Super-lightweight sizzler: Jack Rafferty vs Mark Chamberlain final press quotes
A super-lightweight sizzler is coming our way on Saturday night when British and Commonwealth champion Jack Rafferty defends his belts against former WBC Silver lightweight champion Mark Chamberlain, live on DAZN.
It is a domestic shootout that promises to be a thriller and this afternoon, in Manchester, the pair exchanged final words at the pre-fight press conference ahead of trading blows at the Altrincham Ice Dome.
Below are a selection of key quotes from the media event:
Jack Rafferty
“Thank you everyone for being here for the Rafferty Show. I am very proud to be headlining on DAZN for Queensberry. It is a bit of a pinch me moment, but I know why it is a pinch me moment because I’ve worked hard to get into this position.
“I don’t think anybody is as hungry as me. He has been there, done that, been on the big shows and has had a taste of Wembley. I think this is his first headline show, like myself, so we are going to see a good Mark Chamberlain. But this is going to be a demolition from Jack Rafferty.
“You’ve seen him do good things and now you will see him try and push onto good things at super lightweight and take these titles off me. You see the hard work I’ve put in to get into this position and be sat here at the table with these belts – that won’t be happening on Saturday night.
“He is coming for it and they all have. They’ve all tried it. Henry [Turner] tried it and I was a massive underdog against Henry. People said he boxed my head off for six rounds and that’s cool. I know what I’ve got in the tank and what I’m made of.
“I’ve prepared well for Mark and I know what he is about. Jack Rafferty will be coming out ‘and still’.
“It is break or be broken for me. Like I said, it is the Jack Rafferty show and we are all here, for me. My name is there at the top and we are all ready for it.
I don’t know what Mark has done to my coach because he has put me through it. I think he has got a bit of a bee in his bonnet about this. I’ve got a problem with Mark because he is trying to take my titles off me, but apart from that… He has got a massive bee in his bonnet about Mark.”
Mark Chamberlain
“I’ve trained hard for it and I am definitely more hungry than ever for it. It is my second headline and I am just excited for Saturday night, really.
“I expect an explosive fight between the pair of us because styles make fights. Jack is explosive and comes forward. I’ll be the same and I certainly won’t be doing what previous opponents have done and that is hit and run and then get knackered out after a few rounds.
“Just expect a war.
“It will be the making of me come Saturday night, that is for sure. The make or break title, I think, is a bit irrelevant. I am 26 and I haven’t got a million miles on the clock. I just truly believe that Saturday night will bring a victory for me.
“I knew what I was signing up for with this fight. I didn’t expect it to be down in Portsmouth because I am not the champion. Jack has earned his spot in his back garden and this is the challenge I want. I want big fights, I don’t want to be in boxing to have an opponent put towards me and me saying ‘I don’t want to fight him’.
“I just believe that if you want to be a champion, you’ve got to beat a champion.”