Champ Cardle hits back in pre-fight war of words

Lytham boxer Scott Cardle has responded in kind to pre-fight jibes by his opponent Kevin Hooper, whom he meets on Friday night in a defence of his British lightweight title.
Scott CardleScott Cardle
Scott Cardle

Hooper is confident of taking Cardle’s belt off him, describing the champion’s recent performances as ‘average.’

Cardle says he takes Hooper’s point entirely, adding: “I am my own worst critic and I would say that that my recent performances haven’t been average – they have been below average.

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“So if I am average again in Glasgow on Saturday, then Hooper is in trouble.”

Cardle is convinced that there will only be one outcome on Friday night at the SSE Hydro and that his boxing skills will prevail against the raw aggression of the challenger.

He said: “When Hooper has come up against better fighters than he has been used to meeting, like Liam Walsh and Gary Sykes, he has come up short.

“That tells a lot to me.

“At the same time, I am not taking Hooper lightly.

“He is a tough lad, a work-horse who will keep coming at me. I have prepared double-hard for this to make sure that everything is right.

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“I won’t allow myself to be drawn into his kind of fight and I will be using my superior boxing skills.”

Cardle defends the belt for the third time on Friday.

As one of those fights – against Sean Dodd – was a draw, he is unsure at this stage if a win on Friday would mean he would be able to keep the Lonsdale Belt outright.

Cardle said: “We haven’t found out for sure whether we have the belt for keeps - that is something to think about after the fight.”

Top of the bill on Friday sees Ricky Burns defend his World Boxing Association world super-lightweight title against Kiryl Relikh.

Brixton heavyweight rivals Dillian Whyte and Ian Lewison clash for the vacant British title

The Cardle camp still have tickets available via 07889 947147.

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