Junaid Bostan says he has more than a feeling that he will bring the good times back to Rotherham as he sets his sights on becoming the town’s first British Champion in over a century.
The new Commonwealth Silver Champion was paraded on the pitch with his first title by his beloved football club Rotherham United on Saturday, a week after his stunning stoppage over Jack Martin in Liverpool.
But with Rotherham relegated to League One, Bostan (9-0, 7 KOs) believes his burgeoning boxing journey will give his hometown better days to look forward to ahead – with his ultimate dream of one day headlining at the club’s state-of-the-art 12,000-capacity stadium.
“It would be a dream to headline here at the New York Stadium,” said Bostan, speaking to Matchroom Boxing, after attending The Millers final home game of the season in which they celebrated a 5-2 win over Cardiff.
“Bringing a massive event to the area and fighting in a huge fight for a world title would mean absolutely everything to me.”
The Steel City Gym-trained Bostan lived up to his ’Star Boy’ moniker at last weekend’s NXT GEN show at the Exhibition Centre in Liverpool when he dispatched a gritty Jack Martin with an emphatic left uppercut to earn an eighth-round knockout victory.
At just 22, an English title shot is set to await the southpaw starlet in the near future – but Bostan is already looking at bigger things further ahead with the British Super-Welterweight Championship currently vacant.
“I have only been a professional for just gone two years and the trajectory I am moving at is very quick,” he said.
“I am in the top ten in the country (BoxRec rankings) and within that ten everyone is at least seven years older than me, so I am doing something right.
“Now I’ve landed my first title in winning the Commonwealth Silver, it would be a career goal of mine to go on and become the first British champion from Rotherham in over 100 years. I’m ready to face whoever is next.”
