Jack Bateson aiming to land English title in front of home fans in Leeds
The undefeated Leeds fighter has finally got his shot at a first professional title after taking his record to 14-0 in September with a points win over Felix Garcia at Headingley.
Mahmood enters the contest with a record of 11 wins and one defeat and has previously been Southern Area champion.
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Hide AdHis sole loss came in his last outing as he was narrowly beaten on points by Chris Bourke in a Southern Area title contest.
“The only loss he has had has come against a very good fighter and he only lost by two points,” Bateson told The Yorkshire Post, with tonight’s contest set to be staged in the Leeds United Banqueting Suite at Elland Road.
“He is from a great stable with some great fighters and it is a great opportunity for him as well.
“I am expecting the toughest fight of my life. It is a good chance for me to shine and show everybody what I am about. I have trained long and hard over the last few months, I haven’t really had a rest all year.
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Hide Ad“I got a call a week after my last fight telling me I was fighting for the English title so I was straight back in the gym.
“It should be a great fight.”
If the 10-round contest goes the distance, it will be the longest fight of Bateson’s career but he is not worried about the step up in rounds. He has competed in eight-round bouts previously and felt comfortable.
He added: “I have done a couple of eight-round fights and I was comfortable in those.
“I do feel the further the fight goes and the more rounds I do, the better I get. I do feel like I am a Championship level fighter and it is time for me to prove that.
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Hide Ad“Where better to do that at home in Leeds by winning an English title.”
The title fight will be Bateson’s third outing this year while Mahmood has not fought since the summer of 2020.
Bateson’s win over Garcia came on the undercard of Josh Warrington’s rematch with Mauricio Lara. A knockdown was scored against Bateson in that fight but on further review, it looked like he had been tripped rather than knocked over and he recovered from that setback to emerge victorious.
“I feel like I boxed well,” reflected Bateson.
“There was a knockdown in the second round against me but I didn’t feel it was a knockdown but it got scored as one.
“So I had to deal with the adversity after and make sure I won all the rounds after, which I did.”