James Beech Interview

Back in the ring after over a year out, James Beech Jr makes his eagerly awaited return at the Wembley Arena tomorrow night.

The opening bout on the undercard of Joe Joyce vs Carlos Takam, Beech will challenge an unbeaten Chris Bourke for his WBC International Super Bantam title.

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Back in action for the first time since losing to Brad Foster by unanimous decision last July, the Midlands man is confident ahead of his trip to the capital.

“I’m looking forward to Saturday night,” he said.

“I’m nice and relaxed and I’m feeling good.

“I think it’s going to be exciting because Chris is an exciting fighter who loves to fight.

“I expect our styles to gel well together, and it should be a good night.”

A painter and decorator by trade, Beech (12-1, 2 KOs) has sacrificed his last ten weeks of wages in the hope of coming out on top whilst live on BT Sport 1. Raring to take a step closer to packing away his brushes for good, the 24-year-old revealed the true impact of his previous bout.

“I’ve been waiting for this opportunity to come up,” he said.

“After the Brad Foster fight, I had a bad cut, and I knew that I wasn’t going to box again for two or three months after that.

“I was just ticking over, and nothing was coming up.

“We eventually got the phone call about this fight, and we took it with both hands.”

A former British champion, Beech is no stranger to a tough question. Explaining to BCB that outright predictions are off the cards when previewing the Wembley match-up, the Walsall warrior shared the faith that he has in himself.

“If I were to give any prediction, I think that my experience will be the difference,” he said.

“I’m super fit and I took the time out of work to give this my everything.

“In recent camps I sometimes had to bite down on my gumshield when it got to the eighth, ninth or tenth round.

“In this camp, I had to do that for a bit, but then I got to the stage where I became comfortable in the later rounds.”

A chance to demonstrate their ability to the world, victory for either man on the weekend could spark a fruitful career in this sport. Fully aware of the opportunity at hand, Beech knows what is at stake.

“It’s a big platform to be on and there will be thousands watching,” he said.

“If I win this then you never know what could come up.

“A win will be the key to opening doors. Even those abroad.

“You just never know what could happen.”

Thanking his supporters, Beech shared his appreciation both to those travelling down to London and watching from home. Acknowledging the pressure on his shoulders, the BCB man said:

“There are loads of eyes on me, so I have to perform.

“I want to give a massive thank you to everyone making the trip to London.

“I also want to say a massive thank you to all of my sponsors and to everyone tuning in on tv.

“Enjoy the show, it’s going to be a good card.”