Owen Ready To Set Record Straight

Andy Owen is determined to redress the balance when he returns to the scene of his first pro defeat exactly nine weeks later.

He will be back in the Stadium Suite at Walsall FC’s the Banks’s Stadium, on the Sunday afternoon of November 14, as part of a show staged by BCB Promotions.

It’s been a long 63 days since he lost his ‘0’ to unheralded Hungarian Norbert Szekeres, who sprung a shock in just the second of their four-round light heavyweight clash.

Owen was on top, but became lulled into a false sense of security and got caught by booming body shots, from which referee Kevin Parker called an end to the contest.

There were just 10 seconds of the session remaining, making it a bitter pill to swallow for the 34-year-old from Wolverhampton, in just his second pro bout.

That negated a winning start back in June for Owen, who dished out an early finish himself by dropping Ryan Hibbert and forcing his retirement after two rounds.

Now comes the opportunity to restore the lead at the same venue, where he has vowed there will be no repeat of the carelessness that plagued him last time.

He was in the gym the day after that setback, under the watchful eye of coach Richie Carter at Wolverhampton Boxing Club, on Willenhall Road. Owen lives in Perton.

The NHS worker, who is an associate practitioner in the MicroBiology department at New Cross Hospital, grew up in New Invention.

Owen’s entry into pro boxing came late, which just six amateur outings of experience under his belt, but he’d only ever lost once before Szekeres came calling.

He said: “I switched off, so there are no excuses. I was winning the fight comfortably, then 10 seconds of madness changed everything. I got tagged and couldn’t continue.

“I’ve never done it before and, hopefully, I’ll never do it again. He threw an overhand right and, for some reason, I dropped my left hand. He doubled up the punch and it was over.

“I was in cruise control so, obviously, I was kicking myself afterwards, but there’s nothing that I can do about it now. The mistakes I made were all down to me, so I can fix them.

“I’m not dwelling on it, lessons have been learned and I’m moving on. That’s pro boxing, you can’t do what I did in there and I paid the price. I just licked my wounds and I went home.

“Having won my first one by TKO and then losing by stoppage myself, I’ve certainly tasted the highs and lows already in my pro career, but I’m still building.

“This next performance will be about boxing from bell to bell, to instructions from my coach (Richie Carter). He knows what happened last time wasn’t really me.

“I’m not the sort of person to put too much pressure on myself, but I know I need to go back out there and get the ‘W.’ If I do what I’m capable of, I’m confident that will happen.

“I’m back at the same place, so it’s about redemption for me and I enjoy boxing too much to let a defeat ruin that. I’ve trained hard and I’m good to go again.”

Tickets for the Stadium Suite bill are on sale, priced at £40 standard or £75 VIP ringside with buffet, and can be purchased directly from the boxers or by visiting myfighttickets.com.

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