04-22-2016, 05:33 PM
James Langton remains determined to win back the New Zealand cruiserweight crown.
Sam Scannell
James Langton remains determined to win back the New Zealand cruiserweight crown.
Regaining his reputation is as much a motivating factor as winning back the New Zealand cruiserweight boxing crown for James "Batman" Langton when he faces Monty Betham.
It has been five months since Langton, 42, lost the New Zealand National Boxing Federation cruiserweight title to Betham, 38, in an unanimous points decision.
Although the terms of their initial contract had them scheduled to meet earlier, Betham did not commit until signing on to fight Langton in Opunake on June 30.
In between Langton has stepped back into the ring twice, beating Joshua Tai in a split decision before losing a majority points decision to Isileli Fa in New Plymouth in early April, while Betham has yet to step back into the ring.
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While Betham was adamant the rematch would simply be the first step on a possible path to an IBO world title challenge, Langton was equally convinced he could stop it happening at the first hurdle.
"He's not the knight in shining armour he is trying to make out he is," Langton said.
Although his form has appeared to dip in the last six months, including that below-par performance against Fa, Langton remained confident he could find the right balance in his build-up to get the better of Betham.
His planned nine-week preparation has started in earnest at his Eltham gym with trainer Colin Smith.
There was no doubt the loss to Fa had hurt physically and mentally, with his pride taking more of a dent than at any time in his three-year professional career.
"I thought I could start light and build my weight up towards the Betham fight. That was a rookie mistake and I'll admit I'm still learning the ropes, I'm going to have those sort of hiccups.
"It's about getting that balance right between over training and not under training. But there was no doubt I was sore after that last fight, my body was sore, my pride took a big hit and I was down about it.
"But I'll take it as a learning experience and move on. Now Monty has signed the contract it's given me plenty of motivation which probably wasn't there for the last fight."
Langton also believed it was "a good chance" that it could be his last fight in Opunake and one he definitely did not want to end badly.
Sam Scannell
James Langton remains determined to win back the New Zealand cruiserweight crown.
Regaining his reputation is as much a motivating factor as winning back the New Zealand cruiserweight boxing crown for James "Batman" Langton when he faces Monty Betham.
It has been five months since Langton, 42, lost the New Zealand National Boxing Federation cruiserweight title to Betham, 38, in an unanimous points decision.
Although the terms of their initial contract had them scheduled to meet earlier, Betham did not commit until signing on to fight Langton in Opunake on June 30.
In between Langton has stepped back into the ring twice, beating Joshua Tai in a split decision before losing a majority points decision to Isileli Fa in New Plymouth in early April, while Betham has yet to step back into the ring.
READ MORE
*Monty Betham to fight James Langton for NZ cruiserweight title
*Betham wins NZ cruiserweight boxing title to follow in father's footsteps
*James "Batman" Langton eyeing up rematch with Monty Betham
While Betham was adamant the rematch would simply be the first step on a possible path to an IBO world title challenge, Langton was equally convinced he could stop it happening at the first hurdle.
"He's not the knight in shining armour he is trying to make out he is," Langton said.
Although his form has appeared to dip in the last six months, including that below-par performance against Fa, Langton remained confident he could find the right balance in his build-up to get the better of Betham.
His planned nine-week preparation has started in earnest at his Eltham gym with trainer Colin Smith.
There was no doubt the loss to Fa had hurt physically and mentally, with his pride taking more of a dent than at any time in his three-year professional career.
"I thought I could start light and build my weight up towards the Betham fight. That was a rookie mistake and I'll admit I'm still learning the ropes, I'm going to have those sort of hiccups.
"It's about getting that balance right between over training and not under training. But there was no doubt I was sore after that last fight, my body was sore, my pride took a big hit and I was down about it.
"But I'll take it as a learning experience and move on. Now Monty has signed the contract it's given me plenty of motivation which probably wasn't there for the last fight."
Langton also believed it was "a good chance" that it could be his last fight in Opunake and one he definitely did not want to end badly.