Cummings’ big chance to step up

CONRAD CUMMINGS puts himself firmly in the shop window next week, in defence of his WBO European middleweight title against Robert Swierzbinski.

The aim is to make the leap to world level. Cummings (above) was a worldclass amateur and has what it takes to fulfil his dreams as a pro.

The margins are small and the difference is often mental. Cummings has suffered one defeat and a draw since turning pro three years ago.

In my view, he won both but, as is the way with many inexperienced fighters, those results carried more weight in his own mind than they needed to do.

Conrad has a tendency to over-process outcomes. His disappointment was obvious and, after the loss to Ronny Mittag last November, he really struggled to get out of his own way.

We sat him down and talked it through. He is a terrific talent and has every opportunity to make a big impression on the world stage. His fight against Swierzbinski, on the Carl Frampton undercard in Belfast, kicks off Channel 5’s live coverage.

Swierzbinski is the type of fighter to bring out the best in Cummings. Though he has six defeats on his record, those have come against high-quality opponents like Chris Eubank Jr (inset) and David Lemieux.

Cummings bounced back well to beat Gogi Knezevic in three rounds in March, a result that told him he has the tools to trouble the best.

We are pleased to see the fight between WBO middleweight champion Billy Joe Saunders and Willie Monroe Jr made for September.

Saunders has been through the mill a bit, but is now training with Dominic Ingle and looking to get his career moving in a positive direction.

Assuming Saunders makes a successful defence, I would not hesitate to put Cummings in with him. This is what the game is all about – big fights and testing yourself against the best.