A NEW venue for David Jamieson to experience but with the same long-term vision to guide him. The Scottish cruiserweight steps into the ring at the Trump Turnberry hotel this evening, looking to stop Samo Jangirov to claim the IBO international cruiserweight title.
It is a change of scene for the East Kilbride fighter for his ninth professional contest, the headline event on a packed card that also includes Commonwealth featherweight champion Nathaniel Collins, Kieran Smith and Jordan Grant, and all broadcast live on streaming channel Fightzone.
Jamieson (7-1) enjoyed the modern surrounds of Tottenham Hotspur’s new stadium in his previous fight – a second-round stoppage of Dave Preston in November – but has experienced plenty of boxing’s less salubrious settings, especially during a 58-fight amateur career.
He will enjoy the opulence, then, of Turnberry, as will his 100-strong travelling support, all dressed up in their finery.
“I’ve never been before but it certainly beats fighting in the miners’ welfare clubs and places like that,” he says. “It’s one of the nicer venues, Turnberry, and I’m chuffed to get this one ticked off the list. It’s been a long road to this point so I’m going to enjoy it.
“I’ve got about 100 folk coming down to watch me so there will be some seriously rascal outfits getting put on! Everybody’s been told to dress up and not dress down. If there’s a night to pull out all the stops with the clothes then it’s definitely Turnberry. And I’m sure they’ll make a fair bit of noise as well.”
At 30 years old, Jamieson is in a hurry to get his career progressing. With the Swedish-based Jangirov boasting a similar record (7-2-1), this is a 50:50 fight but the sort of hurdle he believes it’s vital he demonstrates that he can overcome in the hope of drawing bigger fights down the line.
“Everything has been bang on in my preparations for this one,” added the Kynoch Boxing fighter. “I’ve been doing a lot of sparring and feel in great shape. This is really the culmination of a year of hard work in the gym.
“I’ve never been one to set New Year resolutions but last year I said to myself that this was my time and I’ve been in the gym five or six days a week ever since.
“My gaffer, Tommy, in my day job as a workshop manager has been really helpful and accommodating with different things which means I’ve been able to get wee days off here and there. And that’s been a huge help.
“There’s plenty of footage of Jangirov going about so we’ve been studying that. He’s got a very similar record to myself and we’re expecting a tough fight.
“But I’ve seen enough of him to know what I want to do. I punch very hard for the weight and I’ve got half an hour to get my work done over 10 three-minute rounds.
“I’ll box him nice and early to see what he’s got and then start to chop him down in the later rounds. My last fight was pretty straightforward and it’s important to get wins like that and again in this one if I want to achieve what I want from the game.
“I’ve signed my deal with Fightzone which gives me more of a platform and some security too. They’re offering three months free just now to anyone subscribing so I hope a lot of folk will take that up and tune in to watch me hopefully put on a show.”
His long-term goal remains to become British champion but he will listen to manager Sam Kynoch and Fightzone promoter Dennis Hobson and take their advice on board about the best next steps should he emerge victorious in Ayrshire this evening.
“Dennis and his team have a bit of a roadmap laid out for me and it starts with me winning this IBO international title. We’ll see where we go from there but I know it’s going to be a busy schedule fighting every two to three months. That’s what I’m looking for.
“An active fighter is a dangerous fighter and knowing I’m going to be out regularly is only going to help me deliver better performances.
“The boyhood dream for me is still the British title. I’d love to lift the Lonsdale Belt and I have the right people behind me now who can make that happen.
“Fightzone have clout and a bit of money behind them so hopefully that means it isn’t going to be too hard to get the right names inside the ring with me now.”
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