Joe Laws insists he is unbeatable – with or without ‘The Bomb Squad’ – and has vowed to punch his opponent’s “face off”.
Newcastle’s unbeaten star puts his ‘0’ on the line this Saturday, when he takes on Rylan Charlton in a battle of the undefeated prospects in Peterborough.
Laws has won all nine of his pro bouts, five inside the distance, with his large and noisy army of fans roaring every punch.
Not this time. The East of England Arena will be empty but the ‘Benwell Bomber’ says it will not affect the outcome of a contest Charlton’s manager, Dan Naylor, insists his fighter “can and will win”.
Charlton himself says “while he’s good at talking, I don’t rate him that much when it comes to the boxing.”
But Laws told punch-lines: “It’s going to be hard without the Squad. In tough fights, my fans spur me on.
“But we are all in the same boat here, I’m just looking to make the best of a bad situation.
“Any fight you have, that rush is still there, fans or no fans.
“He says I’m sh*t and overrated and that he’s going to knock me out.
“We’ll see.
“Boxing’s a fighting game and come Saturday I’m going to punch his face off.”
Saturday’s bout will be the 26-year-old first with new trainer, Jonathan O’Brien, a former Irish super-middleweight who enjoyed a decent career of his own before settling in Lanzarote.
Laws, previously with Nik Gittus in the Wallsend Boxing Academy, believes his move to work with ‘Thunderbolt’ will be a key moment in his career.
“The first thing I said when I walked into the gym and met Jon was ‘I want to be world champion’,” he told punch-lines.
“I’ve moved out to Lanzarote where the training is mint and the lads are spot on.
“I’ve really felt the benefit of it.
“At home I think I was too much in the comfort zone, out there I train go back to my apartment, train again then back to my apartment and so on.
“I needed a bit of structure and it’s working well for me.”
Victory on Saturday over six rounds will make it a perfect 10 for the ex-Birtley ABC crowd-pleaser.
“It’ll feel mint getting to 10 and 0,” he said.
“The only way he beats me is if he knocks me out cold.
“If I get dropped – it can happen it’s boxing – I’ll get up and I’ll keep pursuing him and keep fighting until I win. There’s no way he’s going to beat me.”
Words: Roy Kelly Picture: Mark Robinson/ Matchroom
