Vacant British Super Featherweight Title - Andy Morris v Gary Sykes

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Following the withdrawal of Ricky Burns, Andy Morris has stepped in to challenge Gary Sykes for the vacant British Super Featherweight title on March 5th in Huddersfield.

Andy Morris has previously held the British Featherweight title, winning it against John Simpson in 2005 and remains the only man to have beaten Rendall Munroe.

“I’m totally confident I can win,” said the 26-year-old Morris. “I’ve been in there before, I’ve been a champion and I know what you need to become a champion. I’d like to thank the Hatton Promotions for getting me the title shot so quickly. They said that I would have two keep busy fights and then a title shot and they’ve stuck to their word.”

Although Sykes is undefeated with a 14-0 record, Morris is unfazed by the 26-year-old Yorkshireman. “He’s not been in with anyone, but you can’t go in being complacent. I’ve seen Sykes fight, he’s got fast hands, tricky feet, but he makes a lot of mistakes. There are gaps that I’m going to take advantage of on March 5th.”

Despite the late notice, Morris had previously been in training for a fight on last week’s Hatton Promotions bills in Stoke and admitted that going the distance would not be a problem. “I always train for 12 rounds and beyond, no matter whether it’s a 4 round, 8 round or 12 round, I always train hard.”

Unlike Sykes, Morris has ventured the championship distance on two occasions, when he won the title against John Simpson and when he defended it against Rendall Munroe.

Morris was also keen to stress that when he wins he’d be open to a fight with many of the Super Featherweights currently under the Hatton Promotions banner, such as Anthony Crolla and Stephen Foster Jr. “If you call yourself a champion you fight the next best opponent. I don’t pay much attention to the ratings, but I’ll fight whoever fancies it next.”

There is also the option of Leva Kirakosyan who stopped Scott Lawton on last Friday in Stoke for the European Super Featherweight title, a man Morris thinks he can defeat. “I think Scott boxed the wrong fight by standing tall. I’ve got the style that can beat him [Kirakosyan] and he’s at the right age to be beaten.”

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