Sam Sheedy believes he is an improved fighter, despite his loss to Tommy Langford. The pair met last November for the vacant British middleweight title, with Langford pipping Sam at the post on a split-decision verdict. Sheedy, who next faces Nigeria's Abolaji Rasheed, 8-2-1 (4), for the vacant Commonwealth middleweight belt on March 24 at Sheffield's Ponds Forge Arena, says going 12 rounds for the first time against Langford was a box that needed ticking.
"Looking back, I just didn't believe in myself early on enough," explained the Sheffield southpaw, 17-2 (4). "I was dubious about the 12 rounds. Because I was so tired in the previous fight, doing ten rounds against Andrew Robinson, I thought 'how am I going to do 12?'. I train hard and I was 12 rounds fit, but I just wasn't 100 per cent convinced. I was worried I'd get to the eighth round, be winning but not able to throw a punch, and then Tommy would start throwing arm shots and the referee just jumps in and stops me. I was having nightmares about that happening. When it got to round seven though I thought 'I'm better than you' and I saw his eyes change and he became fearful, and that's when I came on. The last few rounds I dominated that fight.
"So now I know I can do 12 rounds, I'm confident in how good I am to box at that level, and I'm not going to worry about my fitness again. I'll put it all on the line from now on, whereas before I was pacing myself too much. I'm not going to do that now. To be honest, I don't see the Langford fight as a loss because I learnt so much from it. A lot of people said I won. I lost on a split decision to a Frank Warren fighter on a Frank Warren show, so I can't really feel too disheartened. Finishing the fight, I was coming on strong. That was the best Tommy Langford but it wasn’t the best Sam Sheedy, but when I did start performing to my best then I were outshining him."
Dennis Hobson Promotions present an evening of boxing at Sheffield’s Ponds Forge Arena on March 24. Headlining will be Sheffield’s Sam Sheedy versus Nigeria’s Abolaji Rasheed for the vacant Commonwealth middleweight title.
Also appearing will be a number of Sheffield fighting talents including Liam Cameron; Nicki Smedley; Joss Paul; Kyle Yousaf; Tommy Frank; Nicolie Campbell; Ramzy Nassa; Muheeb Fazeldin and Razaq Najib.
For ticket information, please call 0114 243 4443.