Boxing Info: Anthony Small In Action Tonight In London

It has been a solitary existence in the gym for light middleweight prospect Anthony Small, 12-0 (7), of the Deptford section of London, England as he prepares for his return to action this evening.

The 25-year-old Muslim celebrates Ramadan this month and is currently fasting during the day. Consequently, Small has been forced to train predominantly at night. However, he believes that such nocturnal activity may actually benefit him come fight night.

Small’s next fight takes place at the Elephant & Castle Recreation Centre in London on Saturday, October 21. Headlining the Derek Williams promoted bill will be Ryan Barrett and Henry Castle, who meet to decide the Southern Area featherweight title. Small’s opponent is expected to be Cardiff based Pole, Karl David, 19-7-1 (9).

Although another Londoner, former British and Commonwealth Heavyweight Champion Danny Williams, chose to withdraw from a fight because of Ramadan, Small is confident that he can still perform and predicts an emphatic victory.

“I do most of my training about 9:30 to 10PM at night, and then I’ll have some food afterwards, but I fast throughout the day,” said Small. “It isn’t going too badly at all, and because I’m training later, I’ll be totally tuned in for the fight on Saturday night. It definitely looks that I’ll be getting plenty of fights this year, the real target is to get the British title, and maybe a couple of defences this season.”

The unorthodox fighter is being tipped for British success soon by trainer Adam Booth, who praised his fighter for working at nights in order to stay active.

“It’s during Ramadan at the minute,” Booth said, “but Anthony is doing really well. He’s been training during the night, and then doing his sleep during the day, and he’s doing it the right way around.

“We’re definitely making big strides towards a British title fight before the end of the year, and he’s also fighting on November 17. We’ll be looking to give him opposition which will put him in the frame for that title.

“Anthony is an unorthodox fighter, and very evasive. He’s a little bit like a Naseem Hamed but with longer arms; very heavy handed and hard to hit. Until he’s challenged in the ring, it’s all potential, but he has all the physical and mental attributes to be a great boxer.”

The fight card at Southwark’s Elephant and Castle is scheduled for this evening, and Small’s second contest of the autumn will be on the undercard of David Haye’s European Cruiserweight title bout and WBC Title Eliminator against Italian Giacobbe Fragomeni on a Maloney Promotion at York Hall in London on November 17. Tickets are available by logging onto www.frankmaloney.com or by calling the Maloney Promotions box office at 0871 226 1508.