Arfan Iqbal is looking forward to picking on someone his own size !
He has been added to Mitchell Promotions’ championship bill at the Hermitage Leisure Centre in Whitwick on Sunday, March 11 - and to prepare, the 20 year-old light-heavyweight from Normanton has been sparring heavyweight giant Tyson Fury.
At 6ft 9ins tall, Fury, the British and Commonwealth heavyweight champion, stands around 10 inches taller than Iqbal.
They shared a ring at Clifton Mitchell’s gym in Derby this week as Fury thinks over the next step in his exciting career.
Mitchell, the former heavyweight contender, describes Iqbal as “a special talent who gets better and better with every sparring session” and Fury agrees after they swapped punches.
Fury said: “Arfan has got more bottle than most heavyweights I spar with.”
Iqbal can also punch – as almost 4,000 internet fight fans will agree ! They have viewed footage of ‘The Major’ laying out Robert Studzinski with a sledgehammer right hand on his professional debut in Whitwick last December.
Next, he launches his bombs at Billy Boyle on a bill topped by crowd-pleasers Matt Hainey and Luke Robinson going toe-to-toe for the vacant British Masters middleweight championship.
Boyle, from Sheffield, is a former challenger for Commonwealth honours – he was stopped inside two rounds by Nathan Cleverly – and will be having his 28th professional fight.
Iqbal ended his amateur career with a flurry of stoppages and says he’s “hitting harder than ever.”
But he isn’t predicting an early finish. “I never go looking for the knock out,” said Iqbal. “They just seem to come naturally.
“Before my pro debut, Clifton told me to relax, I felt comfortable in there and then the punches just flowed.”
Scott Haywood, the former English light-welterweight champion, boxes on the undercard – and Mitchell this week added a former world champion to the bill.
Matthew Barney, the former WBU light-heavyweight champion from Southampton, will box Simeon Cover over six rounds.
Tickets for the show are available from 01332-367453.
January 28, 2012
