Joe Maphosa is ready to put the disappointment of championship defeat behind him – by winning in the same Houghton ring.
The 27-year-old will take on Tanzania’s Adam Yahaya over six rounds at the Rainton Arena show promoted by his manager, Phil Jeffries, in association with Joe’s trusted advisors MTK Global.
It says much for the desire of the Imran Naeem-trained boxer and the confidence of his people that the return of “Smokin’ Joe” is a very live challenge this Saturday.
They could have been forgiven for demanding a lesser opponent following his English super-flyweight title defeat to Craig Derbyshire in September.
But Yahaya arrives with a more than acceptable record of 21 wins, including 10 inside the distance, with two draws and seven defeats.
“I’ve only seen a few clips of him on line to be honest,” said the Thornaby talent, who had won in 10 off the belt before that split decision defeat to the Doncaster fighter.
“I don’t watch too much of my opponents, but my coach has done a lot of research on him and me and Imran have been working on our tactics in the gym.
“He has a good record and a winning record plus quite a few knock-outs.
“He’s going to be game and he’ll be coming to win.
“He’ll be bringing the fight to me so I need to be 100 per cent switched on and make sure I get the job done.”
The danger posed by facing a southpaw is not concerning the Natural Progression Boxing Academy-based talent.
“I’ve never really struggled with southpaws,” said Joe who is concentrating on getting his own performance right.
“Even back in my amateur days I’ve always been comfortable with left-handers.
“I don’t think it’s going to be a factor as long as I stick to my game-plan and listen to my coach’s instructions.”
“I’ve been working on stuff that went wrong in the last fight, planting my feet and letting my shots go a lot more.
“I’m feeling good and I know I’m going to put on a good show on Saturday.”
The Northern Area title fight between Terence Wilkinson and Jordan Ellison looks a beauty while there is an international super-bantamweight match between MTK boxer Shabaz Masoud and Diego Ruiz, plus appearance from Adam Cope, Nathan Commiskey, Joe Laws, Sam Menzies and Jordan Barker Porter.
He is thrilled to be sharing the stage at Rainton with such company.
“Phil’s doing a really good job,” said Maphosa when speaking in a comprehensive interview with Matty Nixon on the excellent BBC Tees Sport Extra Show this week.
“This is another massive card.”
Words: Roy Kelly Picture: Tom Collins
