Jamiesonis rolemodel forpriestfield
Priestfield coach Gerry Higgins says IBO Continental champion David Jamieson is a great role model for kids at the Blantyre club.
But Higgins says the cruiserweight boxer will need to go full-time if he is to progress, and hopes sponsorship deals will flood in following his win over Swedish champion Samo Jangirov at Trump Turnberry last month.
Jangirov took Jamieson over the 10 rounds, but the Priestfield boxer won by unanimous decision to take the belt.
Higgins, who has been coaching Jamieson for six years, said:“david is a good role model for all the young guys, and he’s always got plenty of time to speak to them.
“It’s great for them to aspire to that, it gives us something to focus on and we’ve got a good wee bunch coming through just now.
“The week before we had our younger boxers fighting at the Scottish Novice Championships and they came back with six medals, so it has been a great week all-in.”
Higgins says he and Jamieson learned a lot from the Fightzone clash and hopes they get a chance to really work on it in the future.
He said:“david is a brilliant fighter, and there’s room for improvement.
“It was a tough, tough fight, and both of us learned a lot from it.
“After 10 rounds it answered a few questions and left some unanswered, but it showed that he can go 10 rounds at a great pace.
“Maybe he needs to box a bit more clever because the guy he was in with, I’ve never seen anybody as durable as that in my life after being hit with so many hard shots – Davie can really punch. I do pad work with David and it’s like being hit by a bullet while wearing a bulletproof vest!
“He’s a great guy to work with, he has a great attitude. David has applied himself 100 per cent – he has no half-measures.
“His fitness and power is there, but he needs a wee bit more experience; that’s him up to nine pro fights and that’s his first professional title, so there’s nothing that can stop him from going on to bigger and better things.
“I’m not saying he’s going to go out and claim to be number one in the world, but he’ll not be too far off it.
“But he’s going to have to go full-time, because he’s still working between 10 and 12 hours most days, and the biggest part of training is the rest in between, but he doesn’t get that.
“For David to progress we need to try and get him some sort of sponsorship for him to go full-time.
“That means you can put more into your training to intensify yourself, whereas if you’re working, you can’t rest, and you’ll hit a ceiling.”