He’s the talk of the Toon … after only three fights.
To say Joe Laws has made an impact would be an understatement.
And the unbeaten Newcastle fighter, a fourth-round stoppage winner over brave Chris Truman in Newcastle on Saturday night, has hailed the impact of trainer Graeme Rutherford.
Rutherford is the main man behind the brilliant Birtley ABC and the coach to Team GB stars Callum French and the McCormack twins, Luke and Pat, and countless more.
Laws, who Rutherford coached to the 2017 ABA Championship final, has Mr Birtley in his corner in the pro game and told punch-lines last week that he “wouldn’t want anyone else”.
Their relationship is as strong as the onslaughts ‘The Benwell Bomber’ inflicts on his opponents.
“Graeme is great,” said the 21-year-old, pictured above with his trainer (left) and manager, Phil Jeffries.
“It’s really important for a boxer and coach to have a good relationship.
“To be a good coach, you have to really know your boxer. He knows if I’m tired or if I’m bluffing.
“I wouldn’t be where I am without Graeme.
“Graeme knows how far to push to me, when to calm me down, when to up it, it’s a perfect relationship and you can see the benefits in the ring.
You certainly can.
Laws, who turned professional in the summer with Wearside fight figure Phil Jeffries, has blown away opponents like a tornado.
He debuted at the Stadium of Light in July when he blitzed Raimonds Sniedze in four rounds at the Summer Rumble.
His first TV date was Just as spectacular, hammering Belfast battler, James Gorman, into submission after just one round on Live Sports on the Tommy Ward-Alvaro Rodriguez undercard at Houghton.
And Laws wowed a packed Metro Radio Arena and the Sky Sports audience at the weekend when he had a fight-of-the-night scrap with Truman.
The Brummie did not just turn up for a payday and produced some clean shots in the opener in the face of Joe’s aggression with Laws getting the crowd on their feet in the second with some great stuff.
Truman survived a kitchen-sink attack in the third but his resistance could not continue and Laws decked him twice in the last with referee Ron Kearney calling it off at two minutes, 22 seconds.
It lifted the roof off the Metro Radio Arena but, for Joe, this wasn’t the climax of his career.
“It was a dream for me, but it’s just the start,” he said.
Words: Roy Kelly Pictures: Jennifer Charlton
