CHARLIE EDWARDS has joined Matchroom and will make his professional debut on the January 31 show at the O2, a bill topped by Anthony Joshua.
Small in stature he may be but Charlie has big ambitions. โIf all goes well and Iโm progressing really nicely and I go through domestic level, Iโd love to fight and love to get in a ring with Zou Shiming. Iโve been round the amateurs and he was as top amateur,โ Edwards told Boxing News. Shiming is a two-time Olympic gold medallist and now a massive draw in China. โThe money he brings to the table for flyweight, youโd be stupid not get in there with him. Iโd love to get in there with him and hopefully I can give him a beating. He isnโt unbeatable, Iโve seen the way he fights and heโs still got an amateur style. Thatโll be a massive potential fight, maybe in a few years time. Weโll just have to see how it goes.โ
The Croydon boxer will start his professional journey at flyweight but ultimately expects to move up through the divisions. โI donโt want to stay at one weight. Iโm tall enough to be a bantamweight. I always work hard and put everything into this,โ said Charlie. โ[Promoter Eddie Hearn] has got a plan for me, two four-threes, then two six-threes and then jump straight into two eight [rounders] and, depending on what position Iโm in at the time, maybe challenge for a title after that. Because in the flyweight division there isnโt much out there – you can move quickly. Thatโs what Iโd like to do.
โItโs been a long time coming. Iโve been on the [GB] squad for six years and now this is showtime, Iโm really looking forward to it.
โI just canโt wait to get in that ring and under them lights and prove to everyone how good I am.โ
He also has a message for former GB team-mate Anthony Joshua, who headlines the show. “Eddie wants me to be a TV floater so hopefully Joshua gets Kevin Johnson out of there and he puts me on,” the 21-year-old said. “Iโll be ready on the night, itโs going to be such an excitement being there, to perform and to know that Iโm going to get pushed on Sky, itโs going to do me great, itโs going to build my career and hopefully bring fans in as well.”
Also on the O2 bill, Anthony Joshua fights the USAโs Kevin Johnson, Kevin Mitchell takes on Daniel Estrada, Tommy Martin fights Ricky Boylan for the vacant English light-welterweight title and John Wayne Hibbert boxes Tyler Goodjohn.
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