Noakes\u2019 home town showing their support<\/a><\/p>\nHis relentless style has proved perfect for professional boxing and entertained his army of Maidstone fans and wider audiences as his reputation has grown.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe was knocking boys out with 12oz gloves, and he\u2019s boxing with 6oz gloves now, so you can imagine what the punch must feel like. He\u2019s got a wicked right hand,\u201d said Henderson.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019ve had good boys through Westree and I\u2019ve had boys who could probably punch harder than Midge but I\u2019ve not had any that relentless, he just doesn\u2019t leave you alone once he\u2019s got you going.<\/p>\n
\u201cIf he hits you four or five times with that right hand, the last right hand will be as hard as the first right hand, and that\u2019s what sickens you.<\/p>\n
![\"Former](\"data:image\/svg+xml,%3Csvg)
Former trainer Eddie Henderson says Sam Noakes was always going to be a hit in the ring.Picture: Stephen Dunkley \/ Queensberry Promotions<\/p>\n
\u201cAfter throwing three or four, sometimes the punch loses that little bit of sting but not with Midge.\u201d<\/p>\n
Mason, 21, is the bookmakers\u2019 favourite but he\u2019s been down in his career, unlike Noakes, and the Maidstone man will test him like nobody else.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe\u2019s a sharp puncher, the other lad, but Midge has been sparring with some good boys,\u201d said Henderson.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe\u2019ll pressure this kid, he\u2019ll put him under pressure. It\u2019s how much he can take.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe\u2019s been down but the fella laid off him a little bit, whereas Midge won\u2019t do that, he\u2019ll be on you.<\/p>\n
\u201cIf he knows he\u2019s hurt you, he doesn\u2019t let up.<\/p>\n
\u201cI would think it\u2019s a 50:50 fight.<\/p>\n
\u201cI don\u2019t think Midge will maybe catch this boy until after four or five rounds and I hope he keeps himself out of trouble.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe\u2019s got a granite chin, that\u2019s one thing he has got, I\u2019ve never known him on the floor.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe\u2019s sparred with some good kids as well, even in the amateurs, sometimes two weights above him, so he has got a good chin.<\/p>\n
Sam Noakes in his Westree days with coach Lee Owen.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere\u2019s some good little fighters in Britain at the moment but I just think Midge is a bit special.\u201d<\/p>\n
Noakes has never forgotten his roots and is only too quick to praise Westree and his former coaches for their role in his career.<\/p>\n
He still visits the club and is idolised by youngsters.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s brilliant,\u201d said Henderson.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere\u2019s posters of him all over the club and if he goes up there, all the kids are hanging around him.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe\u2019ll do a bit of pad work with them, everyone wants their picture with him, and he\u2019s always got a smile on his face.<\/p>\n
\u201cI don\u2019t think we\u2019ve ever had anyone else box for a British title before Midge, never mind a world title.<\/p>\n
\u201cIf he comes back with it, I don\u2019t know what\u2019s going to happen – maybe an open-top bus through Maidstone.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"World title contender Sam Noakes\u2019 success in boxing has come as no surprise to his old amateur club.…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":264802,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[41],"tags":[2560,109338,109339,19488,101,56,54,55,109340],"class_list":["post-264801","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-boxing","tag-boxing","tag-maidstone-sport","tag-malling-sport","tag-other-sport","tag-sports","tag-uk","tag-united-kingdom","tag-unitedkingdom","tag-weald-sport"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/264801","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=264801"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/264801\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/264802"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=264801"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=264801"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=264801"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}