‘This is a real 50-50’ – Danny Dignum expects Alfredo Meli to give him his toughest night

Unbeaten WBO European middleweight king Danny Dignum [12(6)-0] admits he’s got the fight of his life on his hands in Alfredo Meli [17(5)-0-1] on Saturday night.

Essex’s Dignum collides with unassuming Belfast mechanic Meli in a fight that also serves as a British title eliminator on the MTK Fight Night in Brentwood.

Having secured the title in emphatic fashion with a stoppage of Conrad Cummings last time out, Dignum is confident of another Irish win– but admits ‘Fredo’ represents another significant step up in class.

“He’s 100% my toughest fight yet and this is a massive step up for me. I know a win will push me up even higher in the WBO world rankings. It’s even bigger in that it’s a British title eliminator now,” added Dignum, who gained a lot of Irish respect for his manner pre and post his Cummings win.

“I know Meli is a very good fighter and that he’s aggressive with a very good engine. It’s going to be a hard night’s work.

“This is a real 50-50 fight but I believe my smart boxing ability will be enough to get me the win. There’s nothing specific we’ve worked to improve on other than a few different things going by Meli’s style,” he adds before reflecting on his recent rise.

“I’m really proud of where I’m at in my career. To defend my title locally to where I live gives me even more motivation to keep it.”

Joining Dignum vs. Meli on a sensational night of boxing in the Essex heartlands is the Southern Area welterweight title fight between Sam Gilley and Curtis Felix Jr, the return of unbeaten Shaquille Day, a clash of two unbeaten prospects in James Hawley and Josh Adewale.

On a bustling undercard, the likes of Olympian Steven Donnelly, Martin McDonagh, Tipperary’s Randal Barlow, Jack Martin, and Kevin Reavell compete for limelight.