BRITISH champion Kash Farooq went eyeball to eyeball with challenger Kyle Williams ahead of their bantamweight bout tonight and confidently predicted the belt would be staying in Glasgow.
The pair, who both weighed in at 117lbs, will square up for real at the St Andrews Sporting Club when Farooq will make the second defence of his British title live on the BBC.
The Pakistan-born fighter admitted he had respect for undefeated Williams’ pedigree but felt he would prove too strong on the night.
He said: “I expect a tough fight but I’ve trained really hard for this and I’m confident I’m going to win and keep the belt. He doesn’t know what defeat feels like so he’s going to come forward but that’s going to give me an opportunity to box and show people watching what I can do.
“In my last fight Iain Butcher had his hands up the whole time so it was hard to get the punches in. But I think Williams will be different and that should help me a lot.
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“My motivation is to keep progressing so I can support my mum, my dad and my brothers. I’m a family man so I want to do well so I can provide for them. I don’t like to look too far ahead but if I can win this one then hopefully there will be more big fights ahead for me.”
Former kickboxer Williams will have the backing of a throng of around 50 friends and family members who have travelled north from the Midlands. And the English champion is confident of returning home with the belt.
He said: “It will feel like a home fight for me as I’ve got a good crowd coming up to support me. They’re a noisy bunch, especially my mum. Everyone will be able to spot her as she’ll be the one shouting the loudest!
“I’ve had kickboxing fights up here before so I like coming to Scotland as they’re always up for a party. Hopefully we can do that if I win.
“It will be the toughest fight of my professional career. Kash is a hungry young fighter who will want to protect his belt but I think I’ll have a bit too much for him on the night. We’ll go through the gears and I’ll have one or two more gears than he will.
“Winning the British title would mean the world to me. If I were to retire having won a Lonsdale belt then I‘d be a very happy man.”
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