By Stuart Everitt
Exciting local heavyweight boxer A.J Carter has extended his unbeaten run to five professional fights with a testing win at York Hall in Bethnal Green.
The twenty-six year old heavyweight, who trains at Brixton Rec, earned a technical knockout on Saturday night, when his opponent, Kreso Bogdanovic was unable to continue in the third round.
But Carter didn’t have it all his own way. During the opening rounds the Croatian attempted to stifle Carter’s natural reach advantage with an aggressive forward style.
Carter said: “He was a lot faster than you would give him credit for being a guy of his size. I had to use my smarts against his. He was difficult purely because he was a southpaw.” A ‘southpaw’ is a boxing term which designates the natural stance for a left-handed boxer, with the right hand and right foot forward.
Bogdanovic was lined up for the fight at the eleventh hour after Carter’s intended opponent withdrew from the bout in East London late last week.
“I knew he was a southpaw, but I didn’t have much time to prepare for it. Sometimes you have to adjust yourself to whatever happens and that’s what boxing is about.”
Carter, who only turned professional in April, ends the year unbeaten with five wins to his name. He says he’s learning every time he gets in the ring.
“My family and the support of the people of Brixton are what get me up and into the gym every day”, he said.
