British Rivals Langford And Sheedy Meet Face-To-Face At The Hawthorns

Tommy Langford (17-0 6 KOs) and Sam Sheedy (17-1 4 KOs) came face-to-face for the first time today at West Bromwich Albion’s Hawthorns stadium ahead of their eagerly-anticipated clash for the Vacant British Middleweight title at the Motorpoint Arena Cardiff on October 22, live and exclusive on BoxNation.

WBO Inter-Continental and Commonwealth Champion Langford was in a confident mood at the home of his beloved Baggies and vowed to bring the famous Lonsdale Belt back to the Hawthorns. The Birmingham Road End season-ticket holder will be backed by nearly 2,000 fans in South Wales and is promising a career best performance against Sheffield’s Sheedy.

“This is a huge opportunity for me,” said the Baggies fanatic. “Winning a British title is another step on the ladder and it is a very prestigious and important step that I need to take. I’m looking forward to bringing the belt back to the Hawthorns.

“Sheedy is an awkward southpaw and a good boxer; he’s good on his feet. However, being an awkward southpaw is not enough to beat me as long as I get it right on the night. I’m very confident in my abilities and the game plan that Tom Chaney has put together for me. As long as I stick to that then I’ll 100% be coming back to Birmingham as a British Champion.

“I’ve got fantastic support from the Albion and all the Baggies fans. There are close to 2,000 people coming to support me in Cardiff and I think around half of them are Baggies fans. If I’m getting that many people travelling to see me down there then I can’t wait to see how many I get in the Midlands. The ultimate goal is to fight on the pitch here at the Hawthorns!”

‘Speedy’ Sheedy was unfazed by the heavy media presence and vowed to rip the script up and cause an upset in Wales. The supremely confident southpaw believes Langford won’t be able to handle his ‘crazy’ unorthodox style.

“If I were any other boxer then I would avoid myself,” said the Yorkshireman. “I’m horrible, I’m awkward, I’m slippy and I’m tricky! I don’t even know what I’m going to do myself half of the time! I’m like a chameleon when i get in there; I just adapt. That’s what Champions have to do and that’s what I’m going to do on the night.

“My sparring has been brilliant. Tommy said he has had some great southpaw sparring but it’s completely irrelevant. I’m not just a southpaw; I’m slippery, I’m horrible and I’m unorthodox. I’m really looking forward to this and I thank Tommy for taking the fight. Tommy is very good at what he does but I’m here to rip the script up!”

WBO Middleweight Champion Billy Joe Saunders and Akavov join a sensational five-title fight card that features Welsh hero Liam Williams defending his British Super-Welterweight title against undefeated Londoner Ahmet Patterson; Penge star Bradley ‘Super’ Skeete making a mandatory defence of his British Welterweight crown against Manchester’s Shayne Singleton and Liverpool’s Tom Stalker making the first defence of his WBO European Lightweight title against Welshman Craig Evans.

An action-packed undercard sees world title chasing Paul Butler return to the ring under new trainer Joe Gallagher, Swindon KO king Jamie Cox makes his long-awaited return in an eight round Super-Middleweight Contest, Ilford demolition man Anthony Yarde looks to continue his red-hot KO streak after emphatically announcing himself in the U.S. with another first round KO, Leicester super-puncher Lyon Woodstock looks to go 8-0, rising Swansea Super-Flyweight starlet Jay Harris looks to impress on home soil again, Middleweight starlet Alex Hughes aims to go 8-0 and Croydon Super-Lightweight prospect Nathaniel Wilson goes in search of his fourth professional win.

Remaining tickets for ‘A Little Less Conversation’ priced at £70, £100 and £150 are available from Motorpoint Arena Cardiff; 029 2022 4488 and www.motorpointarenacardiff.co.uk, Eventim; 0844 249 1000 and www.eventim.co.uk, Ticketmaster; 0844 8440 444 and www.ticketmaster.co.uk

BoxNation, the Channel of Champions, will televise this show on Sky (SD Ch.437 and HD Ch.490), Freeview (Ch.255), Virgin (Ch.546), TalkTalk (Ch.415), online at www.boxnation.comwatch.boxnation.com and via apps (iOS, Android, Amazon).

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