By Terence Dooley
Birmingham’s Frankie Gavin has vowed to show what he can do when he meets South Africa’s Chis van Heerden, 22-1-1 (11), on May 9. Gavin, 22-1 (13), challenges for the IBF International welterweight title in front of his home town fans at the city’s Barclaycard Arena in what he beleives is a make or break encounter.
The 29-year-old out-pointed Bogadan Mitic in his last fight, but struggled to pin his man down or get him to engage, resulting in an unedifying spectacle for both Gavin and the spectators. This time, though, he has vowed to shine brightly and put in a special performance to move towards world level.
“I have been in big fights before with the likes of Bundu and Denton Vassell so I know what to expect on these big occasions,” said Gavin when speaking to the Birmingham Evening Mail. “I need to go out there and grab the chance with both hands. It will be the first time I have headlined in Birmingham so it is going to be great for me. That in itself is a dream come true and a fantastic chance to thank all of my fans and my sponsors.”
He added: “After I have won in Birmingham, I want to fight the winner of Paulie Malignaggi v Gianluca Branco for the European title or a world title final eliminator. Against Van Heerden, I am sure, it will be very different to recent fights against Bradley Skeete and Bogadan Mitic, who didn't want to know. They were out of their depth against me and just defended and backed off. They just could not cope with my high-level skills and couldn't find a way to catch me.
“The South African, who is now based in America, knows his way round and he wants to make progress, as I do, and it means one of us will finish with the credentials to go higher up the ladder. His IBF International title is at stake and I know from experience that a challenger has to go out and win the fight to take over a title. I'll be doing that.”
Van Heerden's only defeat came against Nikola Stevanovic in May 2010, the 27-year-old southpaw has produced a reel of wins since that setback and recently defeated Matthew Hatton (W12), he will hope to add another English scalp to his collection to put himself in the hunt for the Malignaggi-Branco winner.
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