INTERVIEW: Jamie Sanigar

Over the past 25 years, Sanigar Events has become the pioneers in boxing in the South West of England. However in 2015, Chris and Jamie Sanigar hit the global stage when they suddenly had not one but two world champions in their stable. As Jamie says, 'it’s funny you wait years for one and then all of a sudden you have two in the space of six months'. The Sanigars have come a long way since Chris formed the promotion company in 1989 and now with a string of high quality fighters under their banner 2016 could potentially be a massive year for the Bristol based team. 

http://www.westcountryboxing.com/ 

Lee Haskins won the IBF bantamweight title on the scales back in November. Was that a bittersweet moment for him and yourself?

It was a bittersweet moment for Haskins because due to Caballero being unprofessional (Caballero was five pounds overweight at the weigh in) it meant he was unable to showcase his talents on the biggest stage in Las Vegas on HBO and this was a major disappointment, however he knocked out the highly rated Ryosuke Iwasa back in June to win the interim IBF title which put him in the mandatory to fight Caballero. Lee, throughout his career, has done it the hard way and he warranted being there in that fight with Caballero. 

Did you get compensated by Golden Boy for the fight?

Yes we did - we had an amicable agreement with them 

What are his options in 2016? A potential unification with Jamie McDonell?

Yes that is a possibility in the future. The fight could happen in the summer either in Bristol at one of our football stadiums or up in Doncaster where Jamie is from. We are looking at a voluntary defence in March/April time and then we will be mandated to fight the winner of Stuart Hall and Rodrigo Guerrero. 

Another one of your fighters Lee Selby the current IBF featherweight champion. Do you have any idea what his plans are for 2016?

We will have to talk to his adviser Al Haymon and see what he wants to do. He is looking to box in March/April time and he could be up against Eric Hunter the fighter from Philadelphia. 

Lee’s brother Andrew, just started his career in the pro ranks. Are you expecting big things from him in the coming years?

Yes we are. He has had three solid wins against fighters that you would not usually put in the ring with someone who has just started their professional career. He has looked good in all of them and has shown he can adapt to the situation well. He will fight the winner of Charlie Edwards vs. Luke Wilton in April/May time and we are looking to get him out once or twice before then. We are very excited about his world prospects.

And finally, are there any upcoming fights that we should know about?

February 6th we have a great fight in Craig Kennedy against Tony Conquest in a final eliminator for the British title. 

February 27th we have Tamuka Mucha against Tommy Tear for the Southern Area title which is happening at York Hall, the same night we have Ashley Lane fighting Jason Cunningham for the English title. 

On the 5th March we've got Robert Turley against Thomas Ward which is an eliminator for the British title so we have a lot of big fights coming up. A lot of our fighters are on the cusp of a British title so it is very exciting times. 

The gym is absolutely buzzing at the moment because of the world title wins. It is reward for all the hard work that we have put in and it shows that our long term plan is working. 

Interviewer: Tom Eckett

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