WATCH: Second chance at Scottish title knockout opportunity for Inverness boxer
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CALUM Turnbull is determined to take his second chance of becoming a Scottish champion with a knockout performance.
After a narrow defeat against Dylan Arbuckle in Inverness last October, the two are set for a rematch in Glasgow on Thursday night.
There is more at stake this time as two titles are on the line, as the pair will go head to head not only for the Scottish Super Bantamweight title, but also the Celtic Super Bantamweight title.
Turnbull (24), who fights with Inverness City Boxing Club, did not get the decision against Arbuckle at their Scottish title bout in Inverness five months ago, losing 96-95 after a brutal 10-round contest at the Drumossie Hotel.
Despite conceding home advantage to the Newarthill Boxing Club fighter this time around, he is looking to take the decision out of the judges’ hands and return north as a Scottish and Celtic champion.
He says the Celtic title as well as the Scottish title being up for grabs is added incentive for him going into the bout.
“This makes it personal now, I was robbed of something that I felt I deserved last time,” said Turnbull.
“The fact the the boxing board thought that the last fight was so close that they wanted to make it more interesting.
“It will also make it more interesting on Dylan’s Part. It shows who will really want it this time.
“It is alright getting a close decision, but I reckon in this fight there will be a knockout.
“Trust me it won’t be me getting knocked out.
“I am going into his back garden this time around, it is exactly what he did last time.
“But that doesn’t phase me at all.
“At the end of the day, he is the one that is the champion, he should be under pressure not me.”
Turnbull was disappointed that he didn’t get the decision from the judges in Inverness, feeling that he had done enough to become a national champion.
He feels that if he goes into the bout with a similar gameplan, with minor adjustments, he will manage to win both belts on Thursday night.
He said: “If you saw the fight the first time, you don’t want to miss the second.
“I won’t be doing nothing that I didn’t going into the fight beforehand.
It was the right gameplan, maybe I didn’t start quick enough. I reckon we could pull off the same type of job as the last time and get the decision this time.
“I will just look to put in more workrate.”
Turnbull has been dividing his time between Inverness and Glasgow in his preparation for the big fight on Thursday night.
As well as training at Inverness City Boxing Club with legendary head coach Laurie Redfern, he has also been training with respected coaches in Glasgow.
“I feel the fittest that I have ever been to be honest.
“I have made adjustments to my training camp in Glasgow .
“I have been interacting with a lot of big names such as Nathaniel Collins, Liam Davies and Matty McCale and getting plenty of good sparring and good learning.
“I feel like I am bringing a lot to the fight this time around.”
Turnbull is coming up to 15 years being involved in boxing.
He was encouraged to get into the sport by his mother after being bullied at school.
He says being part of Inverness City Boxing Club gave him confidence to become the person he is today and is on the verge of becoming a national champion.
He says he will always be grateful for what the club and the sport has given to him.
“I have been boxing since I was 10 and it’s coming up to 15 years in the sport,” said Turnbull.
“I was getting badly bullied in school, so my mum looked at me getting into boxing.
“This place has been like a second home to me since I was a kid. And it still is.
“It is something that holds somewhere in my heart. It is a place that I can come after I have had a bad day at work and knock a bag about and some people about!
“It is a special place to me and it is a privilege to be representing it again.”
Turnbull says victory on Thursday night could send his career to new heights.
He says he is looking for a knockout performance and then look to take his career one step further by becoming a British champion.
“A win would mean absolutely everything and it would really put us on the map. Now that the Celtic title is involved it makes things more interesting.
“If I can win a Celtic title, it can rank me within the top 10 in Britain.
“Right now I am ranked about 14th, but I reckon we can be top 10 if we get this win. That is where the big fights start happening.
“My aspiration is to do something no boxer has done from Inverness and win a British title. That would be my absolute goal.
“Once we get this win out of the way on Thursday, we could potentially get closer to that goal and get to a British title eliminator.
“I am literally looking for a knockout performance, it will not be going 10 rounds.”
