The Most Talked About Novice In British Boxing
An awful lot has happened in the last 7 days as regards boxing.
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Paul Smith has confirmed his fight with Andre Ward will go ahead in Oakland, America on June 20th, whilst the talk of both sides of the Atlantic is dominated by the mega fight, which is Floyd Mayweather-Manny Pacquiao, due to take place this Saturday, May 2nd.
One piece of news that has slightly slipped under the radar on these shores, is the news of Prince Patel, the highly controversial former GB amateur boxer, has switched promotional stables from Steve Goodwin to Frank Warren as he looks to build on his debut knockout of Patrik Kovacs.
Patel, whose name is now widely known in the boxing business following a contentious interview with iFL’s Kugan Cassius, has had to find himself a new promoter following Goodwin’s decision to release him from his contract, with Goodwin citing his behaviour as a contributing factor to his decision.
The man from Acton, West London, now believes however that he has the right man behind him, to guide his career towards winning and unifying world titles at flyweight, before moving up the weight divisions.
On Warren, Patel said: “Frank Warren is an iconic figure in British boxing and has promoted some of the biggest names in the sport. He’s the best in the business and I believe that he’s the man who will get me where I want to be in my career.”
Warren also had his say on Patel: “I’m delighted to welcome the new prince to Queensbury Promotions. He looks like an exciting talent following his 1st round KO win last month and we’ll now establish some momentum with him.”
Following his post-fight interview with Cassius, Patel attracted mainly negative attention from large parts of the boxing community. Boxers such as Curtis Woodhouse, Tony Bellew and fellow former GB star Charlie Edwards were among the many that criticised Patel in the aftermath.
Patel at the time was the most talked about novice on these shores. Quite staggering for a fighter who whilst with Goodwin, did not have a guaranteed TV deal.
Edwards and Patel do have history. They boxed each other 5 times in the amateurs with Edwards being victorious on four occasions, something which Patel dismissed as irrelevant.
With both of them campaigning at flyweight, it seems that the two are destined to meet once again in the pro game. With a mutual dislike for each other, it seems like their 6th installment could have fireworks, both in the build-up and in the ring. One thing for sure is that if they do fight, surely then their long running feud will be settled, once and for all.
The interview with Patel can be found below by the guys at iFL TV below.
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