{"id":410,"date":"2015-01-27T08:23:04","date_gmt":"2015-01-27T08:23:04","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/gosportsandentertainment.co.uk\/?p=410"},"modified":"2015-01-27T08:23:04","modified_gmt":"2015-01-27T08:23:04","slug":"former-team-gb-star-edwards-primed-for-explosive-pro-debut-this-saturday","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/gosportsandentertainment.co.uk\/?p=410","title":{"rendered":"Former Team GB Star Edwards Primed For Explosive Pro Debut This Saturday."},"content":{"rendered":"
\"Charlie<\/a>
Charlie Edwards with coach Brian O’Shaughnessy at the Champions TKO Gym in London – Photo Gianluca (Rio) Di Caro<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Former Team GB Star Edwards Primed For Explosive Pro Debut This Saturday. <\/strong><\/p>\n

In just a few days time former Team GB amateur star Charlie Edwards is set to make his much anticipated transition to the professional ranks, when he faces Bentley, Yorkshire\u2019s Craig Derbyshire on the Eddie Hearn, Matchroom Sport promoted CAPITAL PUNISHMENT event, at the O2 this coming Saturday, the 31st<\/sup> January.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Back in October, the former European Bronze Medallist announced his intention to move to the pro ranks. After a few weeks of discussions with his team and various promoters Charlie eventually made the decision to sign with Eddie Hearn\u2019s Matchroom Sport organisation, a very savvy move indeed as not only are they the UK\u2019s #1 promotional outfit, but more importantly all their events are broadcast live on Sky Sports, therefore ensuring excellent exposure for seriously talented multi-ABA Champion.<\/p>\n

Charlie\u2019s transition to the pro ranks has probably been a little smoother than for most young amateur stars these days, mainly because for the past year or so Charlie, as well as his younger brother Sunny, have been travelling to the famous TKO Gym in East London, the home to many of the UK\u2019s top professional stars, both past and present, to be coached by Brian O\u2019Shaughnessy.<\/p>\n

As such the youngster enjoyed the best of both worlds, as Brian was a highly respected amateur coach, with a history of developing amateur champions, before applying for his pro license. Another bonus for Charlie being based at the TKO was the regular full on sparring sessions with many of the top prospects based there.<\/p>\n

Following one of these sparring sessions, with Champions TKO gym mate Michael O\u2019Rourke, both Charlie and Brian took some time out to speak about the youngsters upcoming professional debut, first up Charlie.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m feeling great, my training\u2019s gone really well and I\u2019m in the best shape of my career so far.<\/p>\n

I\u2019ve been preparing at the Champions TKO with Brian (O\u2019Shaughnessy) and my dad, I\u2019ve got a strength and conditioning coach now, covering all angles to make sure I\u2019m totally ready for my pro debut.<\/p>\n

The hard work is really paying off, great shape, weight\u2019s perfect, it\u2019s been perfect for the past two or three weeks, so I am definitely in the best shape of my life and just can\u2019t wait to get in there and prove that all the hype about me, because I know there\u2019s a lot of hype about me and I have got a bit of pressure on my shoulders, with people expecting me to perform, so I\u2019m going to go out there and box clever and make sure I perform.<\/p>\n

I done virtually everything you can as an amateur, Olympic qualifiers, Commonwealth Games and I won seven National titles, ABA titles and GB titles, European Bronze medallist, European Gold medallist as a schoolboy, so have won a lot of titles.<\/p>\n

I\u2019ve had a look at my opponent, he\u2019s on YouTube, he\u2019s had two fights and lost two, he\u2019s from Leeds or somewhere up in Yorkshire (sic – Bentley, Yorkshire) and his name is Craig Derbyshire.<\/p>\n

He\u2019s done cage fighting, he\u2019s done a lot of Kick Boxing and that, he comes from a fighting background.<\/p>\n

I know what he\u2019s going to do, he\u2019s going to come fighting right from the opening bell. The only thing is he comes flying in with his head so I\u2019ve got to be clever and stay out of the way f his head and he\u2019ll be there to be hit, I don\u2019t need go looking, he\u2019s going to come to me and I\u2019m going to make him pay, that\u2019s the way it\u2019s going to go.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s another day at the office, I know it\u2019s pro and everyone says it\u2019s a big step up and it\u2019s a different game, I\u2019ve been winning titles without a headguard for about a year and half now, so it\u2019s no biggy to me, it means I take my top off, which is better, I know when I take my top off in training I feel great, so yeah no big deal for me, I\u2019m raring to go, I\u2019ve fought in front of twenty thousand people up in Scotland, against a home fighter, so that\u2019s the biggest thing I\u2019m going to experience with everyone against me and on my back, so for me I get that extra buzz boxing in front of a big crowd, you can\u2019t get batter.<\/p>\n

I\u2019m expecting nothing else, but victory all the way, like I said he\u2019s going to come to fight, I\u2019m not looking for no stoppage or anything, but I know in the way I am hitting, if he walks on to one, especially how open he is, I\u2019m going to hurt him, so it may not go the distance.<\/p>\n

I\u2019m going in there prepared to go the distance, been doing a lot of sparring, eight threes, six threes, I mean I\u2019ve just been sparring Mickey O\u2019Rourke and he\u2019s a sixty four kilo fighter and I\u2019m not going to have anyone up against me like him, so I\u2019m prepared a hundred percent, I\u2019m leaving no stone unturned and really want to get in there and do the business.<\/p>\n

I want to say thanks for all the support, it means so much when I put up stuff on Facebook and Twitter and get so much positive messages from so many people wishing me luck, I do that to show them I\u2019ve been training, what I\u2019m putting myself through so I can be successful, everyone is reacting so positively and showing that they are supporting me, I\u2019m really grateful and going to really put a show on for every single one of my supporters.\u201d<\/p>\n

Then it was the turn of Charlie\u2019s coach, the affable Brian O\u2019Shaughnessy to talk about his young charge.<\/p>\n

\u201cYeah, the 31st<\/sup>, not long to go now, just a few days.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s all looking good, Charlie\u2019s been working hard, his transitioning himself for the pro ranks and it\u2019s going really well.<\/p>\n

Charlie first came to work with me at the TKO about a year ago, he says he\u2019d been wanting to work with me for a few years, he\u2019d seen me on the amateur circuit and liked the way I worked, so we got together last year and it\u2019s all good.<\/p>\n

I first see him when he was just a kid, you could see then he was going to be something special, so I was really pleased when he asked if I could start working with him.<\/p>\n

Personally, I don\u2019t see anyone in his weight division in this country, or Europe come to that, that would bother him, there\u2019s not a lot of fighters in his category anyway and even the best ones we had seen as they progressed from the amateurs and they\u2019re not a patch on Charlie.<\/p>\n

The person he\u2019s got on the 31st<\/sup> is a seasoned amateur, as well as has a Kick Boxing background, so we\u2019ve always got to expect the unexpected, but we\u2019re ready for that anyway, so expect a good, tidy win from Charlie.\u201d<\/p>\n

www.tkoboxinggym.com<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Former Team GB Star Edwards Primed For Explosive Pro Debut This Saturday. In just a few days time former Team<\/p>\n

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