It’s all change for Ijaz Ahmed, who has a new man in his corner ahead of his first fight since his vacant British title loss rematch against Marcel Braithwaite last October. His comeback bout will be on BCB Promotions ‘Second City Showdown’ at the Eastside Rooms in Birmingham.
It was the 31-year-old from Birmingham’s fourth crack at the Lord Lonsdale belt following an unprecedented three previous draws on the spin, two against Quaise Khademi and one against Braithwaite. Ahmed felt like he had done more than enough to get the judges decision in those and felt illegal blows behind the back of the head caused his second loss to Braithwaite, in which he was stopped in nine rounds. These controversial contests have left Ahmed with a sense of injustice, which has motivated him to keep going.
“I’ll be ready to show some new things, said Ahmed. It’s been a while since the Braithwaite fight, and I wanted to be more active, but the time away has given me a chance to make some changes and refocus.
That change comes in the form of a new coaching team for fight number seventeen, with trainer Spencer McCracken from McCrackens gym in Birmingham taking the reigns after many years spent at the BCB gym in Wednesbury.
“There are no hard feelings or bad vibes at all far from it, and I’m glad to be boxing back on a BCB show. I just needed a change after years of driving down the M6 to Wednesbury every day for training. I needed somewhere closer to home, and I am very appreciative of everything the coaches there did for me. It’s a busy gym with a lot of talented boxers, and I wanted something where I could get more one-on-one focus and get the best out of myself.”
The former Midlands champion has had some good nights boxing in the city and will be part of a stacked card that features Cori Gibbs, Andrew Robinson, Ryan Woolridge, Hamza Azeem, and James Griffiths. ‘Jazzy’ is looking to put on a performance that will get him back in the title mix in his usual fan-friendly style.
“One thing you can say about me is that every fight is exciting, and I always put everything into it. I feel like I have been denied the British title, first with the scoring and then with the illegal blow, and maybe now it’s time to go down a different path to winning a belt. I still feel strong at super flyweight and know I can win things there but now all my focus is on getting the job done on June 15th.
Tickets for Second City Showdown are now available, priced at £40 standard and £80 VIP, from the boxers directly or by emailing info@bcb-promotions.com.
