Jake Melvin is prepared to have his mettle tested again after proving his conditioning in adversity last time out.
His pro journey resumes at the Eastside Rooms, on Woodcock Street in Birmingham, when BCB Promotions return to the venue on Saturday June 17.
Melvin comes into battle with three points successes from a trio of outings, having battled through a second round knockdown, in his previous ring assignment.
He recovered from being put on the canvas by Berman Sanchez to see him off at the final bell, by virtue of a point, the final scoreline reading 38-37, after four rounds.
That added to previous over-the-distance victories over Petar Alexsandrov and Naeem Ali, also four-rounders, through a 40-37 and 40-36 whitewash verdict respectively.
Melvin endured injury problems going into the clash with Alexsandrov, having unwittingly laced on the gloves with two broken bones in his wrist, but still didn’t concede a session.
The 21-year-old welterweight is a Brummie, having grown up in Kings Heath, but now lives in Stourbridge, however still retaining strong ties to his home city.
He’s from boxing stock, too, as a second-generation fighter and the son of former Midlands champion Malcolm Melvin, who was a pro for 18 years, between 1985 to 2003.
Melvin Jnr started in the sport, as an amateur, and racked up an unpaid record of 12 wins from 16 bouts, representing the Hall Green and Second City boxing clubs.
He said: “I’m ready to step up now, I’ve done four rounds three times and I think the longer distances will suit me better. If I don’t try, I won’t know, so I’m going for it.
“I’ve done six and eight hard rounds in sparring, so I know that I’ve got the fitness to do it. My dad (Malcolm Melvin, coach) pushes me hard, in training, and I’ve never gassed out.
“I was happy with the result, last time, but I’ve never been down in my life before, so that was disappointing. I controlled the fight, apart from that, so I put myself in a bit of trouble.
“We were both orthodox fighters, but my opponent (Berman Sanchez) was a strong man, with a good left hook and a lot of knockouts on his record (22 TKOs). I took his shots well.
“He actually caught me with one in the first round, so I made sure my right hand was up and my guard was tight. I felt comfortable, I’d kept my distance and got the jab going.
“It was right at the end of the second round, when I got caught. I threw a left hook to the body, he countered with a left hook and I went over.
“I jumped straight back up, I felt fine and I was more annoyed, than hurt, when I got back to the corner. My dad calmed me down, rather than reading the riot act.
“I didn’t think it was right to score the second round 10-8, because I’d controlled it up until the last 10 seconds so, in my opinion, it should have been 10-9.
“I knew that I had to win the last two rounds and I thought that I boxed well, towards the end. I was throwing lots of punches and sinking the body shots in.
“I showed people that I’ve got heart, with the way that I came back, and that’s another positive that I can take from the performance.”
Tickets for the Eastside Rooms bill are available, priced at £40 standard or £75 VIP ringside, directly from the boxers or by visiting myfighttickets.com.
