Tony Jeffries Prepares To Fight Artem Solomko
By Terence Dooley
Tony Jeffries appears for the third time in his beloved Sunderland next Friday night when he takes on Belarus’ Artem Solomko at the Seaburn Centre. Jeffries, 24, is 3-0 (3) and the Olympic bronze medallist has a glittering pro career ahead of him.
Jeffries told the Sunderland Echo that he is looking forward to this fight, which has been set for six three-minute rounds.
“I think this lad will be more durable and a tougher opponent. It's looking like the hardest fight since I went pro,” said Jeffries. “I'm ready for that. It's my first six-rounder and I knew it would mean a step up in class. I'm still learning the pro game and I'm looking forward to going in with better opponents as time goes by. This is only my fourth pro fight, remember, but Solomko is older and more experienced than me so he'll be no mug. Hopefully it'll be a good fight.”
Solomko is 29, he has not fought since May of 2008, still, he is a title-holder, of sorts, he won the Belarus light-heavyweight title in his last fight, a titanic points win over Dmitry Adamovich.
Jeffries, though, puts himself under intense pressure for each pro engagement; this one will be dedicated to the memory of his late promotional stablemate Darren Sutherland, who died last month.
“I think I perform best under pressure,” claimed Jeffries. “There's been a lot of coverage of all of the lads who did well at the Olympics and I think some of the boxing press are waiting for us to fail. I like that there's pressure on me to keep doing well and with the TV cameras there, you have to perform.”
Jeffries should perform; he has boxed well up to this point and looks a real prospect. The bill is topped by Jason Booths’ British super-bantamweight defence against Michael Hunter and will be shown live on Sky Sports. There are a few £35 and £90 tickets left. You can check for availability by phoning Total Sports on (0191) 567 9043.
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