Matty Fagan has a clear incentive for getting his career back on track next month: revenge in front of a big hometown crowd.
Ellesmere Port’s Fagan suffered the first defeat as a professional in his last fight, going down 58-57 on points to Andrejs Podusovs at the ECHO Arena in October.
It was a disappointing night for the 26-year-old, who admitted later he had not coped well with his late ring time and struggled for energy.
Fagan has been training hard in the interim and will seek a return to winning ways on March 14 when he takes on ‘The Devil Child’ Jamie Quinn in Widnes.
Should everything go to plan, Fagan has lined up a rematch with Podusovs at the town’s new multi-million pound Cheshire Oaks Arena in June.
With fellow Ellesmere Port fighter Mason Cartwright on the bill and the capacity set at 1,000 for the show, Fagan is confident of a sell-out and thinks it would be a huge occasion for the town.
“It would be a massive night because to be honest not much else happens here now apart from the fair coming to town,” said Fagan. “The pubs would be packed out and I think Mason and I could sell 300 to 400 tickets each so we’d fill the place.
“Podusovs has proven himself since he beat me and he’s fighting for a Scottish Area title this month so it will be a good test for me
“On my worst day he beat me by one point on his best day so I’m confident that I can make up for that if I train well and prepare well.”
Like Cartwright and Paul Butler, who bids to become a two-time world champion on March 7, Fagan got into the sport through Wirral Community Police Boxing Club, which last week launched a campaign to raise £80,000 by December or risk becoming homeless.
Fagan is supporting that campaign and hopes the return of professional boxing to the town will help, but knows he has a job to do on March 14 first.
“I don’t know much about Jamie Quinn and I’m not paying too much attention to his record,” said Fagan.
“He’s tall and he’s taken a few rounds off people so he’ll come to win but my preparation has been fantastic and I feel good. I want to right the wrongs of my last fight and it would be great to do that in my hometown and hopefully it will remind people about the amateur club and how important it is.”
