Ricky Summers is ready to take out his frustration on Saturday’s opponent writes James Eley.
The Tipton light heavyweight was devastated to see his fight for the British Light Heavyweight belt against Frank Buglioni called off last week as he was putting in his final preparations for the bout.
‘Digger’ had been training hard for what would have been the biggest fight of his career but, with just over a week until the contest, Buglioni pulled out through injury, leaving Summers to rue what could have been at the O2 Arena, London, on the David Haye v Tony Bellew undercard.
That fight will happen in the coming months and, having not fought since November, Summers will now look to punch out his frustrations on Errol Johnson’s ‘No Guts, No Glory’ show at Walsall Town Hall, Walsall, on Saturday 4th March, on the same night he was supposed to face ‘Wise Guy’. Summers takes on tough Lithuanian, Remigijus Ziausys, over six rounds as he looks to keep busy before getting his shot with Buglioni later this year.
“It’s frustrating but that’s boxing,” Summers told bcb-promotions.com. “I have spoken with Errol and the fight is still on, but it is postponed because he has been injured in sparring. It is a massive blow because I had a 4-5 week camp for the fight and I put everything in to it. I was training three times a day and I have been out in Marbella and I haven’t been with my family in these last few weeks which has all been for nothing really.
“It is very frustrating. I have been told he has been cut but I haven’t seen any pictures of that so I don’t know if he has or not. I wish him a speedy recovery and hopefully the fight will go ahead in the future as it has been promised to me. It is more frustrating that he is injured and not myself because I have put up with little niggles throughout training and stuff. I don’t know what has happened with Frank, whether it is a genuine cut or if he hasn’t prepared properly for me and he wants more time or what.
“I have dieted and put more graft in than ever. I took myself away from my family, I haven’t really seen my two little boys and my Mrs for four weeks because I wanted to give myself the best chance possible of winning the British. Even though people were saying I was an underdog, I strongly believe I would have beat Buglioni.
“I am in a keep busy fight now which is something I need because I haven’t boxed since November. It is hard for my manager Errol because he has had a week to get a tough game opponent in but he has managed to come up with somebody who has fought at Heavyweight and Cruiserweight and he has only been stopped twice so hopefully I will get the rounds in with him. He has had something like 80 fights and he has gone the distance with Dillian Whyte and Dereck Chisora, people of that stature, so he should be a game fighter. I am not looking past him because I am a light-heavyweight and he will be much heavier than me but I feel like I am a level above and you should see that on the night. The plan is to get the rounds in now in this one and take the Buglioni fight when he recovers.”
Summers admitted it will be tough to regain his focus in this fight as his mind is still on what he could have achieved in the capital. However the 29-year-old knows he will have to concentrate as he will be in with an opponent much heavier than himself. He also gave credit to his fans and sponsors who have bought tickets for the fight in London and he is keen to put on a performance for those who will turn out at the Town Hall.
“More than anything I want the rounds,” he added. “I want to blow this frustration out and let it all out on the night. I feel a bit deflated with everything that has happened and I will have to be careful that it doesn’t affect my performance. I rise up to the occasion. As an amateur I had 63 fights and won 50. But when I used to box the top lads I used to beat them well, when I boxed the average lads I would still beat them but I would drop down to their level. I have always risen to the occasion right through my career but I am still expecting to put a good performance in.
“In an ideal world I would have liked a better opponent than this lad. But with the time-frame it isn’t easy to get people in. But I will be giving a bit of weight away in this fight. This guy struggles to make light heavy whereas I am down at the weight. I have been told he is going to be coming in at 13 stone the day before, so coming into the ring he will probably be around 14 stone so I will be giving nearly a stone away in weight on the night. But that is good for me because he will be tough and it will make it a challenge.
“I want to give a big shout out to my sponsors Nige Portor, JJX logistics, Cable and Alloys, Carlo Amendolaand a massive thank you to the people who are still coming out to support me. A lot of friends and family have had tickets for the Haye v Bellew fight expecting me to be on there, one of my sponsors spent thousands of pounds on tickets and I am not going to be there now. I feel sorry for them but it is completely out of my hands. I’ll make it up to them by getting a good win Saturday and preparing right for the Buglioni fight.”