HomeBoxing'I've earned my place at this table' - Chamberlain

‘I’ve earned my place at this table’ – Chamberlain


Mark Chamberlain during the Queensberry Ring of Fire Champs press conference after his victory against Joshua Oluwaseun Wahab

Mark Chamberlain has won 16 professional fights with 12 knockouts [Getty Images]

Portsmouth lightweight Mark Chamberlain believes he can “get to the top of boxing” and is targeting another win as he puts his unbeaten record on the line.

Chamberlain takes on the undefeated Josh Padley at Wembley Stadium on 21 September.

The national stadium will host over 96,000 people for the clash between heavyweights Anthony Joshua and IBF world champion Daniel Dubois.

Chamberlain, who has 16 wins including 12 knockouts, will open the main card.

“You don’t really get any bigger than fighting at Wembley Stadium.” Chamberlain told BBC Sport.

“Josh Padley is just another man in front of me that is going to get dealt with on the night, I truly believe I can get to the very top of this sport.

“I have to just keep doing what I’m doing, keep my head down and train hard as I always do, as easy as it is to say I just have to keep winning.”

Chamberlain boxed on the Tyson Fury-Oleksandr Usyk undercard in May, where he stopped Joshua Wahab in the first round, and is in action on his second card headlined by Joshua.

The event at Wembley has been put together by a mix of promoters, including Queensberry’s Frank Warren, Matchroom’s Eddie Hearn, Boxxer’s Ben Shalom, Wasserman’s Kalle Sauerland and Goldstar Promotions’ Spencer Brown.

“It was surreal sitting on the end of that table and looking behind me to see Anthony Joshua and some of the biggest names in the sport,” Chamberlain added.

“I truly believe I’ve earned my spot to be at that table though, it doesn’t happen overnight and it has taken me years to get to this stage.

“I bought a house last year and was plastering it myself as a former builder. It was a funny moment but I don’t want to pick the trowel up again, hopefully I keep winning and the tools can stay away.”

Mark Chamberlain with his promoter Frank Warren after victory over Joshua Wahab in Saudi ArabiaMark Chamberlain with his promoter Frank Warren after victory over Joshua Wahab in Saudi Arabia

Mark Chamberlain, pictured with Queensberry promoter Frank Warren, faces Josh Padley on 21 September [Getty Images]

Chamberlain previously juggled his boxing with a building career but fast forward to today and he is ranked by BoxRec as the best lightweight in the country and 10th overall in the world.

The world title holders in the lightweight division include US stars Gervonta Davis and Shakur Stevenson, and Vasiliy Lomachenko and Denys Berinchyk from Ukraine.

Those are the champions that Chamberlain would currently need to challenge if he wanted to get his hands on the WBA, WBC, IBF or WBO belts.

“The dream for me always has been to win a world title,” Chamberlain said.

“It’s a big ask but to even participate in a world title fight would mean everything to me, I’m confident with the team I have around me this can happen.

“I’m up there now with the rankings so it’s just a case of getting into that position and getting a fight made.”

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