NICO Ogbeide may have failed in his attempt to bring a Midlands title back to Birmingham.
But his thrilling clash with Brandon Bethell this summer has given him plenty of belief that if they were to fight again, he would not leave empty-handed this time.
Rather than just sit around waiting for the call for the rematch, the 31-year-old super featherweight will box on Friday night as part of BCB Promotions’ ‘Stand and Deliver’ show at the Eastside Rooms in Birmingham.
Ogbeide said: “I always look on the bright side.
“I was devastated and upset, but I’ve taken the positives and can appreciate what we did and the show we put on.
“The fight was good, but I know that I started too slow.
“I was under the impression he would start slow, and in the back of my mind I thought I needed to conserve my energy for the later rounds.
“But I had plenty left at the end of the ten, so I should have done more earlier. I know I can do that distance now, and in hindsight maybe I should have done six before, as I had only boxed four rounders in all my previous fights.
“I matched him in terms of skill, and if I’d done things differently early on, it would have been a different result.”
Like many boxers, Ogbeide is a keen athlete, completing half marathons and regularly incorporating distance running into his fight preparation, including the daunting mud-and obstacle-course-themed Wolf Run.
Unlike previous fights, Ogbeide will have coach Dave Clarke from Bartley Green Boxing Club both in his corner on fight night and also throughout the build-up.
He added: “I love it. I’m a naturally competitive person, and I’ve signed up to do a Hyrox event as well.
“Training is going really well, and this will be the first time my coach in camp will be the same person in my corner on fight night, and that’s going to be really important.
“When you have someone in the fight giving you instructions, it doesn’t flow right; they don’t know you the same way as somebody you’ve been training with day in day out.”
Friday’s fight back down at four rounds will be Ogbeide’s first fight back after the Bethell defeat in June – and whilst a title will not be on the line for this one, the crowd that came to Wolverhampton will be out in numbers once again a little closer to home.
Ogbeide added: “I want the rematch with Brandon. I pushed for it straight away after the fight so they know that I’d take that next.
“Our styles just gelled, and we sold a lot of tickets; both sets of supporters really got behind it, and I know they would all want to see that again.
“Friday night is a chance for me to get in and really let my hands go and put on a performance for my fans who always show up for me.”
Stand and Deliver is set to feature the returning Dylan Cheema, Hamza Azeem’s homecoming after his WBC Grand Prix adventures in Saudi Arabia, the unbeaten Jamie Edwards and debutant Shannon Taylor.
• Tickets are available now, priced at £45 for general admission and £80 for VIP, from the boxers directly or by emailing info@bcb-promotions.
