Gym 01's Jayakody: Traditional pedigree gives me Shock N Awe 27 advantage
Anthony Jayakody believes his background in wing chun gives him a key advantage heading into his fight at Shock N Awe 27.
The Gym 01 bantamweight meets the experienced Ed Sheehan in an amateur contest at the Mountbatten Centre tomorrow.
Jayakody is returning after making an impressive debut more than a year ago. He defeated Max Renouf via TKO inside two minutes at Shock N Awe 24.
Martial arts is Jayakody’s passion and he trained in wing chun – a type of kung fu specialising in close-range combat – as a youngster.
He feels his ability to throw quick, short punches stems from that.
‘I’m really passionate about martial arts,’ said Jayakody.
‘The first thing I really got into was wing chun, a traditional Chinese martial art.
‘It gives me the snappiness and short-range punches.
‘People write those sort of martial arts off but if you take the useful aspects then you can strengthen your game.
‘I’m known for having short-range, powerful punches and that’s definitely from wing chun.
‘This is my second fight and my first one went pretty well. It was a first-round TKO finish with a jab which was well timed.
‘It gives me confidence but I try to keep a neutral mindset – cool, calm and collected is my approach.’
Meanwhile, Tarrou Lake is also looking to improve his amateur record to 2-0.
He meets Brandon Dominey in a contest at 63kg.
The Gym 01 fighter said: ‘I’m really looking forward to it – I’m buzzing.
‘I was supposed to be fighting on the Shock N Awe Contenders card in February but it got snowed off – so it was a blessing in disguise.
‘I’ve been training every day. In my debut fight, I didn’t expect it to finish so quickly.
‘I was prepared for three full rounds and that’s what I’m prepared for this time.
‘I’m prepared for the hardest fight possible. I need to be the best version of myself.’
Cecily Davis is making her amateur debut against Suzanne Wilson.
The strawweight registered a barnstorming success over Monique D’Ones in a B class fight in November.
Davis is relishing the bout and believes she has a ‘slight edge’.
She said: ‘I know my opponent has a lot of boxing experience already but she hasn’t done MMA.
‘That gives me the slight edge having done a bit more of the ground work and stuff and I’m really looking forward to it.
‘I like submission chokes so I’ve been working on that a lot and my wrestling. That’s an area I haven’t been hugely confident in before so I’ve been trying to get more confidence in my takedowns.’