May seeks world title shot

Nathaniel “Cheeky” May believes he can bring a world boxing title back to Bunbury.

The 22-year-old fighter is fresh off last week’s fifth round TKO victory over Brazilian Aelio Mesquita, when he won the WBO Asia Pacific Featherweight Title in front of the world as part of the undercard of Battle of Brisbane 2.

But May has bigger things on his mind and one of those is taking the IBF World Featherweight Title off of the United Kingdom’s Lee Selby.

May hopes to do this to honour his coach Pete Stokes, who is battling terminal cancer, by becoming a world champion.

“Everything we do, we do as a team,” he said.

“It has been hard coming to training some days and seeing him not well.

“It was hard and motivating at the same time.

“I am the boxer, but let’s be honest, he is the real fighter at the moment.

“I have promised him I am going to win him a world title and I will do that.”

May said he was serious when he called out Selby after the fight.

“It would be a good fight,” he said.

“With the way everything is going, I think I could put him away in a couple of rounds,” he said.

“All I know is that I will bring that title back home.

“Hopefully I will be able to main event my own world title fight card too.”

May is already back training, having just a week off off his last fight.

“There are a few big names that have been interested in fighting me,” he said.

“Whichever way the team wants to go, we will.”

May said he hoped to get on Jeff Horn’s undercard again, if the rumoured fight against undefeated American Terence Crawford went ahead.

May’s manager Mike Altamura said the Denning Boxing Gym athlete had a lot of potential not only to be a top boxer, but an Australian sporting star.

“My phone has been blowing up for the past week not only about fights, but from sporting marketing firms,” he said.

“It’s about grabbing that next opportunity with both hands so that in 2018 he fights for a world title.”

Altamura said he would work towards getting May a world title eliminator as his first or second fight next year.

“I feel like he is definitely on his way,” he said.