Abubaker travels for his first title defence
Abubaker with manager Anthony Manning. Picture: Inga Zulyte
HUMAN wrecking ball Amir Abubaker will make the first defence of his Midlands light-middleweight title as the away fighter.
The Kurdish KO artist – a Coventry barber by day – will face unbeaten Jack Mantell at Alfreton Leisure Centre on June 21.
Mantell, aged 33, fights out of Eastwood, Nottinghamshire, but was raised in Kent. He’s unbeaten, with two draws on a nine bout record.
“He’s a tough southpaw,” said Abubaker’s manager Anthony Manning, “who has come from white collar. He is backing himself, his team fancy it and we’ve accepted.”
Abubaker won the belt in spectacular fashion in December, demolishing Callum Hill in five rounds with thunderous body shots.
Unbeaten in eight, he and Manning decided to take the gamble of facing Mantell rather than simply wait for an English title opportunity to arise.
“Do we take a six or eight rounder against a journeyman to keep busy or do we keep the momentum going with a title fight?” Manning said. “We’ve gone for the 10 rounder.
Abubaker with Conor Benn
Abubaker, aged 25, is a man blessed with huge punching power and appears destined for big shows.
He spars top fighters – including Conor Benn who he helped prepare for the recent grudge match with Chris Eubank Jnr.
“Amir is a hard nights work for anyone,” Manning said. “He is in the gym every day, for him there is no such thing as a camp – he is training for a world title every time.
“The feedback from top level fighters and coaches is tremendous. Conor Benn said he and Ishmael Davis were the only ones (sparring partners) who could do the full 10 rounds at that pace.
“He is going to be hard work for anyone, he is going to try and punch through them. All we need to do is make him a bit more complete.
“He wants tough fights, he’s durable, strong, backs himself, he has a good chin. He is 25, 8-0, he is exactly where he should be.”
Abubaker, who arrived here from war-torn Iraq as a four-year-old, has no doubt where he will be – competing at world level. Menacing and muscular, he is not lacking in self-confidence – and, to date, his fists have more than backed-up his words.
Fans looking for one-punch drama need to look no further than Amir.
In a recent interview, he told me: “I want a world title. I’m doing this for everything – the clout, the money…We are in this too deep to call it quits halfway through. Whenever the phone rings, I’m ready. Money talks and if the money’s right I’ll fight next week. Even if it’s Canelo, I’ll take it.”
Abubaker is the demon barber cutting a swathe through the 11 stone division.
Mantell goes by the ringname The Machine. The Machine is set to face an opponent determined to send him to the scrapyard.