!”

A clash of unbeaten fighters tops the bill at the York Hall on July 18th with Danny McIntosh and Nathan Cleverly squaring off for the British Light Heavyweight title. The undercard features former British and European Champion Jon Thaxton alongside heavyweight sensation Tyson Fury and Ireland’s European Union Lightweight Champion Andy Murray.

Hot prospects Steve O’Meara, Lee Purdy, Del Rogers and Bobby Ward will join Lewis on an action packed night of championship boxing.

Tickets (£35 Unreserved and £70 Ringside) are available from the Ticketline box office on 0844 888 4402 or via www.ticketline.co.uk.