Boxing
Lightweight champion targeting Denys Berinchyk
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Sam Noakes hopes to land a fight with WBO lightweight champion Denys Berinchyk, but first he has to get past Gianluca Ceglia.
Noakes is the British, Commonwealth and European lightweight champion, with Ceglia the mandatory for the latter belt.
At 27, he is coming into what might be his prime, and he is targeting 36-year-old champion Berinchyk.
Speaking to BoxingScene, he did though make it clear he was willing to take on any of the division’s leading names.
“If you get yourself in that mandatory spot then they don’t really have a choice, do they?” he said. “I’m ranked with the WBO. [William] Zepeda’s been ordered to fight Shakur; I don’t know who Berinchyk’s fighting but out of the four world champions I’d rather that one.
“You’ve got to say either Shakur or Gervonta Davis [are the divisional leaders]. Lomachenko once upon a time but he’s sort of getting over the hill a little bit, isn’t he? Probably between them two.
“Where they’re such big names, it’s more money, isn’t it? I don’t mind – I’ll fight either one of them for a world title. It wouldn’t bother me which one.
“[But] if I could choose it would be Berinchyk, because stylistically – and he’s older, isn’t he? Any one of them would be main event on a big card in Vegas. Your name up there – it’s what we’re in the sport for, isn’t it? I’ve just got to keep biding my time until I get to that sort of situation where I can be in them sort of fights.”
Asked to choose between Stevenson and Davis, he replied: “I probably lean more to Davis. I prefer his style of fighting; he’s probably been in bigger fights as well.
“Zepeda’s a good operator. We’ll see how Shakur gets through that and then maybe the Davis fight might seem a bit more appealing for him.
“When you boil the sport down everyone likes to see tear ups, don’t they? Even the Joe Joyce fight [against Derek Chisora]. It’s not the two best heavyweights out there, but what a fight – they was just going at each other.
“Unless you’re a boxing purist – it’s similar with the [Floyd] Mayweather fights; Mayweather-[Manny] Pacquiao, everyone thought was gonna be an unbelievable fight, but it was a bit boring; a bit one-sided – that’s not what people want to see. They see them chomping at the bit beforehand; they then wanted to see a massive tear up, blood and all that, but sometimes it’s just not like that. I wish I was that skilful that I didn’t have to get involved as much – so, fair fair play to them.
“The opportunities for me are at this weight. I make it – I’m not saying I’m singing and dancing. I ain’t. But I make it alright – well enough that I feel fit and I feel strong. Even the last fight [April’s victory over Yvan Mendy] I done 12 rounds, no problem. Just, 12 rounds is a long time – you’re meant to come out feeling tired.
“I think I’ve got another few years [at 135lbs]. I’m campaigning for a world title at lightweight.
“September 6th will be the first one, and then another fight in December.”
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