Decorated Irish amateur star John Joe Nevin has a chance to break into the top 15 of the world rankings if he beats Freddy Fonseca.
Nevin (13-0) and Fonseca meet for the WBA International Super Featherweight title at York Hall in London on November 16th.
“He’s a dangerous kid, a big puncher, strong.” Nevin exclusively told WBN. “Nothing we haven’t seen before.
John Joe Nevin
“I’ve boxed a lot better than him, beaten a lot better than him. It’s just down to being focused for the ten rounds if it has to go that long.
“I’m looking forward to it. I definitely think I can beat him otherwise I wouldn’t have taken the fight.
“Training been going well, everything going well, injury-free. Everything is good.”
Nevin first came to prominence by winning gold at the European Union amateur championships in 2008 and then added silver at the 2012 London Olympics. He has faced former world champion Oscar Valdez and Luke Campbell.
He beat Valdez and lost to Campbell in the final. Nevin feels it won’t be long before he is mixing with that company as a professional.
“(I’m) not too far off it,” Nevin said, “this fight gets me into the top 15 then maybe one or two steps away from fighting for a world title.
“I’d say if I got a call for a world title before Christmas I’d take it but that is down to my management team and how they are going to approach it. I think I’m ready to step in now.”
CONOR MCGREGOR
In a recent post on social media, Nevin suggested MMA star Conor McGregor had offered to train him. That he was thinking about taking him up on the offer and giving MMA a go.
“However, he laughed this off when I asked.
“That was just fun, I was sparring Conor and Artem Lobov up in Dublin. Conor said put it out there and the media will jump on it so all a bit of fun,” he said.
Fighting for a world title next year is what Nevin is aiming for.
“I’m focused on this fight but I reckon sometime next year, by the summer or autumn (I’ll be) fighting for a world title. I think that’s a realistic plan.”
By Mick Kane.
