Matty Askin has had every reason to start the year with a spring in his step.
Not only does he boast a 100 per cent record as a professional, but he is gaining wider recognition far beyond boxing’s Central Area, where he generally plies his trade.
He is currently topping a poll being conducted by Sky Sports, which is asking fight fans to nominate their top prospect for 2011.
Askin is currently at the forefront of the standings with around a third share of the vote, which is open to viewers of the long-established Ringside magazine programme, screened by the satellite broadcaster.
The fact Askin is in the lead is all the more meritworthy when you consider the calibre of the 11 fighters nominated.
The elite, talent-packed list includes former Olympian Billy Joe Saunders, Frankie Gavin, Carl Frampton, Scott Quigg, and former Commonwealth Games bronze medallist Tony Jeffries.
Askin won the ABA cruiserweight title, immediately afterwards joining the professional ranks.
The Ringside blurb says of Askin: “This year we should find out what his discipline and stamina are like and whether he can hold a shot, but trainer Brian Hughes is doing a good job with him.”
They might also have said that Hughes is the right man to ensure that Askin keeps his feet on the ground, and listens to the same sage advice that led Robin Reid to a world super-middleweight title.
There are rumblings in Blackpool boxing circles that Richard Turba, another cruiserweight, might fancy a crack at Askin.
The two have sparred together and get on well, and in the unlikely event of such a match coming off, it would have the makings of a good ‘derby’.
However, it seems Turba is not in Askin’s sight-lines at present – or in the future for that matter – as the camp insists that it could be a backwards step in his current rate of progression and that he has more ambitious targets on the horizon.
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