TED CHEESEMAN says “the world will be my oyster” as he confidently predicted claiming a European title by beating Sergio Garcia at the O2 Arena this Saturday night.
Bermondsey’s Cheeseman (15-0; nine KO’s) takes on Spaniard Garcia, who is unbeaten in 28 bouts with thirteen KO’s, for the EBU European crown in Greenwich.
Cheeseman, 23, also challenged English super-welterweight rivals Anthony Fowler and Scott Fitzgerald to “step up to the plate” if they want to fight him. The latter pair are scheduled to meet in March.
But first he must dispatch Garcia.
“Once you win a European title, there’s only one step up after that,” Cheeseman told Boxing Social. “When you turn pro, your goal is to become a world champion. If I win this fight on February 2, and I’m very confident that I will after studying my opponent’s style, I’m basically in line for a world title shot.
“Garcia is ranked highly with the governing bodies. Once I win this European title I’m going to have a top-five world ranking with most of them, or top ten at least. He’s number four in the WBC rankings so I’ll take that top-five spot with them.
“When I win, the world will be my oyster and I’ll only be looking ahead of me.
“There’s a lot of potential fights being talked about and I want them to happen, but all of my focus is on performing well against Garcia and getting the win.
“Fowler is small fry once I’ve got the European title. What does he bring to the table, a 9-0 record against journeymen? What has he actually done? Fowler needs me, not the other way round.
“Both him and Fitzgerald need to step up to the plate and do something to earn the right to face me. They’ve got to bring something to the table. I’ll be British and European champion with a top-five world ranking. What do they bring to the table? I’d need to make sure that a fight with Fowler or Fitzgerald isn’t just good for them, it’s good for me as well.
“This game is all about opportunities. There’s some massive fights to be made but it’s got to be the right opportunity for me. Maybe the Fowler fight gets made, maybe it doesn’t.
“Liam Smith just signed with Matchroom, he’s another super-welterweight. Kell Brook is in my weight class now. They are looking for other British opponents and I’m the main man on the domestic scene. These are all fights that could happen later this year.”
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