Tommy Langford faces Sam Sheedy this Saturday 26/11/2016 for the vacant British Middleweight title from Cardiffs Motorpoint arena and this fight is brewing into a hot encounter between two determined men who both believe victory is theirs for the taking. The Queensberry Promotions show is live and exclusive on Boxnation.
Birmingham resident Langford (17-0, 6 KOs) will have his travelling Baggie army (Langford is a huge WBA football fan) rooting for him when he has the toughest test of his career against southpaw Sheedy (17-1, 4 early).
The best win on Tommys unbeaten record so far was back in March this year when he outpointed Lewis Taylor over 12 rounds for the vacant Commonwealth strap. He followed this up in July when he made a routine defence of his WBO Inter-Continental title over Timo Laine (TKO7). The lightly regarded bauble does bring ranking points and 27-year-old Langford sits at number two in the WBO rankings.
With the high WBO ranking , a clash with champion and stablemate Billy Joe Saunders looks a possibility but he can’t afford any slip ups at domestic level.
“I really hope Sam does show some fight and ambition,” said Langford. “He’s boasted about his ‘hidden’ power prior to his previous fights but, let’s keep it real, he’s only stopped four in 18 and he’s never ‘iced’ anybody – ever.
“Sheedy’s going to find out that the reason all my opponents go back foot is because I punch with authority. I hurt. He’ll be shocked when I set about him.
“I predict a clear win for Tommy Langford. If he runs, I’ll outbox him and systematically break him down. If he ‘brings it’, he gets stopped.”
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Tommy was due to face champion Chris Eubank Jr who withdrew from the fight and vacated the title citing an elbow injury. The domestic middleweight scene is stuffed full of quality and Sheedy was the fighter who got the call to challenge for the vacated title.
The twenty eight year old Sheedy is in the form of his life and has oozed confidence in the build up. The Sheffield born fighter overcame Andrew Robinson in July via a 10 round split decision.
His only defeat came when he challenged Navid Mansouri for Mansouris English Super Welterweight title in July 2015. Mansouri won the contest via a split decision which could of gone either way.
With the bill having had to be put back a month from its original date, Sheedy believes the delay will play into his hands. This will certainly be a step up for Sheedy, but the elusive Yorkshireman southpaw is very much the underdog, Sheedy is not short of self-belief.
“Initially the Langford camp thought they’d got me on three and a half weeks notice but, because of the delay, now I’ve had a nine-week camp. There’ll be no excuses from my end,” said Sheedy.
“Langford’s not even the best fighter I’ve faced – Nav Mansouri is better – but it will be the biggest occasion of my career. Still, I was made for the cameras and I’ll thrive off the atmosphere.
“I expect Tommy to try to steam me early but he’ll be too eager. I’ll catch him with my counters and finish him, probably with my left hook over the top.”
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Langford does everything well but hasn’t been made to shift through the gears yet in his professional career. He stays calm and collected under pressure and is a huge favourite with the bookies.
Sheedy will be awkward and slippery from his southpaw stance and expect him to cause Langford problems early but I feel Langford will use his strength and his exceptional work rate to win a competitive but clear decision.
