English super-middleweight champion Paul David has upped sticks and moved to London, after signing management papers with Johnny Eames and switching his training to the TRAD TKO Gym in Canning Town.
Paul, who won the English title via a seventh round knockout of Tyrone Wright in December 2008, is hopeful that the move to nation’s capital will be present him some new opportunities.
“I’m really enjoying being part of the TRAD TKO team. I’ve been coming here for a few weeks now and it’s been going well,” David said.
“I’ve been sparring the cruisers here, you know Leon Williams and the other big guys here, Mitchell Balker, from the Netherlands, and Paul (Menay) Edwards.
“There’s a lot of the bigger guys up here but I’m just using my elusive style to get my way around the ring. So it’s good and the training’s like hard and physical and I’m going to have no problem getting down to super middle.
“I should have been fighting Patrick Mendy but there were no purse bids so Johnny is looking for other fights for me. I don’t care who or where I fight so hopefully it wont be too long before my next fight.
“I’m just ready to do the business.”
Johnny Eames is more than a little aware of the problems of getting fights for such a feared fighter, but seems confident that he may be able to get Paul in contention to challenge the likes of current British and Commonwealth champion George Groves, European champion James DeGale, even if it means via a title eliminator against his close friend, former British Champion Paul Smith, as he made clear when he spoke earlier.
“I came across Paul a couple of years ago, I was offered him as an opponent for Tony Oakey, but I see him beat a fighter who became one of my fighters, Peter Haymer, so I didn’t fancy him as the right fighter for Tony at the time - he may have beat him, he may not, we’ll never know.
“He’s a very awkward fighter, typical Ingles style, but better than a lot of Ingles fighters. He’s a Ryan Rhodes type of Ingles fighter who can do it. There’s a lot of the boys that come out of Sheffield that imitate the style but can’t perfect it, but Paul is certainly one of those that has perfected it and I can understand why so many fighters avoid fighting him.
“He’s been sparring with Leon (Williams), Mitchell Balker and Paul Edwards amongst others and seeing him in sparring has changed my opinion on that style, I normally don’t like that style, it’s not the sort of style you want your fighters to fight against.
