Lee Selby is happy to head back into the Lions’ Den (From Campaign Series)

Lee Selby is happy to head back into the Lions’ Den

10:00am Friday 8th February 2013 in Sport By Michael Pearlman

LEE SELBY will walk into a wall of hate and come out laughing and joking on his way to bigger and better things insists coach Tony Borg.

The 26-year-old St Joseph’s boxer makes the third defence of his British featherweight title tomorrow night in Belfast at the Odyssey Arena.

It’s Selby’s first in-ring action in almost nine months after injury and illness issues and against a native fighter who has only one career defeat to his name, so this would appear like a far from straightforward task.

Not only will Selby have to contend with a dangerous fighter – who enjoyed a wide points win over Gwent’s Jamie Arthur – but a crowd who will be desperate to see him surrender his title.

“This is a big night for Lee, he’s going back into the Lions’ Den if you like because we’re expecting to be booed out of the arena if we’re honest,” Borg explained.

“But that’s water off a duck’s back to Lee, he won the title by smashing up a boy in his own back yard on a show in Liverpool and he’ll do the same on Saturday.

“We know this is an especially big fight for Lee. We want to take him to the next level but he needs to win this to get there.”

Selby is being tipped by many pundits as a potential world champion and Borg admits he’s now looking to step up his charge in terms of his remaining challenges in 2013.

“Once he wins this we’ll sit down and look at what is next because Lee wants to be a world champion and I believe he can be,” he said.

“We want to show he’s better than domestic or even European levels and that’s the reality.”

Borg revealed Selby enjoyed the usual mix of sparring offered up in St Joes.

“He’s sparred with his brother (Olympian Andrew), Gary Buck-land, Fred Evans, Joe Cordina, lots of the boys,” he said. “And we’ve also had him in with (much heavier) fighters like Justyn Hugh and Frankie Borg as well.

“Because of injury it’s like he’s been in training camp for months now and he’s totally ready.”