Jeff Ofori finds himself in the semi finals of the MTK Golden Contract super lightweight tournament & recently Bobby Gunn had the opportunity to catch up with the likeable Londoner….
I was fortunate enough to watch the relentless Jeff Ofori in his performance of the night win against home favourite Ged Carroll at Liverpool Olympia. Ofori came into the bout less than 2 months after his first professional loss to Alfie Price, in that fight I noticed he allowed Price to dictate the pace, something he never allowed Ged Carroll to do at all, so that was the first question I asked him.
SB: ‘The biggest difference I noticed between the Ged Carroll victory and the loss to Alfie Price, you took control of the fight and didn’t allow Carroll to dictate the pace the way Price did in the early rounds, was that part of the game plan?’
JO: ‘Yeah to be honest I went into the Price fight with the same strategy but was allowing him to grapple too much and waiting for the big shot. Once I punched the gum shield out I went looking for a one punch frenzy instead of being busy like I usually am’
Ofori has been on an upward trajectory since his first professional loss and the Ged Carroll victory was only the start. Only 7 days after unanimously beating the unbeaten Carroll, Jeff Ofori got a potentially life changing phone call. He was asked to replace the injured Lewis Benson and compete in the MTK promoted Super Lightweight Golden Contract Event live on SkySports with just one days notice, I was curious to how he felt about the call.
SB: ‘Since then though, you’ve had a whirlwind couple of months. What was your reaction to getting the call for the Golden Contract?’
JO: ‘I was up for it to be honest I was still buzzing from my last fight was back at work on Monday and back in the gym so I was on job 100 percent’
Wales’ Kieran Gething was the opponent Jeff Ofori got in the draw. It was a close fight between the pair, with the 3 judges unable to split them, it came down to referee Kieran McCann who gave Jeff Ofori the victory to progress to the Semi-Final, where Jeff Ofori will find out his opponent the day before, as per the concept of the Golden Contract and this again was something that intrigued me, to see how you would prepare for a fight in which the opponent is a variable.
SB: ‘How has preparations been for the semi final, do you just train to your strengths or are you trying to take into account your possible opponents? It must be a strange camp?’
JO: ‘I’m good with it to be honest its basically like amateurs you’ve got to wait to see who you get in the next round so you said it perfectly train to my strengths all I’ve got to do is be the best version of me and any one I get is going have a freight train coming at them with no brakes, just full steam ahead’
Finally, I was curious to see who his preferred opponent, stylistically, would be in the Semi-Final, given the difference in style between his potential opponents Ohara Davies – after stopping Logan Yoon in 3 rounds, Tyrone McKenna – who progressed with a unanimous decision over Mikey Sakyi and Mohamed Mimoune – who sopped Darren Surtees in 5.
SB: ‘That’s a good point, never really looked at it from the amateur point of view. Like you said and I’ve seen first hand, you’re like a freight train when you’re in your rhythm. That being said, who’s your ideal opponent for the semi final and who do you think suits your style the most?’
JO: ‘I feel they all don’t like in fighting to be honest they all like to keep it long. Mimoune has experience so has more tools in his arsenal but beating him puts me on a new level’
I capped the interview off with a good luck and the one opponent I would like to see Jeff Ofori face at some stage in the competition, Ohara Davies.
SB: ‘That’s true but I would love to see you test the heart of Ohara Davies. I can’t wait to see how it goes for you for the rest of the tournament and your career beyond that, I’ll be rooting for you. Good luck Jeff, all the best.’
JO: ‘Blessed bro, thank you’
Bobby Gunn of SimBoxx🥊
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