Paul Appleby, who won the British featherweight title in only his 12th contest in June, will defend the belt against Esham Pickering.
Youngster set tricky first title defence
Paul Appleby, who won the British featherweight title in only his 12th contest in June, will defend the belt against Esham Pickering in Glasgow on November 28.
It promises to be another tough night for the 21-year-old, whose opponent steps up from super-bantamweight after losing his British title in the summer, fully 10 years after his first attempt at winning the featherwight crown.
But Appleby has no intention of relinquishing his title after the narrow points decision over John Simpson at Kelvin Hall earlier this year.
"Just to complete 12 rounds gave me confidence," he said. "Now I know I can go 12 but hopefully this won't go 12 rounds. I think I will stop him.
"I get recognised more now and get more respect. I have got more to lose - so I want to stay the champion."
Manager Tommy Gilmour knows that challenging a fighter of Pickering's experience is a dangerous step at this stage of Appleby's career, but merely underlines the canny Scot's confidence in his charge.
"People are looking for bigger and better things for Paul Appleby," he said. "If he can do it against tried and tested champions, that's the fights I believe he has got to make.
"We have got to be prepared to move up to the next level.
"He put in an outstanding performance against John Simpson. He needs an even better performance to beat Esham Pickering, with the amount of championship fights he has won.
"There are not too many fighters, at any weight, who have taken so many title fights.
"(But) I believe, and so do Britain's boxing writers, that Paul is something special."
