Title fight for Tennyson

James will enter the ring in St. Kevin’s Hall, Belfast as the youngest pugilist in 65 years to fight for the prestigious domestic crown. The 19-year-old faces former belt holder Mickey Coveney (a Londoner of Irish descent) over a scheduled distance of ten three-minute rounds, in the headline attraction of an exciting seven-fight card being staged by Mark Dunlop’s Peace Promotions.

Tennyson has left no stone unturned during a rigorous set of preparations that included a successful stint in Dublin, sparring with quality lightweight Stephen Ormond. The undefeated fighter, who trains in the Kronk boxing facility, left a lasting impression on the training team down at the highly-respected Celtic Gym, much to James’s delight.

“I have had some good and hard sparring with Stephen Ormond,” Tennyson revealed. “Ormond fought Mickey Coveney twice and has given me some advice. Stephen told me I gave him some very tough sparring, which is nice to hear from a fighter like him. I got a few compliments at the (Celtic) gym and that spurs you on a bit. I was really happy with the level of sparring as it is great preparation for the fight.”

The man nicknamed ‘Baby Faced Assassin’ has hit the ground running since turning professional in September 2012 and boasts a record of five straight wins with four knockouts; the most recent being a one round destruction of David Kis in Dundalk last month. The only person to take James the distance so far was in fact his opponent on Saturday night, Mickey Coveney. The savvy visitor holding out over six rounds in Scotland with Tennyson prevailing by a score of 59-54. The rising star is relishing the prospect of getting back in for a second crack and adding a first professional title to his trophy cabinet.

“I have been training very hard to make sure I am as well prepared as possible; I can’t wait,” he said. “There is a big-time time buzz picking up about the fight and tickets are going well. Hopefully I will have another good crowd with me. I didn’t think I would have an Irish title fight this soon in my career and I am delighted to be fighting for a title. I will let Mark (Dunlop) my manager decide what is next for me after April 27, but I am happy with the progress i have made so far.”