Junaid Bostan handed chance to put the record straight against Bilal Fawaz
BOXER Junaid Bostan has a second chance to win the English super welterweight title.
As the Advertiser suggested last week, the Eastwood fighter will get his return bout with London-based Bilal Fawaz for the national belt.
The 23-year-old was irritated by the ten-round, split-decision tie in London in January. He wasn't at his best and the draw became the only blotch on his otherwise winning CV.
Now he gets the chance to put that experience firmly in the past as he seeks to win and then go for bigger titles at home and abroad.
Junaid (10-0-1) will fight Fawaz (9 1 1) at Sheffield Arena on October 11 on the Matchroom undercard of Consibrough’s David Allen (24 7 2) fight against Russian giant Arslanbek Makhmudov (20 2 0).
In June, Bilal claimed that the Steel City camp had twice postponed the return fight.
“They claim he’s not ready but the truth is, he may never be,” said the 37-year-old.
He added that Bostan would “physically regret it” if he stepped in the ring with him and, as such, he was asking for another “worthy opponent”.
The Rotherham man, promoted by Matchroom, can use such smugness to further fuel his camp.
Kell Brook, Sheffield’s former world champion, believes Bostan’s draw at the 02 in Greenwich can be turned into a positive.
“Maybe it was a good thing what happened in his last fight. He will feel like he has lost even though he got a draw. He won’t want to feel that again.
“This was a gypsy’s warning – he has to put the work in and come back stronger. And I definitely think he will do that.”