Tony Jeffries, 5-0 (4), has been forced to pull out of his sternest test yet against Welshman Nathan King in Nottingham this Friday (5th February 5), after suffering a hand injury in training.

Jeffries is predictably gutted but still found time to hit out at the critics who have been running him down since he turned pro.

Last time out, Tony’s one-round demolition of Andrejs Tolsiths, 4-17-1 (4), turned out to be a double-edged sword with his Latvian opponent’s early capitulation, along with poor performances by the opponents of Tom Dallas and David Price, contributing to promoter Frank Maloney’s apology for sub-standard opposition.

For the normally mild-mannered Jeffries, however, the criticism that evening from Sky Sports’ Glenn McCrory, and on internet boxing forums afterwards, was not wholly justified, especially when it fails to take into account his novice professional status.

“For Glenn McCrory to say what he did, well all he’s got to do is have a look at his own record; in his 13th fight he boxed someone [Alfonso Forbes] who’d had two fights and won one!,” Jeffries raged.

“I’ve looked at the records of various champions,” detailed Tony, “and their early opponents were the same calibre as mine. The difference is, though, that I’m learning my trade on TV – with others you see them when they’re the finished article.”

Jeffries’ Olympic fame is a magnifying glass, and professional boxing can be a ruthless environment. Consequently, criticism isn’t something new for this young professional. In his fight before last Jeffries also experienced negative feedback after Artem Solonko, 10-18 (3), took him the distance – an irony not lost on the “Mighty Mackem”.

“You get criticised if you go the distance and also if you knock them out – you just can’t win sometimes! At the end of the day I’ve learnt something from all my fights,” Jeffries assessed, “by just getting in a professional ring without a headguard on. Even the last fight, it was over quickly but I trained very hard for it and learnt a lot in the gym.”

The Merseyside trio of Paul Smith and the two Tonys – Dodson and Quigley – has warmed up the domestic super middleweight division. Introduce some emerging prospects and it’s a scene that could soon be boiling – and Jeffries may well play his part.

“I think I could get down to, and compete at, super-middle,” Jeffries claimed. “There’s lots of good talent coming through and maybe down the line some great fights. James [DeGale] is doing well, and George Groves is performing brilliantly and is a fighter I like watching. Knowing him from the amateurs he’s a genuine lad too.”

Jeffries, trained by Bobby Rimmer, has recently relocated back to the North East after living and training last year in Manchester, and it’s a move he’s felt the benefit of in preparation for this forthcoming fight.

“I was by myself quite a bit in Manchester,” explained Tony, “so I’m happier in Sunderland which means I train better. I’ve been sparring with Prizefighter finalist [Feb 2009] Darren Stubbs, Travis Dickinson who’s a really good prospect, and Craig Denton who’s 8-0. They’re all tough lads; we’ve been going for it and having a few ding-dongs so it’s been great – and I feel ready.

"Bobby comes up four days a week. Me and me dad’s got our own gym, The Olympian; it’s an amateur gym but pros train there as well; it’s a brilliant set-up. Dave Ferguson trains there, Kirk Goodings. I train six days a week so when Bobby’s not there, there’s a coach there or I go up Sunderland football club and work with the conditioning coach up there. I travel to Manchester to spar Darren Stubbs and I get good sparring up in Sunderland as well."

“Jaffa’s” philosophy is to take one fight at a time, so his focus is entirely on his next battle. But scratch the surface a little and, cautiously, aspirations emerge.

“Frank [Maloney] wants me out six times a year so hopefully at the end of 2010 I could be 12-0, and it’d be brilliant to have the English title,” Tony concluded, “but I don’t like to look too far into the future because it’s so easy to forget what’s in front of you.”