FOR Marcel Drzewicki’s third fight, the bar has been raised a little.
In the opposite corner on manager Anthony Manning’s Saturday show at the Eastside Rooms, Birmingham, will be Nabil Ahmed, a man whose losing record – a mere two wins in 48 fights (three draws) – masks his worth. He has been matched tough.
The “Batley Bulldog” poses a threat for any apprentice. He is no slouch, he comes to fight.
Nabil showed that last month by near raining on former fine amateur Louis Szeto’s debut parade.
On a major Manchester bill staged by Frank Warren’s Queensberry Promotions, Nabil dropped Szeto in the second.
Drzewicki, a featherweight with a big following in Burton, could face a test over four rounds – and that’s exactly what he wants.
“He’s quite a tough guy,” the 23-year-old admitted. “He’s given quite a few lads a long night – and that gives me more of a buzz, it makes me lock-in a bit more. I want the step-ups, I want the hard fights.”
Drzewicki comes from exemplary boxing stock: dad and trainer Lukasz was a world class amateur in his native Poland and actually holds a win over legend Ricky Hatton. Drzewicki is proud of his Polish roots, displaying the country’s white eagle emblem on his ring attire and, between rounds, conversing with dad in Polish.
That is what wrong-footed me at his debut. I expected to interview a fighter with a broken East European accent, but was hit with broad East Midlands vowels.
“I get that a lot,” Drzewicki laughed. “People say, ‘you don’t look Polish!’”
With a solid 27 bout amateur career behind him, Marcel has a lot to offer the paid game. He possesses a fan-friendly, buzzsaw style and flogs plenty of tickets.
Those noisy fans have, to date, travelled to Birmingham to watch the Brewery Town Bomber in action, but Drzewicki’s dream is to one day deliver a fight on their doorstep.
“That would be amazing,” he said, “and I think the biggest ask would be the venue. Maybe, one day we can do a show at the Burton Albion ground, even Derby. I feel the turn-out would be insane.”
That’s for the future. At present, it’s all about learning the professional craft and building on that already solid fanbase.
“On Saturday, we are going to have a lot of support again,” Drzewicki said. “I have even more new people coming, I’m slowly beginning to break out. I’m starting to get my name out there.
“I feel more comfortable in the professional ranks now. I learned a lot from my last fight because my opponent stood his ground with me. This one is a bigger challenge.
“The last fight, it was a bit crazy because the tactics changed after one round. I’ve learned to adapt faster to different fighters.
“The power is developing, my dad said I feel stronger in this camp – I’m hoping to show that a little more in my fights. But it’s one of those things – if you catch ‘em, you catch ‘em.”
The pre-fight mentality has also changed.
“In my debut, I was more excited in a child’s way,” Drzewicki explained. “Now I’m more locked in, thinking I have to go in there and do a job. First fight you don’t have a clue, second fight you have an inkling, third fight you think you have to go out there and do your stuff.”
It is very early days, but Drzewicki has drawn up a title timeline.
He added: “All being well, the plan is for my next fight to be a six rounder, then keep working my way up and look for a Midlands title next year – that’s my aim.”
