By Terence Dooley
Promoter Frank Maloney stages yet another boxing show in the North East this Friday night, with the diminutive promoter certain that Jeffries will give the fans plenty to cheer about when tangling with Poland’s Michael Banbula on the Stuart Hall-Martin Power undercard at the Rainton Meadows Arena, Sunderland. ‘The Mighty Mackem’, 25, has a huge following in his native Sunderland, Maloney is certain that the popular fighter will ride this wave of support all the way to the top of the British boxing rankings.
“I want Tony to be the complete package and I think he has the ability to do that,” declared Maloney when speaking to the Sunderland Echo. “He's the hardest puncher of all the Olympians, but he has to ally that power with being a skilled boxer.
“Sometimes he gets a bit excited with the adrenaline of the moment and tries to finish things too quickly. He'll come up against good Europeans down the line who will let Tony blast away, tuck up and still be standing there, and we don't want that to happen. But Tony is on track. I will be able to judge where Tony is after this next fight, get him out again on September 11, then we will look to have him in his first title fight.”
‘Jaffa’ won Olympic bronze at the 2008 Games; he has raced to 7-0 (5) as a pro and should soon be amongst the titles, although Maloney, who has bags of experience when it comes to developing talent, is keen to allow his man the space to develop as a pro before propelling him towards the upper echelons of the domestic 168lb division.
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