Ben Marksby has enjoyed a dream start as a professional boxer with two wins out of two – but the young talent still has some work to do before 2021 is over.
Having outpointed Benjamin Lamptey on his debut in Liverpool in October and then backed that up with a lively November affair in Leeds where he won all four rounds against Vitalli Maksymiv, the Darlington star will be out again on December 19.
Team Marksby are looking forward already to that Sunday afternoon VIP promotions event, staged by Ben’s manager, Steve Wood.
The 22-year-old is the first member of Tenacity Boxing, the coaching combination of two very well-known North-East amateur fight scene figures, Anth Kelly, from Wearmouth ABC in Sunderland, and Headland ABC’s John Stubbs from the Hartlepool club.
“It’s great to have Ben back in action so soon,” Stubbs told punch-lines.
“It’s nice to have the chance to keep the ball rolling after these two wins and for him to take into the ring what we do in the gym.
“When he turned pro this year we’d hoped to have four bouts in 2021.
“A couple of injuries needed time to heal so three fights makes for a very good year.
“Steve really believes in Ben which is great and we’re looking forward to next month.”
Marksby came into the pro game with a terrific reputation, having been a multi-decorated junior with six national titles and only 10 defeats in 91 contests.
The former Darlington ABC and Phil Thomas School of Boxing star only had one adult bout which means there has been some long gaps from his heyday until now, so his first eight paid rounds have been invaluable.
He got the better of a cautious Lamptey at the famous Olympia venue in October before winning in style at the Royal Armouries against the Ukrainian.
“Benjamin had a winning record but he didn’t throw a lot and was hard to break down,” explained Stubbs.
“Vitalli doesn’t have a winning record but he came to have a go so it was a much livelier bout.
“Ben wants to do lightweight and if this fight had been down at his weight I I do think he’d probably have got Maksymiv out of there.
“It was more up at his weight but it meant Ben got the rounds in and he put some really good stuff together.
“There are some bits and bobs we’ll work on in the gym – we didn’t learn that much from the first fight but the one in Leeds was a good one.”
Words: Roy Kelly
