Tom Knight is ready to tackle experience Erick Ochieng
Some would say that taking a fight with a former English champion and British title challenger is a big risk, especially for a five fight novice. But Tom Knight is willing to take that risk in an attempt to elevate himself in the domestic light middleweight rankings and gain recognition for his own potential.
At his best, Erick Ochieng is a strong and slippery back foot boxer who counter-punches off the ropes with accurate hooks to the head and body of his opponent. Defensively, the Nairobi born Stoke Newington resident is very efficient. His 16 wins compared to only four defeats have seen Ochieng do battle with the highly rated Liam Smith for the Lord Lonsdale Challenge Belt, and enjoy a year long reign as English champion.
Knight, a talented amateur who represented England on two occasions, winning 44 of 54 contests whilst wearing a head-guard and vest, is confident that he is more than ready to make the step up for a test against ‘The Eagle’.
“I believe it’s only a step up in rounds and it’s a huge opportunity for me – the biggest opportunity of my life so far. I’ve boxed since I was eight years old and, looking back on all my experience, I’m not worried – I’m only excited by what I will achieve in beating Ochieng.”
Despite the success and experience Ochieng has picked up in professional journey to date, he has hit a downward spiral in recent times. Losing to Smith via unanimous decision in September of 2013 plunged the 27-year-old Matchroom Sport promoted contender into an erroneous run of form. Since then, he has lost two (against Dale Evans and Neil Perkins) and won two (against Paddy Gallagher and William Warburton) against a lower level of opposition. And the 22-year-old Hull man isn’t overly concerned by the gulf in experience.
“I think he’s tough. That’s clear as Liam smith couldn’t get rid of him early. I’ve only seen him fight in Prizefighter to be honest and I wasn’t impressed. Also Neil Perkins made easy work of him over eight rounds recently, and at the time his record matched my record (5-0, 1KO) exactly. I respect him (Ochieng), as I do any man, but every champion was once an underdog who overcame the odds.”
It hasn’t been an ideal start to life in the paid ranks for the undefeated youngster, who has managed only five bouts in his first two years. Competing with the other professional boxers in Hull to sell tickets made the early days a tough time. However, now he is signed to Dave Coldwell, Knight is at last excited about what the future holds.
“Hull is a dead end town. Being on shows with 10 lads selling to the same people is impossible and I was deemed a bad ticket seller. Now I’m going to prove that I’m the next best fighter to come from Hull by beating people like Ochieng and overcoming the odds.”
“I have a lot to thank Dave (Coldwell) for. This is my second fight with him and he’s had me on sky twice, and he’s given me the biggest opportunity of my career. He has also given me some sound advice that I will carry with me into the ring.”
For this fight, Knight will leave no stone unturned. He has dedicated himself fully to his preparations, he has given up his job as a shelf stacker in a supermarket and he has adopted the services of a renowned conditioning coach. ‘The Machine’ is desperate to continue performing on high profile shows and he is aware that winning is imperative for that to happen.
“Boxing on Sky Sports is a dream come true. There’s nothing but excitement running through my mind about this fight. It’s the stuff you dream of, and winning secures that I carry on performing on shows like this. I want to earn my place on the British boxing scene the hard way.”
“I’ve brought in a conditioning coach, called Mike Pratt, for this training camp and Mike has had many champions. I’m big at the weight and making it easily whilst staying strong. I’m sparring with middleweights and pushing them around and I really believe this will be a big difference to my usual counter-punching style. I’ve added all I was missing. I’ve quit my job and I’m giving this camp everything I have.”
– Stevie Adams Jr / @StevieAdamsJr
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