Owen Cooper believes he can outwork Jamie Stewart and take the Midlands welterweight title from the champion.
They clash at the Telford International Centre on Saturday night (November 19), as part of Frank Warren’s Queensberry Promotions show, with the BT Sport cameras rolling live.
The two battle for the belt in a 10-round contest, which Stewart has completed when taking the crown and defending it once, beating Alex Fearon before drawing with Ben Fields.
The title holder, who makes the trip from Longton in Staffordshire, also has an eight-round draw with unbeaten prospect Florian Marku on a 3-2-2 pro record.
Cooper, from Worcester, is 6-0 with a full six rounds under his belt, from last time out at the same Telford venue, where he defeated Richard Helm.
That was one of four points wins on the 22-year-old’s pro slate, which includes a first round TKO over Daryl Pearce, who was down twice prior to the stoppage.
He built upon that to remove Des Newton in the fifth of a six-rounder, before outpointing Helm in April. Over four rounds, he’s seen off Paul Cummings, Fonz Alexander and MJ Hall.
Cooper, who is trained by Malcolm Melvin and sponsored by Jobsworth Recruitment amongst others, is highly-rated and was a decorated amateur, having landed national honours in the England Youth Championships, before turning over.
His ledger finished on 41 outings, with 32 wins, including 17 successes over fellow national champions. He represented England on four occasions, recording three wins for his country.
His amateur ledger finished on 41 outings, with 32 victories, including 17 successes over fellow national champions. He represented his hometown outfit, Worcester City Boxing Club.
Cooper said: “This has been, hands down, the best camp ever, everything has gone right. There hasn’t even been any letdowns for sparring, I’ve had plenty of lads come and help me.
“I’ve probably had more sparring in this camp than the rest of them put together. No messing about, just getting lots of rounds in. There has been a lot of hard work done.
“This is an easy one to get up for. You’ve got a title on the line, against a lad who has had some good results. He’s the champion and won’t just hand that to me.
“He’s done 10 rounds, on a couple of occasions, whereas I haven’t (in an actual bout) but I’m not worried about that, because I’ve done it in the gym, no end of times.
“I know that it’s going to be tough, but I feel more than ready. I know that I’ve done everything that I possibly could have to be prepared, so I’m confident.
“It would be nice to get him out of there early, but I’d never go in there looking for the stoppage. I’ve given him the respect that he deserves, by training tirelessly.
“I can match him for desire and work-rate, I will show that on the night. I won’t have to go looking for him and that could be in my favour.
“If he comes forward, he’ll walk on to a few shots and my style is to get at my opponent, so I’ve got all bases covered. I’ve been given an opportunity and I’m going to take it.”
