Above: Right jab … Daniel ’Porky’ Lovett keeps opponent Justin Clements on his toes during the eight-round match on Sunday night. By Glen Atwell
WATCH out Dandenong – Daniel ‘Porky’ Lovett is coming to town.
The 23-year-old boxer from Cranbourne will clash with Nader ‘Lionheart’ Hamdan at the Dandenong Basketball Stadium on 17 February in an IBF Super Middleweight World Title eliminator match.
Lovett will also defend his IBF Pan Pacific Super Middleweight Title.
Porky will head into the bout full of confidence after a convincing eight-round points victory over English veteran Justin Clements at the Melbourne Sports and Aquatic Centre on Sunday night.
Lovett’s match was the main support bout for the Danny Green versus Paul Murdoch fight and the local middleweight proved too slick for his more experienced opponent.
Lovett dominated Clements in what would prove to be the bout of the night, after Green knocked out his opponent early in the second round.
After Clements spent most of the first round ducking and weaving, Lovett embarked on fistic spree and stalked his opponent from corner to corner.
Porky’s points victory added to his already impressive record of 16 fights for 14 wins.
That startling statistic includes nine knockouts.
Jim Slatter, Lovett’s trainer and manager said he was impressed with Porky’s performance on Sunday night.
“Clements kept his hands up a lot, but Porky boxed really well, I’m happy with the way it went,” he said.
With less than a month until his Dandenong bout against Hamdan, Slatter said the most important thing was that his star had escaped Sunday night without injury.
“He’s still good looking and that’s how we want to keep him,” he laughed.
Lovett, who was forced to gain eight kilograms for the bout, said he was looking forward to shedding some weight before his next fight.
“I weighed in at 85 for this fight, that’s well above where I want to be,” he said.
“I’ll be about 76 kilograms for the next bout and that’s where I belong.”
Lovett described Hamdan as a classier opponent than Clements.
“I’m looking forward to the Dandenong bout, it should be a great fight,” he said.
Between now and 17 February, Lovett will endure four weeks of intense training.
Slatter said the first week would be all cardio, no sparring or contact.
“Then we’ll move on to two weeks of intense sparring, before a week to freshen up and then Porky will be right to fight,” he said.
In case you’re wondering how Porky got his nickname…
“There was this fat bloke at school and I called him fatso, so he started calling me porky,” Lovett explained.
The Dandenong fight night will feature three supporting bouts that include Cameroon champion Chas Tiger and Australian Flyweight Champion Shane Brock.
Lovett’s main event bout will be over 12 three-minute rounds.
Tickets range between $40 to $120 and can be purchased by phoning 9794 7192.
