Mickey Cantwell says if you enjoyed watching him fight, you should see his son Sam from Bexleyheath.

 

In a crowd-pleasing career, Mickey was a fans’ favourite who won a Lonsdale belt outright and made four challenges for the world title.

Now his 25 year-old son Sam is following in his footsteps.

Sam took up the noble art after having spent most of his early sporting life playing football and his dad will be in his corner when the flyweight prospect has his fourth professional fight at the Camden Centre on April 11.

Mickey said: “Sam is an exciting fighter - and I don’t think I was.

“He’s a completely different fighter.

“Sam is much more aggressive than I was.

“He’s gritty, comes forward and likes to punch to the body.

“I’m really chuffed with Sam’s progress.

“He only had four amateur bouts, so is a raw novice and he’s under a lot of pressure.”

And the old man is advising his son not to pay any attention to inevitable comparisons between the two.

Mickey added: “I’ve told him to forget about me and what I did and just get on with his own career.

“Sam was a really good footballer and I never once invited him to the gym with me.

“I never pushed him into boxing because I know how tough it is.

“When he came to me and said he wanted to go the gym, I said OK and he went on his own.

“I’m not going to say Sam is going to win titles, but he definitely has the potential to do well.

"Bit by bit, he’s getting there. He loves boxing and he’s very dedicated.”

Dad also reckons Sam has the right manager guiding his career in Mickey Helliet.

He said: “I can’t think of anyone better to look after Sam.

“Mickey knows boxing and knows Sam needs learning fights.

“He hasn’t had easy fights and that's a good thing.

“The better the opponent, the better Sam will box.

“Mickey will keep Sam boxing regularly, and he will get him the right fights.

“We had other offers when Sam was turning professional, but I knew Mickey was the man for the job.”

For ticket information on the card at the Camden Centre on April 11, call 07725 499464.

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