Tennyson all set to deliver an ‘explosive’ performance
Belfast man confident he can power his way to world title contention
JAMES Tennyson can sense that he is maturing into the mould of a fighter prepared to have his best shot at world glory in 2021.
It has been a long and winding road for the 27-year-old who made his professional debut eight years ago. Now he would appear to be just two wins away from a second world title shot.
Tonight in the SSE Arena, Wembley, Tennyson meets Canadian Josh O’reilly — a fighter ranked two places above him at eight by the World Boxing Association but whose record suggests the Belfast man should be too powerful for him.
Having been diminished by the weight-making issues of his time as a featherweight and super-featherweight, Tennyson is much more relaxed on fight week as a lightweight preparing for a world title eliminator with unbeaten O’reilly.
Always noted as a puncher, Tennyson has a timely warning for O’reilly and those he will face in the future as he oozes confidence going into this evening’s duel.
“Yeah, people always knew I had power but now I do feel even more explosive at lightweight,” said Tennyson, who is coached by fellow Belfast man Tony Dunlop.
“I feel I’m not taking that bit more out of myself making the weight and I can see it in my performances. While I love boxing, training was always something I had to do but didn’t enjoy and I suppose that was because of the weight. But the last few camps I’ve really been enjoying the training. Of course you have to make sacrifices, that’s the nature of the business, but it will be worth it in the end.
“Before I would have been dreading making the weight — nobody likes being deprived of food. That’s gone and I’m more resilient now in the ring. Before, I was vulnerable to body shots because I was more drained.
“I’m really a lot stronger and very excited about the opportunities that open for me if I can get past O’reilly. I know it will be a tough fight, he’s highly ranked and so am I so there’s a lot riding on the fight.”
A victory tonight would be expected to push Tennyson to within the top five of the WBA. The title is currently held by boxing’s latest star Teofimo Lopez, though it will be interesting to see how long he remains at lightweight.
Tennyson is unconcerned who the champion is just as long as he can do his job against O’reilly and drive ahead to a possible final eliminator for a crack at the title, having previously lost an IBF super-featherweight tilt at the hands of American Tevin Farmer.
While the bottom line is to walk away with a win, he would also like to give evidence of the work carried out in the gym with coach Dunlop.
“Every day I’m trying to improve my game,” he added.
“I’ve been working on my defence, I know that can improve. I feel I could be a bit more patient, move my head more — slight improvements that make a big difference.
“I do feel that those things are coming and I feel that with the better the opposition, the better I will be — I have to be because you just can’t steamroller guys at the top level, you have to be smart.
“My coach Tony has taken a good look at O’reilly, I don’t bother looking at opponents that much because I just leave it up to him and he tells me what to do.
“It’s another big night, another chance to shine on Sky Sports which I’m very grateful for and I feel really good.
“I know how big an opportunity this is and it’s about going in and grabbing it.”
‘The better the opponent, the better I’m going to be’