Tennyson eyes future Frampton fight

PRESS RELEASE:

Red-hot Belfast featherweight contender James Tennyson is dreaming of a blockbuster future showdown with fellow Northern Irishman and unified World Super-Bantamweight champion Carl Frampton.

Hard-hitting Tennyson challenges Cromer star Ryan Walsh for the British Featherweight title at the Copper Box Arena on Saturday 30 April, exclusively live on BoxNation.

Known as the ‘Assassin’, Tennyson has amassed an impressive record of 16-1 with 13 knockouts since turning professional in September 2012. Under the guidance of manager Mark Dunlop, Tennyson has quickly established himself as one of Northern Ireland’s hottest properties; capturing the Irish title at super-featherweight in just his sixth fight.

Tennyson, 22, was Frampton’s final sparring partner before he went on to outpoint Scott Quigg at the Manchester Arena in February. It was a fight that nearly never happened after Tennyson cut Frampton’s eye with a big left uppercut in the dying seconds of their final spar.

The man who recently signed with top promoter Frank Warren knows if he is to reach the very top of the fight game he may have to take on his close friend somewhere down the line.

“That would be a massive fight but I would need to get the right fights and experience to bring my career onto that level,” said Tennyson.

He added: “If Frampton took the title at featherweight and I came on at the right time in my career it could happen in the future. Carl is a great guy and a good friend of mine. In the future if I had the right experience under my belt it’s a fight that could be made.”

As well as Frampton, Tennyson has been getting in valuable sparring with WBC International featherweight champion Josh Warrington and Max Hughes in the run-up to his showdown with Walsh. With only one loss on his record, Tennyson is confident he’s got the skills to overcome Walsh.

“I sparred with Carl for a full week in the lead up to the Scott Quigg fight. It was a great experience for me. He’s kind of similar to Ryan Walsh, he’s small and strong and he’s a good boxer so it was good sparring to kick-start my training camp. I believe I’ve got the upper hand. I’m the bigger guy and I know I can get the job done.”

Dunlop added, “In boxing anything is possible and it would be an unbelievable fight between James and Carl, especially in Belfast. Our faith and trust is in Frank Warren to make the fights at the right time. Right now we’re focussed on Ryan Walsh on April 30th at the Copper Box Arena and that’s a tough, hard, fight that we must win.”

WBO World Middleweight Champion Billy Joe Saunders makes the first defence of his title against “Mad” Max Bursak and headlines an action-packed card that also features: The Vacant European Cruiserweight title between Ovill McKenzie and Dmytro Kucher; Ryan Walsh defends his British Featherweight Championship against James Tennyson; Anthony Nelson defends his Commonwealth Super-Flyweight Championship against Jamie Conlon. On the undercard fast rising undefeated heavyweight sensation Hughie Fury, Erith super-bantamweight Lewis Pettitt; Chingford super-featherweight Boy Jones Jnr; Indian middleweight sensation Vijender Singh; Chelmsford super-middleweight Billy Long, West Ham super-welterweight Sammy McNess; Sidcup super-featherweight D.P Carr; West Ham super-lightweight Ben Smith; Hornchurch super-lightweight Sanjeev Sahota; Nantwich heavyweight Nathan Gorman and Enfield super-middleweight Barney Joe Jones, all feature.

Tickets priced at £30, £40, £60, £80, £100, £150, £200 are available from See Tickets 0871 230 7148 and www.seetickets.com, Eventim 0844 249 1000 and www.eventim.co.uk, Ticketmaster 0844 8440 444 and www.ticketmaster.co.uk