‘If Shakan wins it’s a hall of fame career’

Pitters and Dos Santos with GBM boss Izzy Asif. Pic: GBM Sports

SHAKAN Pitters, described as looking like “Bambi on ice” at the very start of his boxing journey, is on the brink of something very big.

Make that, colossal. Life changing.

On Friday night, at Sheffield’s Canon Medical Arena, the towering, 6ft 6ins light-heavy attempts to take the European title from French champion Daniel Blenda Dos Santos.

That’s the European title proper – not an alphabet organisation’s version of the belt.

And if the Birmingham 35-year-old wins, then the world is his stage. Very big fights, such as a lucrative defence against Ben Whittaker, await.

And victory, says Paul “Soggy” Counihan – one of the top men at Shak’s Eastside gym, would make the elegant boxer’s career truly outstanding and remarkable.

From a fairly limited amateur background – he was beaten in the Midlands final, Pitters has won the prestigious Ultimate Boxxer tournament and been crowned British, English and WBC international champ.

“If he becomes European champion, it has to be one of the best careers for someone who was very basic at the beginning. It’s an astonishing career, a hall of fame career, a great career.

“When he came to us, he was like Bambi on ice, his legs were all over the place. Now, if he wins, big opportunities will come. It will be life-changing for him.”

From those humble beginnings, a fighter with an impeccable, hurtful jab and dangerous right uppercut has developed.

And he has the beating of Dos Santos who has lost only one of 23, but that setback is significant. At Manchester Arena in 2021, the 34-year-old looked a league below Joshua Buatsi and was swept aside in four rounds.

Pitters has faced the better calibre of opposition in his 21 bout career (two losses).

Friday’s clash, promoted by GBM Sports, has been some time coming. The pair were to have boxed for the European title on French soil, but Pitters suffered an injury.

Fellow Frenchman Thomas Faure was given the go-ahead to meet Dos Santos last June – providing the winner made their first defence against Pitters.

I’ve come to a simple conclusion about this, the biggest fight of Pitters’ career. If he does what he does best – stays focused and keeps it long – he wins and wins handily.

If he gets drawn into a firefight with aggressive Dos Santos, he’s in dangerous waters.

“I’m not going to give away tactics,” said Counihan, “but it’s no surprise what Shak’s good at. Everyone knows what Shak should be doing. Whatever way he wins, all that matters is his hand is raised at the end.

“I think it’s a great match-up. He (Dos Santos) has had one fight in a year, Shak has had none. They’ve both been pretty inactive, both are a similar age, both have similar records.

“We’re confident Shak can do the job. If he does what he can do and concentrates for 12 rounds, he’ll be the champion.

“Buatsi did a number on Dos Santos and that’s not a surprise – Buatsi will do a number on a lot of people.

“He says he’s now a very different man from the one who went in with Buatsi and that may well be the case. He’s physically strong, has a great left hook. People don’t get the European title for nothing, he’s the champion and he’ll be confident about coming over here.”

Pitters positively breezed his first 14 fights but came a cropper in his first British title defence, suffering a ninth stoppage loss to Craig Richards. The only other man to beat him since has been Dan Azeez, via points for the Lonsdale Belt.

“We need a performance like that (the ones up to an including the British title win),” Counihan said. “He didn’t really lose a round. He was dropped in the fourth round by Richards, but he was winning the fight. He did the weight wrong, we messed up and felt that contributed to him losing.

“Dan Azeez is good at looking busier than he actually is. If you look at the scoring blows, Shak, in my opinion, won the fight.”

Pitters has left no stone unturned in his quest to crash the world rankings.

Counihan added: “He has been sparring great, he has been sparring Ben Whittaker, Kieron Conway, loads of people. He is looking really good, he’s on weight, there are no injuries, he knows what he’s got to do.

“He’s in his 30s, but he didn’t start boxing until he was 26, 27. He hasn’t got many miles on the clock.”

By keeping Dos Santos at the end of that long jab, Pitters can pull off a famous victory. It may not be the most gripping encounter, but I believe it will end in glory for Shak.

*The fight will be streamed lived on DAZN.