Mark Jeffers was at Oakwell on Saturday night to see local hero Callum Simpson win the British and Commonwealth titles by outpointing Zak Chelli.
As 7,000 fans lost their minds around him, English champion Jeffers sat quietly watching events unfold.
Last year, the undefeated Jeffers, 18-0 (5 KOs), beat Chelli to win the English title. The no-nonsense 26-year-old from Chorley defended against Germaine Brown earlier this year and then scored a stunning knockout of Darren Johnstone in May. Still, he is waiting for the chance to break out in the same way that Simpson has.
“I don’t even think it’s about picking the right fight, it’s just about getting the opportunity. I’ve done Chelli on two weeks’ notice and he’s here making loads of money on a big show, fighting for the British title. That’s boxing isn’t it? It’s a mad game,” Jeffers told BoxingScene.
“I’ve always said that I’ll fight anybody on any notice so we’ll see what comes of it.”
There is a definite respect between Jeffers and Simpson. The two have sparred and – on the Northern scene at least – have been regarded as Britain’s two brightest hopes at 168lbs for some time. Jeffers picked Simpson to follow in his footsteps and beat Chelli before the fight and knows that the two should be on a collision course.
After having the British title wrapped around his waist, Simpson took the microphone and spoke of his desire to leave no doubt that he is the best 168lbs fighter in Britain and mentioned Jeffers as a potential future opponent. Both fighters are managed by Kevin Maree and – in an ideal world – would be maneuvered in parallel for the time being.
If Jeffers and Simpson can spend the next 12 months gathering experience and climbing the rankings, a return to Oakwell next summer could easily be built around a significant, multi-title showdown between the two.
Jeffers sits at No. 3 in the European super middleweight rankings and has had his sights on a fight with EBU champion, Kevin Lele Sadjo, 23-0 (20 KOs), for some time. He revealed that he almost got the dangerous Frenchman into the ring last year.
“I took that fight last year on six days’ notice and then they ended up turning the fight down. We’ll see. I can’t wait around forever though. If it’s not that fight, I definitely want the winner of this one,” he said.
“I think he was meant to fight an Italian guy. He pulled out and Kevin [Maree, his manager] rang Mick [Jennings, his trainer], and it was six days’ notice. I said ‘Yes’ straight away. We were doing the contracts and they ended up picking an Argentinean instead and having a tickover fight. That was that.”
Sadjo has been linked to a meeting with rising American star Diego Pacheco. A fight with the WBO’s No. 1 ranked super middleweight would obviously be far more appealing – and lucrative – to Sadjo than a fight with the tough, confident Lancastrian and Jeffers is prepared for the title to be declared vacant.
“Possibly. He’s not been defending it,” he said of Sadjo. “He didn’t defend it in his last fight. The fight before that was against an Italian who’d won about 30 and lost 10 or something. I can’t remember his name [Giovanni de Carolis]. He’s not boxed anybody of any note since he beat Jack Cullen really.”
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