Jobburn Determined

Stoke fighter hopes to get back to winning ways

Owen Jobburn is determined to bounce back and banish the bad memories of his last performance on home turf.
Jobburn endured a win-less 2018 and will now look to put that right at King’s Hall, in his hometown of Stoke-on-Trent.
The 29-year-old will step through the ropes on Saturday April 13, to feature on BCB Promotions’ bill. The show has been called ‘April Power.’
It was under those lights where he was surprisingly outpointed by Gary Cooper last March, going down 39-38 on referee Kevin Parker’s scorecard.
Earlier that month, Jobburn entered the Last Man Standing Prizefighter-type tournament in Dublin, Ireland, at short notice.
He was whitewashed over the distance by Irishman Chris Blaney, which resulted in the loss of his undefeated streak as a professional.
Even after the Cooper set-back, Jobburn was still selected to challenge Ryan Kelly for the Midlands super welterweight crown in May.
Big-punching Brummie prospect Kelly seized the vacant crown by seventh round stoppage and has since defended those honours successfully against Kelcie Ball.
Jobburn has been out of action since, but returns with a renewed vigour for the sport and has vowed to hang up the gloves should that leave him again.
A fifth win from nine outings would give him another boost, with a third round TKO against Casey Blair among those victories.
That directly preceded an eight-round draw against Sam Evans in 2017, where the two unbeaten pugilists battled to a 77-77 stalemate, with Shaun Messer the official that time.
Jobburn said: “I’ve been training hard, I’ve had some decent sparring and we’ve focussed a lot on both attack and defence.
“It took me a while to get back into it, but it feels like everything has come back to me now. I’m feeling again and I can’t wait to get back in there.
“Last year was a bit of nightmare, with the three defeats but Ryan Kelly was the only one to really beat me convincingly.
“He’s the best fighter I’ve ever been in there with, I think he’s better than area level and, in my opinion, he’ll go on and prove that.
“I still believe I’ve got the ability to win a Midlands title, but it depends on who my opponent is. I doubt I’d get someone like Kelly again.
“It was a three-round scrap against Chris Blaney that I took at a few days notice, away in Ireland. I knew I’d have to knock him out, to win, and it was nip and tuck.

“I really thought I’d done enough to win against Gary Cooper, but the referee gave to him. For that to happen, at King’s Hall, was a real blow.
“I went a fair distance with Kelly and when he next defended the belt, Kelcie only lasted a round with him. He’s a dangerous man.
“I’ve promised myself that, after this one, I won’t spend any more than six days out of the gym again. I’ve done that before and put too much weight on.
“If I can’t do that, I may as well jack boxing in. I need to be ready to take my shot at something, if an opportunity comes along.
“I’ve proved before, against Sam Evans, that I can perform over the long haul and I should have won that one, too.
“I just need to get back to winning ways, first and foremost. Getting that ‘W’ is most important, but to look good doing it and, perhaps, get another stoppage would be great.”
Nathan ‘Hitman’ Heaney headlines the King’s Hall bill, in an eight-round middleweight contest as he steps up the sessions.
The undefeated Heaney, also from Stoke, who has built up a pro record of five wins with two TKOs already recorded.
The rest of the card features Stoke cohort Atal Khan, Cole Johnson, Staffordshire duo Luke Caci and Troi Coleman, plus Shropshire’s Liam Davies.
Khan makes his pro debut having graduated from Orme Boxing Club.
Lightweight prospect Johnson is aiming to make it a hat-trick of paid victories, after recording two points victories starting with his debut last year.
He hasn’t conceded a round so far as a pro and has a good grounding in the sport, having become a national titleist as an amateur.
Like Khan, the Orme Boxing Club graduate, aged 24, claimed England Senior Development honours in 2017 and wants to build a path towards further glory.
Caci, from Newcastle-under-Lyme, is another product of the Orme gym and is unbeaten himself, with six points successes.
The 29-year-old is working his way down to the super middleweight division, having boxed mostly at light heavy so far.
A fourth win will be the target of Burntwood’s Troi Coleman. ‘The Hawk,’ a former kickboxer, has three points verdicts under his belt so far.
Tickets, priced at £35 standard or £65 VIP ringside with a buffet and waitress service, are on sale now. It will be £40 for entry on the door. For more information, contact the boxers.

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