David has‘roadmap’to Euro title shot
Boxer David Jamieson will take on former Scottish title challenger Kaseem Saleem next month as part of a‘road map’ towards a European title shot.
Jamieson – originally from East Kilbride and now living in Hamilton – tackles Saleem, 35, as part of Sam Kynoch’s Crunch Time 2.0 at the Doubletree by Hilton in Glasgow on Friday, April 19, as part of the undercard for a Commonwealth Silver lightheavyweight title fight between Chris Liddell and Paul Roberts.
It is the first time Jamieson has been in the ring since losing a title eliminator to Cheavon Clarke in June 2023 and is a step up to heavyweight, having put weight on in a bid to recover from a broken jaw sustained in a British cruiserweight title fight against Mikael Lawal in November 2022.
Dumfries’saleem is a fighter that 32-year-old Jamieson knows a bit about, and he’s hard at work in training.
He told the Advertiser:“i’ve sparred with him quite a lot and seen him about the Scottish scene for a few years now, so I know quite a lot about Kaseem.
“I’ve seen enough, and I know exactly what I need to do.
“We’re flat out in training. I’m strength and conditioning four mornings a week with Ian Stevenson at East Kilbride Fitness and Performance, so I’m with him at 5.15am for a good hour, go to work, and back in the gym six nights a week.
“I’m doing a bit of running and hill sprints, so it’s full on – about 15 or 16-hour days at the moment, but you’ve got to put the work in!
“We’ve got a bit of a road map this time – because we’re sitting at 10th in Britain just now, it’s important that we’ve got a bit of structure in place.
“I fight Saleem in April and then I’m back out again on June 22 up here, and that’s lining us up nicely.
“I’d like to take a run at a European title in the autumn, so that’s the kind of road map that we’ve got.
“It was nice to get a run in the British, and that’s always the one that got away isn’t it, but for the European – excuse the pun – you need to box clever.
“The European is a very achievable route for myself.
“Michal Cieslak has the title at the moment, and I think everybody who knows anything knows that I would beat him, just now.”
Jamieson normally fights at cruiserweight, but says the heavyweight bout against Kaseem is just part of his natural progression back down.
He explained:“i’ve taken a bit of time over the last few months to put a bit of weight back on after the jaw break, so it’s good to get my body into a better place now.
“It’s more because it’s a catch-weight scenario for this one and the one in June.
“Basically, because I’ve taken that time to put the weight back on my body after the jaw break, it’s important that I bring myself back down, gradually.
“Cruiserweight is my weight, that’s where I’m most effective, and where I’ll be competing.”