Kris Pilkington v Jay Hughes: Who is your money on?
This eagerly-anticipated North-East derby at Dunston on Saturday looks too close to call.
The pair headline the Steve Wraith and Phil Jeffries eight-fight promotion at the Lancastrian Suite where the protagonists put their unbeaten records on the line.
Geordie Pilkington is undefeated in three outings, two wins and a draw, while Hughes, from Trimdon but now boxing out of Gateshead, has reeled off five straight wins.
Jay has produced some quality boxing, performing with both tempo and accuracy, though his last appearance was back in May 2017, which may just give Kris an edge. We shall see.
Pilkington showed customary aggression when he outpointed Alec Bazza back in March at the Rainton Meadows Arena.
The Northern Ireland journeyman had his moments but the Newcastle fighter put in some strong close-range work to earn a 40-36 shut out.
It promises to be a fascinating bout and Pilkington (pictured), in an interview the proboxnortheast podcast, says he plans to embrace the occasion.
“There’s no pressure,” he said. “It’s great to be top of the bill.
“It’s something to really embrace and I’m looking to put on a really good show.
“I’m not really bothered about him, I’m more interested about what I’m going to do and how I’ll fight.”
Asked to make a forecast, the 30-year-old played a straight bat.
“No predictions,” he said. “I’m keeping my cards close to my chest, we’ll see how it goes on the night.”
It was refreshing to hear a boxer refrain from ‘I’m going to do this and that to him’ and Pilkington says he is more concerned with carrying on his good start to his time with the Jobes Gym.
He added: “It’s going brilliantly, I love training with Matty, his style seems to fit me.
“It’s a good team there, I’m really enjoying it.
“I wasn’t getting rid of any ring rust against Alec, the fight was more about me adapting to the style Matty had been drilling into me.
“Alec was a good test, he came to win, it was a good fight.”
There is a bumper card featuring Chad Ellis, Joe Hill, Dean Laing, Lawrence Osueke, Darre Reay and Kyle Redfearn , while there is a second derby as another Jobes boxer, Zaki Shirzad, makes his debut against Darlington’s Adam Hutchinson.
For tickets, contact any of the boxers or go to www.proboxingnewcastlegateshead.com
Words: Roy Kelly
