Boxer Milch lands first title belt

Tony Milch has described the “amazing feeling” he felt after winning his first title at York Hall on Saturday night.

Fighting last on a packed card, he may have kept his fans waiting – winning his 11th professional fight on points just past midnight – though it was worth the wait when he put on the International Challenge belt following another impressive performance.

Beating Bulgarian Konstantin Alexandrov 80-73 points, he said: “It feels really great and this win is an amazing feeling, tonight, all the hard work, all the training, it’s been worth it.”

Boxing his first eight-round contest, he said: “I felt so fit, I could do another eight rounds now. I paced myself great, I couldn’t believe it when I looked and he said round 7, I thought it was much earlier than that.

“I was boxing to instructions, listening to my coach, who told me not to make any mistakes, that I was fighting for my first title. He said it’s your dream and I need to land my shots, in and out, try to hurt him, I landed a few shots but I thought overall, it was a top, top performance and that I boxed really well.

“Being in the ring with a guy like that who was really cagey, he’s rarely been stopped if ever, I wasn’t really looking for a stoppage but just to put in the [necessary] performance.”

Grateful as always for his support and background team, he said: “It was great to have my friends and family here again and throughout. Thanks to Ian Burbedge, to my manager Mickey Helliet, to my trainers and conditioner, and to Red Dog Saloon, who are sponsoring me and to Craig Granger who made this fight happen.”

Hoping this will be the first of many fights, he added: “I can’t wait for the next title fight. I’ll have a few weeks off, relax a little bit, put on a bit of weight – but not too much – and then look towards the next one.”