Jack Massey has long awaited the opportunity to face one of his British cruiserweight rivals, and now the 31-year-old is finally in the midst of the action. Massey is set to fight Isaac Chamberlain for the vacant European title on the undercard of the WBO cruiserweight title bout between Chris Billam-Smith and Richard Riakporhe at Selhurst Park.
Massey acknowledges the significance of this opportunity and allows himself to contemplate the possibilities if he triumphs over Chamberlain.
"Get this fight done, win the European title, and I’ll be right in the mix for the winner of those two," Massey said. He sees this as a perfect chance to position himself for a major fight and even envisions jumping into the ring post-fight to challenge the winner.
The British cruiserweight scene has seen an unofficial round-robin tournament among its top fighters. In 2019, Riakporhe defeated Billam-Smith, and later that year, Massey lost a close decision to Riakporhe. Massey believes that Riakporhe will once again prevail over Billam-Smith to claim the WBO title this weekend. His confidence stems from his time sparring with Mateusz Masternak, who gave Billam-Smith a tough fight last December.
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Reflecting on his experience sparring with Masternak, Massey said:
"To be perfectly honest with you, I wasn’t in shape. I wasn’t that fit, but I was sparring him and thought, ‘Billam-Smith’s got a right touch here,’ but I think Masternak was beating him until that body shot and he bust his rib. I think he’d lost pretty much every round."
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