I’ll prove I’m ‘Real Deal’ by lifting a British title
Priestfield boxer David Jamieson dreams of one day retiring with a British title of his own, as he progresses in his professional career.
Cruiserweight Jamieson, 27, hopes his fight against Polish fighter Pawel Strykowski at Hamilton Park race course next week will be a major step towards a British title fight.
Jamieson, nicknamed ‘The Real Deal’, who trains at the Blantyre club, goes into the clash with a bit of pedigree from 12 years in the game.
He made his TV debut last month in BT Sport’s Ultimate Boxxer, reaching the semi-finals of the £50,000 tournament, after a late call-up to fight in Manchester.
He said: “People always ask me what my boyhood dream was.
“Because I started at 15, I have no big ideas of world titles or anything like that, but the thing I have always wanted is a British title.
“If you win a British title and you defend it three times, you get to take a Lonsdale belt home.
“So, if I can sit at 40 with my nose still across my face and a Lonsdale belt on my mantelpiece, I will be a happy man. It will all be worth it if I can achieve that, and that is my ultimate target at the moment.
“I’m looking to be sitting on the fringes of the UK’S top 10 by the beginning of next year, and then looking to pick up a Scottish title or a Celtic title, which will give me a springboard into the top 10.
“That would give me a run at a British title, so hopefully it’s a big year for me.”
Jamieson admits he wasn’t particularly sporty as he grew up in East Kilbride, but his hero Evander Holyfield – the reason for his nickname – lit a fire under him.
He admits: “I couldn’t kick a ball at school, I was the last picked in PE, I was a bit heavy, I had never been in a gym.
“Eventually, we got a gym pass through school and my friend and I started going to the gym.
“We started lifting weights and realised we were quite strong; that made us cool in some of the circles at school.
“I started going to a Mixed Martial Arts class and realised I was better with my hands than I was with my feet. So, they sent me to Billy Leitch, and he’s the one that started it off for me at Blantyre Miners’ Welfare Amateur Boxing Club.
“I won a couple of Scottish titles, Western Districts and it just went from there.
“In my first fight they put me into the Novice Championships and I stopped the then-champion in the second round, so that was a massive boost.”
Jamieson says looking up to Holyfield was also a big part of his development and explained: “When I was struggling with boxing and felt maybe I can’t be bothered anymore, I watched him fight and it lit the fire in me again. “I fight similarly to him. “I wear my heart on my sleeve in the ring, so that’s why I went with ‘The Real Deal’ – he is such an inspiration.”
Jamieson’s most recent fight in Ultimate Boxxer inflicted his first defeat of his professional career, spanning seven fights so far.
But the loss on points gave him loads of exposure and he said: “It proved to my coach and I that I can mix it with the guys at the top level in this division, even on short notice.
“If everything is in place – the sponsorship, the time off work, time to rest and being able to dedicate myself to this, then the sky is the limit.
I would like to think the British title dream is very realistic.”
Jamieson’s fight at Hamilton Park racecourse is on Friday, September 6.
Tickets, priced £75, include a champagne reception, four-course meal and five fights.
For more details or to book a seat, please call 07850 449266 for more.