'I'm confident I can bring title back home'

Welterweight Owen Cooper, known as the Worcester Warrior, is set to face Constantin Ursu later this month.

Owen Cooper, a man in a white tshirt with logos on is wearing white boxing gloves and holding two boxing belts
Owen Cooper is set to go head to head with Constantin Ursu for the British and Commonwealth Welterweight belts [Owen Cooper]

Boxer Owen Cooper has set his sights on becoming the first from Worcestershire to become a British and Commonwealth Welterweight Champion.

Known as the Worcester Warrior, Cooper is set to face Constantin Ursu in Derby on 28 February for the belts.

Ahead of the bout, the 25-year-old said he felt "massively confident about bringing the title back to Worcester".

"For all the people who have come out to support me and the people that's watching at home, I can't wait to do it for them," he said.

Cooper will be fighting for the vacant British title as well as the Commonwealth belt, which is currently held by his opponent, who is based in Plymouth.

In March 2024, he won the WBO European title, but lost it in his first defence four months later.

He then returned with a victory over Chris Kongo after a 10-round contest in Nottingham in May last year.

Looking ahead to his upcoming bout, he described the chance to represent his home city as "everything I've dreamed of as a kid".

Owen Cooper, a man in a black coat has  his arms crossed and is looking directly at the camera
Cooper says he is happy to have the support of his community [BBC]

The former footballer initially took up boxing in a bid to lose weight, but found a passion for the sport and followed in his father's footsteps, who fought 35 times before his retirement in 2009.

Cooper added: "There have been some great fighters from Worcester over the years and it's nice that I get to put my name up there as well with them.

"It's not as easy as just coming in the gym and fighting, we've also got to sell tickets and promote ourselves - if you're not selling tickets it makes the journey a little bit harder.

"I've been very lucky with the people of Worcester, everyone has been getting behind me."

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Category: General Sports