Hot super-featherweight talent Mitchell Smith has returned from training camp in Spain and is ready to bring the heat on rival Peter Cope. The unbeaten Harrow Weald star faces Hartlepool’s undefeated Cope on Wednesday, July 16 at the York Hall, Bethnal Green.
Smith, 21, completed a week and half training camp at the state-of-the-art gym in Marbella run by former British and European Middleweight Champion Matthew Macklin, racking up top quality training and sparring.
Smith, regarded as one of Britain’s best young talents on the scene, is looking forward to showing his full range of skills against Cope and continue his march towards the British title.
“The training camp at the MGM in Marbella was fantastic. It was very hot out there, quite different to training over here. For me it was about training hard first, then enjoying the weather, relaxing and recovering after.
“I was sparring with unbeaten prospect Tom Stalker, and young Irish talent Declan Geraghty, which was decent southpaw sparring for me to prepare for Cope and we got some good rounds in. In between the mountain runs I was training three times a day and it was probably the hardest I’ve trained in my life. I definitely feel the benefits,”
“I always go away to a training camp over here, but this is the first time I’ve been to a training camp abroad and I spent a week and half out there, it will definitely be something I’ll be doing in the future for fights.
“I’m fit to fight now, I just can’t wait to get in there and show what I can do.
“A lot of people are saying the fight against Cope is 50-50, but for me, I believe that I’m a class above him and I’ll show just what I can do. I’ll show exactly what I’ve been telling people all along, that I can go on to bigger and better things.
“Some people have had a pop at me for looking past Cope, but that’s not the case, I’m fully focused for this fight because I know there’s bigger stuff beyond him and I can’t lose. I’m looking at giving him a real boxing lesson and then knocking him out, win the English title and then focus on the British title.
“Right now I’ve got a few last spars left, I’m polishing up on a few bits and getting the last few pounds off. I’m really looking forward to standing in front of him at the weigh-in, because some people have questioned about me making the weight, and showing him that I’ve done it with it ease.
“It’s easy doing what I’ve been doing against journeymen, showing that I can hit with both hands, showing that I can box, but people are going to question if I can do it against a decent fighter.
“Well, my last opponent Mark Evans was unbeaten, Cope is 9-0, against these guys I’ll show what I can do and just get better and better. I’ll show how dominant and nasty I can be.”
Smith v Coper features as chief-support on an action-packed show headlined by Frank Buglioni’s challenge for the Vacant Southern Area Super-Middleweight title against Sam Couzens.
