Merseyside favourite Derry Mathews says he wants a war with Manchester’s Terry Flanagan.
The all-action Scouser has promised to go toe to toe with his bitter North West rival when the pair battle it out for the WBO World Lightweight title in their eagerly-anticipated Liverpool Echo Arena showdown on Saturday 12th March, exclusively live on BoxNation.
‘Dirty’ Derry, renowned for his all-out war style of fighting, has vowed to avenge his Prize Fighter loss to Flanagan in 2012 and says he’ll be taking the unbeaten Mancunian deep into the trenches.
“I want a war with Terry and I don’t want him to run. I want to put a proper fight on for the crowd and the paying public. I’ve got my fingers crossed that he stands toe-to-toe with me when we get it on. He’s come out again saying this fight won’t be going the distance but he still won’t name the round he’s going to stop me in. All the pressure is on him now and after the fight he’s going to realize he picked the wrong man to defend his title against,” said Mathews.
Mathews, 32, is looking to mark his 50th professional fight with a world title win in front of his home crowd. The hard-hitting lightweight says he is the most determined fighter in the country and won’t be letting anyone or anything stop him from getting his hands on the ultimate prize.
He said: “I’m going to ask for a new belt on March 12th because I don’t want the one Terry’s got; it’s covered in scratches and I want a fresh one. There’s no way Terry is hungrier than me, then again he might be because I know he was struggling with the weight! As a fighting man he isn’t hungrier than me, I’ve dedicated my life to this sport from the age of eight and I’ve got the chance to win a world title in my own city.”
Manchester City have temporary bragging rights over their North West foes after the goalkeeping heroics of reserve goalkeeper Willy Caballerro left Liverpool fans broken-hearted. However, Mathews says it is the Scousers that will be cheering the loudest after he is finished with Flanangan.
He said: “I’m the big draw in this fight. Everything is settled for me on a plate and I just need to go in there and grab it with both hands. My fans will be out in their thousands come fight night and it’s going to be a long and miserable journey back up the M62 for Flanagan’s fans.”
With fight week rapidly approaching Mathews and trainer Danny Vaughan are bringing their training camp to an end. The Liverpool hero says he couldn’t be in better shape ahead of the biggest night of his career.
He said: “The hard work is all done now and I’m ready to become a world champion. Danny has got me in the best shape possible both physically and mentally and now it’s down to me to get the job done. Everything is perfect and I couldn’t be in a better position right now; there’ll be no excuses on my half and I don’t want him to make any when I beat him.”
Terry Flanagan v Derry Mathews for the WBO World Lightweight Championship headlines the show that also features one of the worlds greatest boxers, Guillermo Rigondeaux, taking on Merseyside hero Jazza Dickens; another star of world boxing, dynamite punching South African Zolani Tete challenges for the Vacant IBF International Bantamweight Championship against Jose Santos Gonzalez; Birmingham ace Tommy Langford defends his WBO Intercontinental Middleweight title against Lewis Taylor; hard-hitting Ellesmere Port’s star Paul Butler will challenge for a championship belt; Blackpool’s Matty Askin defends his English Cruiserweight title against Swindon’s Lawrence Bennett. The undercard features some of the best talent in Merseyside: undefeated leading world title contender Kevin Satchell; red-hot prospect Steven Lewis; European Champion Ryan Farrag; Indian superstar Vijender Singh plus Manchester prospects Macaulay McGowan and Zelfa Barrett and Leicester ace Lyon Woodstock complete the card.
