Sherrington Locked and Loaded for the fight of his life

 
HARD working Aussie grinder Les ‘Lock and Load’ Sherrington is under no illusions that his battle with slick American, Antoine Douglas (18-0-1, 12 KOs) in Las Vegas is a make or break fight for his career.

 
The 33-year-old Queenslander is fighting for the WBA and WBO International titles on November 6th at the D Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas and says he is in prime condition to bring the titles back to Australia.

 
Sherrington is intent on breaking the Aussie hoodoo which has seen a lot of Australians fall short in big fights overseas throughout the course of the past eighteen months.

 
Sherrington (35-7, 19 KOs) believes that his experience will be a big factor in his fight with Douglas, particularly given the American hasn’t really been tested by any great calibre of opposition.

 
“Yeah I believe it will definitely hold me in good stead,” said Sherrington in an interview with Aus-Boxing. “We expect that him being young and eager, that he will come at me pretty hard in the first few rounds,”

 
“Having been in with the likes of Soliman, Hamdan, Taylor, Campas, Pittman and the like, I believe that we can weather the storm and use that experience to get the job done.”

 
When asked of what he knew of his opponent, Sherrington also had this to say.

 
“He’s your typical American fighter,” Sherrington elaborated. “He’s flashy, slick and talks it up a fair bit. I’ve seen a little bit of him but our whole focus on this camp has been to concentrate on my strengths on not his,”

 
“If you focus too much on your opponent, I think that naturally takes time away from what you need to be working on, so that’s what we have been doing,”

 
“We are very confident that if we go out there and focus on what I do best we will take the win.”

 
Sherrington has been around the professional traps for a long time and has fought some of the best regionally and domestically.

 
He knows this is the most important fight of his life and is aware of the nerves that some fighters will feel going into fights of this magnitude, particularly in the mecca of boxing, Las Vegas.

 
“This is my biggest fight by far mate,” Sherrington continued. “I am 33-years-old and now is the time,”

 
“I have been presented this opportunity to win international belts in two of the most respected organisations in the world so it’s sort of like now or never. It is the pinnacle for a lot of overseas fighters, to fight in Vegas.”

 
“To be able to bring these belts home would mean the world to me and everyone involved,”

 
“Not only could it hold possible world title implications, it would set me up for bigger fights and an opportunity to fight more over there in the US,”

 
“I am nervous of course, as most would be, but I am ready and raring to go mate and I believe I learnt a lot from the Soliman fight in regards to handling nerves,”

 
“I want to break this Aussie hoodoo overseas,” noted a confident Sherrington. “And I am putting my hand up to do exactly that.”

 
Sherrington has also recently made changes to his team.

 
He has now teamed up with fellow Queenslander and trainer, Luke Meldon and that has allowed Sherrington to go home to his wife and daughter every night after training and that, he says, has helped him a lot in his preparation.

 
“Yeah it’s been really good to be able to do that,” he concluded.

 
“Previously when I was with Brendon in Toowoomba, I was usually just coming home on weekends to be with the family (Sherrington resides on the Gold Coast),”

 
“But being able to team up with Luke has not only freshened me up professionally, but it has helped me in spades outside the ring too,”

 
“A happy fighter is a more productive fighter.”

 
 
Words: Dan Smart/Follow Dan on Twitter @dansmart76
Photo: Damian Brierty/Visual Delight