East Kilbride’s David Jamieson says a dream tilt at the vacant British cruiserweight title in London, live on Sky Sports, is what he’s in boxing for.
Jamieson takes on old foe Mikael Lawal for the Londsdale belt over 12 rounds at the Alexandra Palace on Sunday.
The opportunity has come out of the blue, with Deion Jumah having to pull out due to a second detached retina injury that will halt his career.
Jamieson has some sympathy, but says always being fight-ready has paid off, as he prepares for the biggest match of his career.
And it gives the Westwood fighter an opportunity to exact revenge for the one professional defeat inflicted upon him in 10 fights, back in 2019 in the semi-final of the Ultimate Boxer contest.
The 30-year-old said: “This is massive. Absolutely massive. You need to take your opportunities when you get them.
“This is it, this is what it was always about – fighting for a British title live on Sky, it’s incredible!
“For folk who don’t know boxing, the Londsale belt, the British title, is absolutely massive.
“Regardless of certain other world titles and things you can win, this is a highly-coveted title and is widely respected, because of the calibre of boxing in Britain.
“It’s great exposure, down at Ally Pally where they have the darts, and it’s ticking some serious boxes.”
Jamieson says not having a lot of time to prepare for the fight simply means he will be fresher for it.
And while he has sympathy for Jumah’s plight, it has opened a door for him.
He added: “It’s the nature of the sport, I suppose. I believe Jumah has suffered a detached retina for the second time.
“He’s out, he’ll not be boxing as a professional again, so his career has
been brought to a halt early.
“From my point of view, you need to stay ready so you don’t have to get ready.
“When you’re sitting fringe top-ten as I am at the moment, you really never know when you’ll get the call, so it’s testament to staying in the gym.
“It was also always something we were gearing up to fight, to have the rematch with Mikael Lawal.
“That has always been on the forefront of our mind – how would me and Mikael fare over 12 rounds, instead of the three that it was the last time.
“I know they say history repeats itself but I got 10 days’ notice the last time [he fought Lawal] and I’ve had 10 days’ notice this time.
“A lot of fighters will say it would have been great to have a bit more preparation and stuff, and of course it would, but we don’t live in an ideal world.
“You can draw a lot of positives from it as well, because it hasn’t been playing on my mind.
“I’m coming in relatively fresh, 10 days, so I’ll just make sure my weight’s good, go straight in and get the job done.
“There’s not that much time for it to play on your mind and for you to overthink it and things like that.”
Fans can watch David in action on Sunday on Sky Sports Main Event HD or Sky Sports Arena, with the day’s card getting underway from 3pm.
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