Sheffield boxing: broken jaw of rival doesn't faze Adam Etches

The last time John Ryder fought a Sheffield boxer, he dished out a double fracture of the jaw.

The unfortunate recipient was rock-hard Crosspool middleweight Jez Wilson, at York Hall, London, in 2014.

Tomorrow in the same city, Ryder takes on Sheffield’s Adam Etches for the vacant IBF International super middleweight title.

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Etches knows the dangers he faces - but is not fazed by them.

“A broken jaw that can happen to anybody in this game” said the ‘Birley Bomber.’

“A boxer is sometimes just unlucky and the jaw breaks. But, yes, you have got to have power to be able to do that.

“His power doesn’t worry me, though, he will be worrying more about mine on the night.”

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Etches will enter unfamiliar territory when he takes on Ryder - it will be the first time he has faced a southpaw.

“The main thing is to control where he is going and keep away from his best punching hand, on his left. The technique of moving out of a southpaw’s range has been pretty easy to master in training” he said.

The Sheffielder has admired some of Ryder’s earlier fights, but thinks he may be inconsistent at times.

“I have not watched loads of his fights but I have kept an eye on him, I think he is one of the most inconsistent fighters there is.

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“Against Eamonn O’Kane nobody gave him a chance but he beat him comfortably.

“Against Billy Joe Saunders he was unlucky not to win after a very good performance. He was unlucky not to beat Jack Arnfield.

“He was expected to win that and was robbed. He wasn’t spectacular and didn’t batter him but he beat him fairly comfortably, despite the result.

“But he lost to Nick Blackwell and sometimes seems to switch off. He either runs out of gas or stops trying.

“But it is not going to be easy.”