Boxer Lewis Pettitt would welcome support from his fellow West Ham United fans
Current WBA Inter-Continential Super-Bantamweight champion Lewis Pettitt is hoping that Hammers fans will support him as he pushes towards his dream of being world champion.
Pettitt, 24, is on the undercard of Saturday’s Risky Business event at the O2 Arena, where he was originally scheduled to defend his title and take one step closer to realising his dream.
Unfortunately for the Erith-born boxer, his title defence has had to be put on hold after he missed a full week of training last week and his trainers refused to let him defend his title without a full training schedule behind him.
“I was originally scheduled to defend my WBA Inter-Continential title at The O2 on a massive night because it’s a televised show with Tyson Fury and Chris Eubank Jr on the bill,” said Pettitt. “I was really excited and looking forward to it.
“It was going to be my second title defence which would really help me to continue to push on in the WBA ratings.
“Last week though I had an absolute nightmare of a week which put me out of training for the entire week. I didn’t get any sparring done or training in the gym as I was laid up in bed all week.
“I got better at sat down with my trainer Alan Smith at the start of this week and he just told me that he couldn’t allow me to enter a fight of that magnitude having missed a full week of training.
“We took the decision to drop Saturday’s fight at The O2 down to a six-round fight, which will give me some more practice and keep me working hard before we re-schedule the title defence for the next show, which will hopefully be in April.”
Pettitt, 24, is on the undercard of Saturday’s Risky Business event at the O2 Arena, where he was originally scheduled to defend his title and take one step closer to realising his dream.
Unfortunately for the Erith-born boxer, his title defence has had to be put on hold after he missed a full week of training last week and his trainers refused to let him defend his title without a full training schedule behind him.
“I was originally scheduled to defend my WBA Inter-Continential title at The O2 on a massive night because it’s a televised show with Tyson Fury and Chris Eubank Jr on the bill,” said Pettitt. “I was really excited and looking forward to it.
“It was going to be my second title defence which would really help me to continue to push on in the WBA ratings.
“Last week though I had an absolute nightmare of a week which put me out of training for the entire week. I didn’t get any sparring done or training in the gym as I was laid up in bed all week.
“I got better at sat down with my trainer Alan Smith at the start of this week and he just told me that he couldn’t allow me to enter a fight of that magnitude having missed a full week of training.
“We took the decision to drop Saturday’s fight at The O2 down to a six-round fight, which will give me some more practice and keep me working hard before we re-schedule the title defence for the next show, which will hopefully be in April.”
Throughout last seven days, Pettitt has dedicated his time towards getting some tickets sold and speaking to boxing fans and the media about his upcoming fight.
Pettitt admitted though that self-promotion for boxers can be difficult and hopes that his fellow West Ham fans could help him as he pushes forward in his career.
“I always take the final week off before a fight to dedicate my time towards getting my tickets sold and meeting people to talk about the event,” continued Pettitt. “Self-promotion is what makes boxers who they are, so you rely on people getting behind you to help you push on.
“At the stage in my career, I need to build a fan base and need as much support as I can get and because I’m a West Ham fan through and through, I’d love it if more Hammers fans were watching my fights and sending me their support.”
Pettitt has recently been tasting success at more glamorous venues, having fought his last three fights at either the ExCel Arena in Docklands or at the Copper Box on the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park.
However, Pettitt continues to set his targets higher and believes his dream of fighting on the pitch at the Olympic Stadium could one day materialise.
“The arenas are getting bigger and bigger. They will only continue to get bigger too. I was looking at a press release recently that if Fury gets a fight against Deontay Wilder or Wladimir Klitschko, that will be a massive stadium fight, as will be the Billy Joe Saunders vs Andy Lee fight.
“I’ve got to keep concentrating on my own performances and making sure that I’m still in with a shot of a world title fight because I’ll be on the undercard for these massive events.
“If either the Billy Joe or Fury fights managed to get on the pitch at West Ham for example, fighting at that event potentially in front of a number of Hammers fans would be a dream come true for me.
Risky Business takes place at The O2 Arena tonight, live on Box Nation (Sky 437/490), with Tyson Fury defending his European Heavyweight title for the first time against Christian Hammer being the main event of the evening. Chris Eubank Jnr will also be looking for title glory as he faces Dmitry Chudinov for the WBA Interim World Middleweight Championship.
Follow Lewis on Twitter at @LewisPettitt.
Pettitt admitted though that self-promotion for boxers can be difficult and hopes that his fellow West Ham fans could help him as he pushes forward in his career.
“I always take the final week off before a fight to dedicate my time towards getting my tickets sold and meeting people to talk about the event,” continued Pettitt. “Self-promotion is what makes boxers who they are, so you rely on people getting behind you to help you push on.
“At the stage in my career, I need to build a fan base and need as much support as I can get and because I’m a West Ham fan through and through, I’d love it if more Hammers fans were watching my fights and sending me their support.”
Pettitt has recently been tasting success at more glamorous venues, having fought his last three fights at either the ExCel Arena in Docklands or at the Copper Box on the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park.
However, Pettitt continues to set his targets higher and believes his dream of fighting on the pitch at the Olympic Stadium could one day materialise.
“The arenas are getting bigger and bigger. They will only continue to get bigger too. I was looking at a press release recently that if Fury gets a fight against Deontay Wilder or Wladimir Klitschko, that will be a massive stadium fight, as will be the Billy Joe Saunders vs Andy Lee fight.
“I’ve got to keep concentrating on my own performances and making sure that I’m still in with a shot of a world title fight because I’ll be on the undercard for these massive events.
“If either the Billy Joe or Fury fights managed to get on the pitch at West Ham for example, fighting at that event potentially in front of a number of Hammers fans would be a dream come true for me.
Risky Business takes place at The O2 Arena tonight, live on Box Nation (Sky 437/490), with Tyson Fury defending his European Heavyweight title for the first time against Christian Hammer being the main event of the evening. Chris Eubank Jnr will also be looking for title glory as he faces Dmitry Chudinov for the WBA Interim World Middleweight Championship.
Follow Lewis on Twitter at @LewisPettitt.