By Dean Parr
'Blazin' Blaine Courtney, 1-0, will partake in his second pro fight on the Goodwin Promotions 'Return of a Champion' bill at Stadium MK on March 13th. Opposing him will be tough veteran Anthony Hanna, 22-96 (8 early), but the Luton man is confident he can hold his own and perform strongly on the night.
“I can't wait to get in there,” he enthused. “It's been a while since my last one, and I just can't wait for it. Anthony Hanna's been in with the best of the British, such as the likes of [Jason] Booth and Damien Kelly so it's a step up, but I think I'm more than ready for it.”
Blaine trains at the gym of former WBU World Champion and current Goodwin Promotions matchmaker Graham Earl. On his preparations for his next bout, Courtney divulged: “All my preparations have gone great! I haven't picked up any knocks or anything like that and I'm feeling fit. I know I'm young and that's natural, but I've got a good feeling about this one.”
He continued: “I've been sparring with a couple of the other lads in the gym like Michael Devine, who's a 3-0 lightweight, Jamie Boness, who's a light-middle and a bit with Graham as well. I've been mixing with quite good company. I've been doing a bit with Martin Power as well.
“You can't buy experience, and what I'm learning from just watching these guys is great. I'm picking up new things all the time. Sometimes, it's just the smallest little things like how they move their feet, or how they do a certain thing, and I try to pull it off and try to do it on the bags just to learn it. If I could learn half of what someone like Graham knows, I'd be happy.”
In his pro debut, Courtney out pointed Latvia's Pavels Senkovs, winning by a margin of 59-55. “I think I made hard work of that one,” Blaine admitted. “There were certain things I was told to do in the corner that I didn't carry out the way I would have liked to.”
“I'm happy with the way I performed in Luton, in front of my home crowd”, he carried on, “but I think I let that get to me a little bit. All in all - I think I made an easy fight quite hard.”
However, it should also be noted that Senkovs was a couple of weights heavier than Blaine would usually fight at. He said: “I'm naturally a super bantamweight and I only found out I was fighting him the day before, so I didn't have to put on any weight. I was told he'd be coming in at about 9st 4lbs; I weighed in at 8st 13lbs.
“I was used to sparring bigger lads then as well though, so it wasn't much of a problem. You've just got to adapt and that's the way it is. With this Senkovs, though, I was hitting him and thinking, ‘Why are you still there?’ He was a tough nut to crack.”
As mentioned earlier, Blaine's fight on March 13th will be his first under the Goodwin Promotions banner. “I think it's a six fight contract; I can't really tell you that much about it for obvious reasons,” Courtney explained. “Graham's sorted it out for me, and not everyone has the chance to get a contract like this - I've been quite lucky, so I just want to keep everyone happy and get the 'W' at the end of the day.”
There are many good, young fighters coming into the sport nowadays, but Blaine feels he has that ‘X-factor’ needed to get to the top. “I've said all along I think I can go all the way,” revealed the 1-0 boxer. “I've got the right people behind me, and the world's my oyster.
“Our gym is quite new; it's only been open for about a year. We used to have Robin Deakin, and I know he didn't have the best record, but he's moved on to another gym now, so it's our turn to take over from where the likes of Graham have left off. Boxing in Luton is quite weak, so we've got to try to put it on the map.”
To buy tickets for Courtney vs. Hanna, visit http://www.goodwinpromotions.co.uk
