Andrew Cain’s trainer, Paul Stevenson, believes Charlie Edwards is the perfect fight for his charge if Cain is to push on to world titles.
Cain will defend his British and Commonwealth titles against former WBC flyweight belt-holder Charlie Edwards this Saturday at Liverpool’s M&S Bank Arena. Cain has looked good in his professional career thus far, stopping champion Ashley Lane for the Lonsdale Belt last year, and his only blip is a defeat to Ionut Baluta at the weight above.
Surprisingly, Cain comes into the contest the favorite, despite Edward’s experience and accolades. Many think, due to Cain’s impressive punch power for a man of his size, that he will be too much for the now 32-year-old Edwards. His trainer, Stevenson, feels there is a lot more to Cain than just his power.
“He's got a lot of ways to win, Andrew,” Stevenson told BoxingScene. “He's a great boxer, a lot better than he's shown. Plus, he can knock people out. Like Nick [Ball], he could do it in the first round, he could do it on points. Charlie Edwards is not to be underestimated. He's a good fighter and he'll be a good scalp for Andrew, and a good step up. I think it's got the potential to be a great fight, if it goes the way I want it to go, of course, it'll be over in a round and we'll all be on our own. Seriously, we'll just wait and see how that one goes.
“Andrew's what you want, a rare, one of them bantamweights, lighter weight fighters, who are knocking people out,” he continued. “Outside of the heavyweight division, you just don't see it. Andrew's doing it, Nick's doing it. Andrew's a great puncher, a great finisher. Even when you're on the pads with Andrew, you feel like you're in a spider's web. It's like a minefield. You can't step left or right. He's waiting for you. He's a real talent. I'm looking forward to him showing that at the weekend and then on a world level.”
Edwards’ last contest was a unanimous decision victory over the tough Thomas Essomba for the European title. Edwards’ won clearly but didn’t set the world alight with his performance. Despite the performance, Edwards has not been underestimated by Cain or Stevenson.
“To be honest, I wasn't super impressed with him,” Stevenson said of his performance. “Essomba's a good, honest pro, but he's obviously not like Andrew. But that's not to slag the fella off, because sometimes you can box down to a level that's in front of you. I haven't underestimated Charlie Edwards at all, and Andrew definitely hasn't. We're going in serious and ready. We're prepared. Andrew's in the shape of his life and he's going to be a world champion. And to be a world champion, he has to beat people like this on nights like this and hopefully by the end of the year get one of the world champions.”
Stevenson has high hopes for his fighter, Cain, and believes he will go on to lift world championships. Edwards, a former champion himself, should provide a good acid test if Cain is to push on to world level opposition.
“It's the perfect type of fight for us,” Stevenson said. “I would imagine Charlie, if I was him, I would imagine he'll give Andrew all the distance he can and just try and peck away at points. I don't even know. You never know what will happen, but that's pretty much what's going to happen. Andrew's job is to not let that happen. He's never struggled with boxers, Andrew. I'm not too worried about it. Again, definitely, he wants to be a world champion and he's coming into this physical time now. Now's his time, he knows it is, and he's got to make it count.”
