The phrase ‘styles make fights’ gets bandied around so frequently that most of us are probably sick and tired of hearing it. In the context of a potential clash between Sam Noakes and William Zepeda, however, there is surely no better slogan to use.
Bidding for a career-best victory on Saturday evening, Noakes will face former world champion Denys Berinchyk in the chief support to Moses Itauma vs Filip Hrgovic.
Above all else, though, the 29-year-old is determined to secure another major title shot after losing a fiercely-contested unanimous decision to Abdullah Mason in November.
He is still highly rated by the WBO – as a result of his tremendous effort against Mason – but with Noakes boasting a No.4 ranking with the WBC, too, he could soon emerge as a realistic opponent for newly-crowned champion Zepeda.
Speaking with Boxing News about this possible opportunity, ‘Midge’ made no attempt to hide his enthusiasm.
“I tell you what, me and him would be one hell of a fight, wouldn’t it? If it comes up, we’d definitely take that fight.”
While embracing the thought of a Zepeda fight, Noakes is acutely aware of the mental and physical toll it would take to become world champion.
That much became apparent during the Mason fight, when, despite producing a career-best performance, the Brit fell agonisingly short of claiming the WBO lightweight strap.
With his face wearing the wounds of battle, Noakes then made a promise to himself that, next time he is involved in a gruelling 12-rounder, he must be the one that emerges victorious.
“I was walking through the airport [in Saudi Arabia] and everyone kept looking at me. Then I got on the plane and the woman was like, ‘What happened to you?’ I told her I didn’t want to talk about it. I looked like I’d got a hiding, but it was obviously a close fight.
“I did say to [coach] Al [Smith] afterwards that I’ve got more of them [performances] in me … but I gotta win next time. Mason would’ve been sore the next day, but at least he’d won the fight, whereas I was having a hard time chewing my food [after having lost].”
While it was, indeed, a close fight, Noakes has no issue with giving full credit to Mason, who he views as one of the sport’s finest talents.
“He was a bit more durable than I’d expected. I obviously knew he’d be fast and strong for six rounds, but he surprised me with how he held it together down the backstretch.
“The plan was to keep a high work rate and see if he’d fade down the backstretch. But credit to Abdullah Mason – the kid can fight.”
“For that fight, I had to be the fittest and strongest I’d ever been – and I did get to that stage. I just came up short.”
Given his style, Noakes is most effective when he comes forward and maintains a high output but, in doing so, the Maidstone man must sometimes take one to land one.
So in order to mitigate the damage he incurs in the ring – and indeed during sparring – the top contender chooses to keep his brain active by learning a new language.
“When you’re getting hit in the head all the time, you want to try and keep your brain working and functioning properly.
“So I like to learn new things but don’t ask me to speak Spanish now. Give me another year and I should have more confidence.”
Within the next 12 months, Noakes might even speak enough Spanish to converse with Zepeda and demand a WBC title shot.
