Ollie Cooper reckons it’s a priority to catch the eye when he attempts to make it a hat-trick of pro wins.
His third pro outing comes as part of BCB Promotions’ show in Wolverhampton, at the Hangar Events Venue (Pearson Street), on the Friday night of February 18.
He’s recorded two points victories so far, without dropping a round, in overcoming Kevin McCauley and Paul Cummings.
When turning over, last October, left-hander Cooper stuck to his southpaw jab to claim all four sessions, registering a 40-36 landslide score at the final bell.
He then went up against Paul Cummings in December, again prevailing on points although they shared the last stanza, leading to a 40-37 verdict.
Both of those contests took place at the Hangar and he’ll again box under those lights, with aims to impress the audience in attendance.
The 21-year-old, from Cannock, has the benefit of a decent amateur grounding and 6ft 4in of height, plus the input of ex-pro Richie Carter as coach.
Cooper amassed 18 victories from 26 amateur bouts, mostly representing Wolverhampton Boxing Club, and reached a national final in the England Youth Championships.
He said: “I want to push on this year, it’s time to get my head down and live the boxing lifestyle fully. I’m determined to make a name for myself and stand out.
“I’m going into this fight looking to stand out from everyone on the rest of the bill, there’s a lot of young lads and I need to open people’s eyes. That gives me the motivation to push on.
“I was trying to campaign at super welter, but I couldn’t do the weight and I feel much more comfortable at middleweight. I’m still training very hard.
“I’ll be in there with bigger men, but there are different areas to my game that beat strength and power. I can punch myself, but I haven’t been able to showcase that much.
“I hurt Paul (Cummings) in my last one, I put together a combination in the third and I saw his legs dip, but he just kept on coming. I wondered what it was going to take to stop him!
“He caught me, as well, with an overhand right, in the last round and that seemed to drain the last of my energy. It was a shock to the system.
“It happened on my debut, too. I get to a point where I’m so comfortable in there that I take my foot off the gas. That’s what I’ve been working on, staying switched on.
“I’ve come away from both fights with little things that I need to work on, I’ve watched them back and picked out other pointers, so I think I’ll improve again. I’m still finding my feet.”
Tickets for the Hangar bill are available, priced at £40 standard or £75 VIP ringside with buffet, directly from the boxers or by visiting myfighttickets.com.
